Gophers too physical for Hoosiers

Coming off a break and intensive training, IU wrestling was back in action against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in their second Big Ten match of the season.

Minnesota certainly brought their “A”-game, defeating the Hoosiers in a fashion that reminded fans why they are ranked No. 4 nationally. Although the Hoosiers lost a physically tough match 41-3, IU Coach Duane Goldman said he believed the final score did not indicate the amount of effort that was put forth by each wrestler.

“The final score was not that close, but, for the people who were actually here watching the dual meet, saw that there were good matches,” said Goldman.

Each wrestler was faced with a physically demanding match, making each weight class a struggle to close out for the Hoosiers. Though each player wrestled and worked the match to the best of their ability, the Gophers were just out of reach. Only one Hoosier, sophomore Taylor Walsh, was victorious, giving the Hoosiers their three points on the board. Despite the fact Walsh only attended one practice due to sickness this week, he put it all on the line for the Hoosiers.

“I wasn’t really ready to go out, and (Goldman) comes over and smacks me in the head and goes, ‘Hey, you better take one for us right now,’ so that was nice encouragement, and I went out fired up,” said Walsh.

Putting aside wins and losses, each weight class came right down to the wire, especially sophomore Preston Keiffer’s match at the 149 position. Although Keiffer controlled the match until the end, he was pinned at the last second and unable to bring in the win for the Hoosiers. Disregarding the score, Goldman said he was pleased with Keiffer’s performance and feels optimistic for future matches.

“Keiffer had the opportunity to win, but he didn’t quite pull it out, but I’m not upset with him,” said Goldman. “At least he was winning on his own terms, and he lost on his own terms, and hopefully we can fix that a little bit, but it was a great effort.”

Great effort continued to be the story of the day; however, one Hoosier’s efforts resulted in an injury, which caused a forfeit. Redshirt freshman Eric Roach’s day was brought to an abrupt end as he was walked off the mat with what seemed to be a shoulder injury. The details of the injury have not yet been confirmed. Roach’s forfeit added to the string of Hoosier losses, which included three pins from Minnesota. 

Looking ahead, the team is now back on track with the amount of intensity required for their upcoming Big Ten matches. 

“I think we made a lot of great improvements, and to be in there in just about every match and battling with those guys and keeping the scores close was really a step in the right direction,” junior Adam Chalfant said.