Feature Article by Gregg Henry

Heading into his 15^th season at the helm of the Hoosiers, Duane Goldman has amassed some considerable young talent that will be unleashed on the Big 10 this season.  Indiana will look to build on a 2006 season that saw the Hoosiers finish in 10^th place at the Big 10 tournament and 18^th place at the NCAA tournament.  In Big 10 dual action, Indiana finished in a tie for 8^th place with the Spartans of Michigan State as both schools were 2-6. The return of 4 NCAA qualifiers and 1 All-American is the foundation for the Hoosier staff to build upon.  The following is a detailed analysis of the expected 2007 line-up.

125 lbs:

Projected Starter: The Hoosiers lose one of its most successful wrestlers in 2X NCAA champion and 3X All-American, Joe Dubuque, as he has graduated and accepted a coaching position at Hofstra.  Ready to step in at this weight is redshirt sophomore, Jose Escobedo, Griffith, IN (#24 in WR.com 6/28 rankings).  Escobedo competed in limited action last year, finishing the season at 4-4.  Competing at the Missouri Open, Jose went 3-1, and placed 3^rd, losing to Deubel of Edinboro in the 1^st round, then rebounding to win 3 straight, including a victory of Missouri’s talented, Tim Kephart.  Escobedo has not yet reached his potential at this point, but with an expected full year of varsity competition ahead; Jose should make some noise in the Big 10 race.

Depth: The top back-up is Blane Culp, Columbia City, IN, who returns after a 10-12 season.  The highlight of Culp’s season was an 8^th place finish at the Michigan State Open.  Also available to assist is Wesley Fike, South Bend, IN, who was 2-7 in 2006.  New recruits, Ted Strychalski and Michael Peysakhovich are projected to redshirt.

133 lbs:

Projected Starter: A new starter that is likely to burst onto the scene is redshirt freshman, Angel Escobedo, Griffith, IN (#17 in WR.com 6/28 rankings).  Angel’s high school resume is extremely impressive as he was a 4X Indiana state champion, while compiling a 174-1 career record, and establishing the state’s all time pin record.  Last season, Escobedo had an excellent redshirt campaign going 20-3, while capturing titles at both the Kent State Open and the Michigan State Open, and taking a 3^rd at the Cleveland State Open, and a 4^th at the Missouri Open.  In May, Angel competed at the FILA Junior Freestyle Nationals and finished as a runner-up to Oklahoma State’s All-American, Coleman Scott.  Angel clearly proved that he is ready to step in and win in the Big 10 after his redshirt season.

Depth: Scott Kelley returns after a 5-13 season in his debut campaign.  Kelley was 1-4 in dual meets and placed 8^th at the Mat-Town tournament.  Projected redshirt is incoming recruit, Alexander Warren.

141 lbs:

Projected Starter:  Moving up a weight class after a strong rookie campaign is redshirt sophomore, Andrae Hernandez, Griffith, IN (#18 in WR.com 6/28 rankings).  While competing at 133, Hernandez amassed 27 wins versus 10 defeats, including a 7-1 record in Big 10 action, with his only loss to Penn State’s, Jake Strayer.  Hernandez placed 5^th at Midlands, 3^rd at the Missouri Open, and 2^nd at Mat-Town.  Earning the #6 seed at the Big 10 tournament, Hernandez ended up placing 7^th, qualifying for the NCAA tournament, where he lost his first two bouts and was eliminated.  Hernandez seemed to slow as the season wore on, with him moving up a weight class; the hope is that Andrae will be stronger late in the season in a very tough Big 10 weight class.

Depth: A concern is the back-up situation at this weight, incoming recruit, Nick Walpole’s services could be needed during the season.

149 lbs:

Projected Starter: Shifting down a weight class after a successful redshirt season, is high-octane, redshirt freshman, Matt Coughlin, Evansville, IN (#9 win WR.com 6/28 rankings).  During is initial season as a Hoosier, Coughlin recorded a 19-7 overall record in unattached competition.  Matt placed 5^th at the Michigan State Open, 5^th at the Missouri Open, 2^nd at the Kent State Open (losing in the finals 2-1 to Pitt’s Matt Kocher), and claiming the title at the Cleveland State Open (3-1 decision over Matt Kocher).  Coughlin was a tremendous school boy talent, winning 2 Indiana state titles and competing in the finals in all 4 of his seasons.  In addition, Matt recently claimed a title at the FILA Junior National Freestyle Tournament.  As his early results indicate, Coughlin improved greatly from the beginning to the end of his redshirt season and he will be ready to win right out of the gate.

Depth: Matt Cooper, Anacortes, WA, is a solid back-up and spent time in the starting line-up last year, going 12-11 on the season, 1-5 in Big 10 duals.  Matt was the IU starter at the Big 10 tournament, going 0-2 and not placing.  Highlighting Matt’s season was a title at Mat-Town and finishing 6^th at the Missouri Open, including a win over the Illini’s, Troy Tirapelle.  Also returning, with one year of eligibility remaining is Isaac Knable, Floyd Knobs, IN.  Knable qualified for the 2005 NCAA tournament, but lost his starting position last year.  Overall, Knable was 7-9 on the season, 0-2 in Big 10 duals, and placed 7^th at Mat-Town.

