IU posts 5-0 showing in dual meet

The Hoosiers were able to defend their No. 11 national ranking on Saturday, going 5-0 in the Hoosier Duals at University Gym.

Leading the way for unbeaten IU was senior Angel Escobedo (125 lbs.), Paul Young (165 lbs.), Eric Cameron (184 lbs.) and heavyweight Nate Everhart. The four upperclassmen all posted 5-0 records en route to the Hoosiers’ 5-0 performance.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers recorded winning performances from a variety of weight classes, holding all five opponents to single-digit point totals. A reason for that is the effort they were able to get out of guys like Young, Cameron and Everhart.

“They were all staying aggressive and trying to dominate,” Goldman said.

IU defeated Cumberlands 44-6, drubbed Northern Illinois 27-9 and defeated Chattanooga 30-9. They also won 43-3 versus Liberty and posted a 37-6 victory against San Diego State.

Although IU was successful, Goldman said it could have improved.

“We had a lot of good matches throughout the day,” he said. “We still had some close matches that would have been nice to win.”

Escobedo was on the attack all day, recording three pins for the Hoosiers. The former National Champion did not even wrestle in the third period until his last match of the day, where he won a 9-4 decision against San Diego State’s Aaron Pickrel.   

A No. 2 ranking at 125 lbs. will be motivation for all opponents heading into a match with Escobedo. Having a day with five wins is something Escobedo will have to continue to do to keep the Hoosiers in the national picture.

Young was also able to record three pins after coming into the day with a No. 13 ranking at 165 lbs. Everhart is nationally ranked No. 11, Kurt Kinser (157 lbs.) is ranked No. 12 and Trevor Perry (174 lbs.) is ranked No. 17.

Goldman said IU’s few struggles on Saturday were with mental errors rather than the physical aspects of the matches.

“Most of it is between the ears and their attitudes on the mat,” Goldman said.

Maintaining intensity is an area Goldman stressed as the key to closing out matches.

“We need to work on our aggressiveness in situations where we can put guys away and build a lead instead of waiting for things to happen,” Goldman said.

The undefeated showing at the Hoosier Duals improves their record to 6-0 for the season heading into the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this Friday.

Escobedo said he is sure plenty of teams will look to defeat IU there.

“That No. 11 ranking puts a target on us, and teams are going to want to take us down,” Escobedo said. “It’s not every day that teams get the chance to take down a ranked opponent.”