Final home meet results in 32-6 loss

Saturday was a bittersweet day for IU wrestling. Marking the end of the regular season, the dual against Northwestern was also Senior Day. IU honored three seniors in the dual: Geno Capezio, Ryan Konz and Jowan Gill.

While the team was unable to capture a final victory going into postseason, suffering a 32-6 loss, IU Coach Duane Goldman expressed he was pleased that the program could recognize its hard-working members in front of a home crowd.

“They’re a really good group. It’s part of what makes a team a team,” Goldman said. “It’s not all about the guys in the limelight, but it’s all the guys behind the scenes that give their best, and those are definitely guys who have.”

With the buzz from Senior Day, sophomore Joe Duca took the mat first, giving the Hoosiers an early start. After much hand fighting, and with a tied score going into the sudden victory period, Duca slammed Northwestern’s Dominick Malone for the final two-point take down.

“For me, it’s been ups and downs, and I’m kind of starting to break right now and starting to feel a lot better, and I’m wrestling a lot better,” Duca said.

Duca’s 6-4 win gave the Hoosiers early momentum, Goldman said.

“Duca did a great job,” he said. “That guy pinned him earlier this year,” he said. “He did the things we had worked on to stop that guy and in the end, when he was in a tight situation, he went after the takedown, and it was a great way to start the match.”

Though Duca’s win would give the Hoosiers an early 3-0 lead in the dual, the momentum shifted drastically to favor the Wildcats. Losing the next six weight classes, IU fell further behind.

Throughout the dual, IU was not able to match the intensity of the Wildcats. Forced to forfeit two weight classes, 149-pounds and 197-pounds, due to sustained injuries, it became more difficult for the later weight classes to make up the difference in score.

At the 157-pound weight class, nationally-ranked sophomore Taylor Walsh’s six-match winning streak came to an end. Walsh was immediately put on the defensive by Northwestern’s Jason Welch, the nation’s No. 2 wrestler at the position and came close to being pinned several times during the dual. Walsh was faced with a blowout loss of 13-1.

“I thought we had a couple of chances to win,” Goldman said. “Taylor [Walsh] sort of got dominated out there, but by the same token, he did have one opportunity to put it away, but he didn’t really get it done.”

The Hoosiers would only come away with two wins, the other captured by sophomore Luke Sheridan, his eighth consecutive win. Sheridan explained that he needed to buckle down.

“I think what’s changed the most is listening to my coaches,” Sheridan said. “Before, I was just hearing what they were saying and going through the motions, but I’ve bought into what they’ve said and it has made the biggest difference.”

The regular season behind them, the Hoosiers are now focusing on the upcoming Big Ten Championships from March 9-10, and the end goal of ultimately getting wrestlers into the NCAA Championships.