Hoosiers face Hoosiers in wrestling intrasquad scrimmage

The IU wrestling team squared off against each other in their intrasquad meet at Bloomington North High School on Tuesday. While all starting spots were up for grabs, the two most competitive battles were in the 141- and at 157-pound weight classes.

The Hoosiers have the most depth at 157 pounds with senior Matt Coughlin and junior Kurt Kinser.  Kinser had got his career off at IU with a bang, qualifying for the NCAA tournament as a freshman and sophomore. But last year Kinser was able to overtake Coughlin at 157 pounds and dominate all year. Kinser was also able to qualify for the NCAA tournament after he placed sixth in the Big Tens.

“Coughlin and I both believe that we are at our best at that weight class,” Kinser said.

Kinser was not ready to give the spot back to Coughlin on Tuesday night, winning 7-1. The match was at a 0-0 stalemate until Kinser took over late in the second period and did not look back.  Wrestling against a teammate had a different feel for Kinser.

“I always get more nervous wrestling against my teammates than anybody else,” Kinser said. “(Coughlin) is a really great wrestler and I don’t feel like I had any advantage over him.”

While Kinser won the job at 157, it is not the end of the road for Coughlin. He is expected to move down a weight class and start at 149 for the Hoosiers.

Another storyline coming into Tuesday was the duel between freshmen Danny Monaco and Nick Viterisi at 141 pounds.  A low-scoring grind resulted in Monaco pulling out a 3-2 victory.  Monaco will look to build off a solid redshirt year where he finished 13-4.

Rounding out the rest of the starters for the Hoosiers are senior Angel Escobedo at 125 pounds, sophomore Matt Ortega at 133 pounds, junior Paul Young at 165 pounds, senior Trevor Perry at 174 pounds, and senior Nate Everhart at the heavyweight class.

Next on the list for the Hoosiers is the Michigan State Open which will officially kick off the season on Nov. 15.