IU sweeps opponents as host of Hoosier Duals

FROM IDS REPORTS

Saturday saw the IU wrestling team come away victorious in the all-day Hoosier Duals, picking up wins against SIU-Edwardsville, Bucknell and Gardner-Webb.

A quartet of Hoosiers went undefeated on the day individually, including  junior Adam Chalfant at heavyweight (285 pounds), freshman Eric Roach in the 141 pound weight class, sophomore Taylor Walsh in the 157 pound weight class and sophomore Luke Sheridan in the 184 pound weight class.

With a total of 46 takedowns, the Hoosiers were in control of the action most of the day, not letting up steam in any of the duals.

The first dual of the day matched the Hoosiers against the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars.

With some new faces thrown into the mix, the Hoosiers emerged from the first dual victorious, 33-11.

IU only lost the 133 and 197 weight classes, which did not deter from the rest of the victories, including a tech fall by Walsh and a 6-0 win by forfeit in the 125 weight class by sophomore Joe Duca.

After the win against the Cougars, the Hoosiers wrestled a much closer match against Bucknell, but the Hoosiers still improved their record to 2-0 on the day with an 18-15 win.

Bucknell was able to pull out victories in half the matches, but the Bison fell just a few points short of the Hoosiers.

IU was led by a win by Walsh at the 157 pound weight class, with a crushing 16-0 win against Bucknell’s Robert Schlitt.

Chalfant also pushed the team to an 18-15 victory with a major decision  against Bucknell’s Joe Stolfi.

In the final match of the day, the Hoosiers faced off against Gardner-Webb.

The team completed its undefeated day as a team with a 29-7 win.

With only the 149 and 197 pounds weight classes falling to Gardner-Webb, the rest of the Hoosiers stepped up their game to finish off the Runnin’ Bulldogs in convincing fashion.

The only pin on the day for the Hoosiers happened during this matchup, coming from sophomore Cheney Dale at the 174  pound weight class.

Dale pinned Gardner-Webb’s Aaron Rabin, increasing the overall team score to 23-4 at that point in the team match.  

Along with the four undefeated Hoosiers, several of their teammates produced multiple wins on the day, Duca at the 125 pound weight class, true freshman Quin Murphy at the 133 pound spot, junior Ryan LeBlanc at the 165 pound  weight class and Dale, wrestling in the 174 pound weight class.

Chalfant and Walsh also both achieved their 15th individual wins of the season.

— Taylor Grayson