157 lbs:

Projected Starter: 2X All-American and redshirt junior, Brandon Becker, Mickleton, NJ (#3 in WR.com 6/28 rankings) maintains his stranglehold on this weight class for the Hoosiers.  Becker finished 7^th in the nation last year after a 3^rd place finish in the Big 10 tournament and overall was 28-9 (5-3 in Big 10 duals) on the campaign, enough to earn him a #6 seed at the NCAA tournament.  Brandon tied for the team lead with his 28 wins and in two seasons of varsity action, he has compiled 61 victories.  In addition to his national and conference tournament placing, Becker finished 4^th at Midlands and won a title at the Mat-Town tournament.  Becker’s resume is already extremely impressive and he enters his junior season ranked in the top five in the nation, clearly establishing himself as a national title contender.

Depth:  157 is another weight in which the Hoosiers lack proven depth behind the starter.  The good news for Hoosier fans is that Indiana school boy star, Kurt Kinser was signed and will be on campus in the fall.  The hope is to be able to redshirt him this season.

165 lbs:

Projected Starter: Ready and working towards taking the next step forward to an AA medal is 2X NCAA qualifier and redshirt junior, Max Dean, West Chester, OH (#13 in WR.com 6/28 rankings).  Dean completed a 26-16, 2006 season, but struggled to a 2-6 record in Big 10 dual action, although all 6 conference losses were to ranked wrestlers.  Max entered the Big 10 tournament as the #8 seed, and ended up placing 5^th, punching his ticket to Oklahoma City, where he earned 2 wins in consolation action.  Dean also placed 3^rd at Mat-Town and took a 6^th at the Missouri Open.  Dean is one of those wrestlers that could be ready for a break-out 2007 season; he has 51 career wins and has provided glimpses of his potential in his first two seasons as a Hoosier.

Depth: Ready to start as needed is Hunter Hughes, Jeffersonville, IN, who was 6-8 last season, with his best performance of 2-2 at the Kent State Open.  Expected to redshirt this year is incoming recruit, Kurt Kinser.

174 lbs:

Projected Starter: Another of the Hoosier young guns is redshirt freshman, Trevor Perry, Davison, MI (#29 in WR.com 6/28 rankings).  Perry, wrestling unattached, gathered 17 wins last year while suffering 7 defeats.  The highlight of his season was a championship at the Eastern Michigan Open in his first collegiate competition.  Trevor also placed 3^rd at the Cleveland State Open, losing to Pitt’s Keith Gavin, and 4^th at the Michigan State Open, 2 losses to CMU’s, Brandon Sinnott.  Perry was a 2005 Michigan state champion after finishing 3^rd in 2004.  The IU staff expects big things from Perry and based on his true freshman results he looks to be capable of delivering on those expectations.

Depth: Good depth here as last year’s starter, Marc Bennett, Martinsville, IN, is back after a 12-16 record (2-6 Big 10) as the starter.  Bennett also earned a 2^nd place finish at Mat-Town.

184 lbs:

Projected Starter: Returning and looking for an NCAA bid after a solid 2006 season is junior, Justin Curran, Chicago, IL (#21 in WR.com 6/28 rankings).  Overall, Justin was 20-14 on the year, but could only win 1 Big 10 dual meet, a win over Ohio State’s, Alex Picazo.  But, like Dean, all of his 7 losses were to top twenty opponents.  Curran placed 3^rd at the Missouri Open and at Mat-Town in addition to his 7^th place finish at Midlands.  Curran was unable to breakthrough in conference competition last season, but his results do indicate that he may be able to get over the hump in 2007.

Depth: Back for his sophomore season is Louie Gouletas, Highland Park, Ill, after finishing with a 3-8 record in 2006.  Two incoming recruits that could also be called on to contribute include, Jantzen Minton and Eric Cameron.

197 lbs:

Projected Starter: This weight class is the biggest question mark in the Hoosier line-up for the upcoming season.  The leader to start is senior, Josh Buuck, Fort Wayne, IN.  In limited action last year, Buuck went 3-2, finishing 5^th at the Mat-Town tournament in his only action of the season.  In the 2005 season, while competing at 197, Josh was 19-13 and wrestled well, winning 4 bouts against Big 10 competition.  Josh began his Hoosier career filling in at heavyweight, then dropped to 184, and is now projected to shift back to 197 to battle for the starting nod.  Buuck has been solid in his prior varsity action, and if he is able to return to previous form, can stabilize this weight class for Indiana.

Depth: Looking to earn varsity time is Seth Parker, Lafayette, IN.  Parker only saw limited action in his redshirt season, going 1-4 on the year.  New recruits that are headed to Bloomington are Nathan Everhart and Nick Avery.

HWY:

Projected Starter: One of the better stories surrounding the Hoosiers, is the development of junior, Dave Herman, Fort Wayne, IN (#9 in WR.com 6/28 rankings).  Herman transferred to Indiana from Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and he did not wrestle during his high school days, further highlighting his tremendous development.  Last year, Dave was 28-16 (3-5 in Big 10), earned the #7 seed in the Big 10 and finished 7^th, earning an automatic NCAA bid.  In his first trip to the NCAA’s, Herman won two bouts and was eliminated in a tough 3-2 decision to UNC’s, Spencer Nadolsky.  Herman also earned runner-up finishes at the Missouri Open, Mat-Town, and the Eastern Michigan Open in addition to a 4^th place finish at the Michigan State Open.  Heading into his 3^rd season as the starter, Herman now has 56 career wins and continues to improve as he adds more experience.

Depth:  Ready to step in as needed is Maurice Gunn, Indianapolis, IN.  Gunn went 8-6 last season, which included a 4^th place finish at the Missouri Open. Fr/Soph Division)

Recap:  The Hoosier line-up is a mixture of established veterans (Becker, Dean, and Herman) and exciting new faces (Escobedo, Coughlin, and Perry).  The dual line-up looks to be solid and the potential is there for another top twenty NCAA team placing.