WRESTLING

Indiana's Escobedo looks ready for a repeat

By John Huckaby

When Indiana's Angel Escobedo won the NCAA crown at 125 pounds in March 2008, he did so with a bandage on his shoulder. It was obvious that Escobedo wasn't operating at 100 percent but he still had enough to defeat Minnesota's Jason Ness.

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Escobedo won’t likely be wearing that bandage this year and that could spell trouble for his opponents. He’s 22-3 this season and on Sunday took home his second Big Ten title with a victory over No. 1-seed Brandon Precin of Northwestern.

He’ll have a good group of wrestlers to face if there is to be a second NCAA title. They include Precin, former NCAA champion Paul Donahoe of Edinboro and Cornell’s Troy Nickerson.

Escobedo said his shoulder is as good as it’s been in a couple of years. In fact, the four-time Indiana state champion from Griffith said it may help him.

“It (the shoulder) was just another obstacle I had to overcome,” he said. “I think it made me stronger in the long run, I had to find other ways of wrestling. It made me stronger. I think it’s benefitting me.”

Winning a second Big Ten title was big for the Hoosier. “It means a lot. Last year, my Big Ten tournament was basically my national tournament. The level of competition the Big Ten brings makes it a great stepping stone.”

Escobedo said his win Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center continues to help the Indiana program build. “Bringing more hardware, brings more to the program. Hopefully, other kids around the nation will see that and want to come to Indiana.”

Here’s a look at the champions from the top conference regional tournaments this past weekend:

Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association: Cornell won team title. Champs: 125, Troy Nickerson, Cornell; 133, Joe Baker, Navy; 141, Seth Ciasulli, Lehigh; 149, Bryce Saddoris, Navy; 157, Jordan Leen, Cornell; 165, Mack Lewnes, Cornell; 174, Mike Cannon, American; 184, David Craig, Lehigh; 197, Cam Simaz, Cornell; 285, Ryan Flores, Columbia.

Eastern Wrestling League: Edinboro 126.5, West Virginia, 95.5.

125, Paul Donahoe, Edinboro; 133, Jimmy Conroy, Pitt; 141, Tyler Nauman, Pitt; 149, Matt Fittery, Lock Haven; 157, Matt Moley, Bloomsburg; 165, Jarrod King, Edinboro; 174, Kurt Brenner, West Virginia; 184, Chris Honeycutt, Edinboro; 197, Pat Bradshaw, Edinboro; 285, Rashard Goff, Cleveland State.

Big 12: Iowa State, Nebraska, tied at 70.

125, Joey Fio, Oklahoma; 133, Nick Fanthorpe, Iowa State; 141, Marcus Hoehn, Missouri; 149, Kyle Terry, Oklahoma; 157, Jordan Burroughs, Nebraska; 167, Nick Marable, Missouri; 184, Vince Jones, Nebraska; 197, Craig Betsker, Nebraska; 285, Dave Zabriskie, Iowa State.

Atlantic Coast Conference: Maryland 70, Virginia 68.

125, Brendan Byrne, Maryland; 133, Steve Bell, Maryland; 141, Alex Krom, Maryland; 149, Darrion Caldwell, North Carolina State; 157, Kody Hamrah, North Carolina State; 165, Keegan Mueller, North Carolina; 174, Chris Henrich, Virginia; 184, Rocco Caponi, Virginia; 197, Brent Jones, Virginia; 285, Konrad Dudziak, Duke.

Mid-American Conference: Central Michigan was champion.

125, Scotti Sentes, CMU; 133, Dan Mitcheff, Kent State; 141, Drew Lash-away, Kent State; 149, Steve Brown, CMU; 157, Bryan Deutsch, Northern Illinois;165, Trevor Stewart, CMU; 174, Mike Miller, CMU; 184, Dustin Kilgore, Kent State; 197, John McClure, Eastern Michigan; 285, Jermail Porter, Kent State.

Colonial Athletic Association: Hofstra 106. 5, Old Dominion 86.5.

125, James Nicholson, ODU; 133, Lou Ruggirello, Hofstra; 141, Ryan Williams, ODU; 149, Paul Gillespie, Hofstra; 157, Jonny Bonilla-Bowman, Hofstra; 165, Chris Brown, ODU; 174, Bagna Tovuujav, George Mason; 184, Josh Patterson, Binghamton; 197, Cayle Byers, George Mason; 285, Ed Bordas, Rider.

John Huckaby reports on college wrestling for the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at jhuck@ptd.net.