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Only 2 of 80 NCAA All-Americans true freshmen...big props to Hudkins & Hughes


maligned

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Everyone is obviously ecstatic about Stevan Micic wrestling so well in placing 4th in his first run at an NCAA title. However, I would like to give some big props to two guys we saw stand atop the podium just 13 months ago in Indiana--Brock Hudkins and Drew Hughes--for their performances at their conference tournaments a couple weekends ago and the NCAA finals this past weekend. Only 2 of the 80 All-Americans this past weekend were true freshmen. And 83% of the AAs were third-year guys or later. But both of our ex-Indiana high school guys made it to the blood round (final 12 overall, last match for AA status)--as true freshmen. What's more, neither were ranked prior to their conference tournaments. They both had fantastic two-tournament runs. Here's a recap:

 

Hudkins' resume was not strong enough to earn him a Top 33 national spot in either the RPI calculation or the Coaches Panel Ranking prior to the MAC tournament. He goes in as the #7 seed at that tournament and finishes 3rd, knocking off two national Top 15 guys in the process. That propels him to a Top 20 ranking in a couple of national publications. Then he takes it another step further this past weekend, taking 3 dominant victories in the consolation bracket at NCAAs, including over the #11 national seed, and arriving as the only unseeded guy in the blood round. In that match, he takes #8 Piccinnini of Oklahoma St. to the brink, falling just short in a 7-5 thriller (and Piccinnini goes on to take 4th).

 

Hughes came into Big 10s also unranked in all of the large publications. He's given the 8 seed, but goes 4-2, allowing only 5 total points from 6 matches in the toughest conference on the planet, and finishes in 5th. That shoots him up the ladder to the 15 seed at NCAAs where he again doesn't disappoint. After a dominating first round win, he falls to #2 Massa and drops into the consolation bracket. Once there, he picks up another dominating win before taking a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the #10 seed. He finally falls in the final-12 blood round to the #5 seed Walsh--frustratingly losing 4-2 despite smashing Walsh's face into the mat for the final 4 minutes with Walsh doing nothing but covering up for dear life.

 

Great job, guys! The future is looking bright indeed for our ex-Indiana high schoolers at NCAAs. With Chad Red and Nick Lee most likely stepping into lineups next year as immediate All-American contenders, newly minted All-American Stevan Micic heading to his second go-round, two blood rounders in Hughes and Hudkins coming back, plus several other solid NCAA finals-level guys returning and small-school powers Wabash and Indiana Tech sporting mostly local guys in their lineups; we have a lot to look forward to.

Edited by maligned
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Wabash and Indiana Tech sporting mostly local guys in their lineups; we have a lot to look forward to.

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UINDY has a ton of IN guys in their lineup also and with Coach Warthan at the helm they are (hound) "pound"ing out studs every year individually and kicking butt as a team !!!

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Jake Kleimola redshirted this year and would have been the starter at 197 if he hadn't (won all his wrestleoffs)  at IU and is already up to 220 and looking to take the HWT spot at IU next season!! Look out Kyle Snyder  ;)

Edited by indianmorg
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Tsirtsis was looking a bit "plump" when I saw him wrestle at the Midlands back in late December. With that said, I think 149 would be a much better choice than 157 in my honest opinion. 

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Tsirtsis was looking a bit "plump" when I saw him wrestle at the Midlands back in late December. With that said, I think 149 would be a much better choice than 157 in my honest opinion. 

I certainly think choosing a weight where he is fit and competitive is more important than worrying about competition.  Choosing between Nolf and Retherford is like flipping a 2 headed coin  (and calling tails).  But hey, that's why they wrestle them right?  Just ask IMAR or Dean; not to mention Gillman, Valencia, Jordan... to name a few.

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Jake Kleimola redshirted this year and would have been the starter at 197 if he hadn't (won all his wrestleoffs) at IU and is already up to 220 and looking to take the HWT spot at IU next season!! Look out Kyle Snyder ;)

Hopefully Jake can get in with triveline this summer and get to 245. Could be nice to close with rypel and Jake
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