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    After the dust has settled....

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="118" caption="The Juggernaut in action]The Juggernaut in action[/caption]

     

    From the edge of the mat, your faithful narrator Dingo here with a look at the Good, the Great and the Ugly for Indiana wrestlers competing at the Cliff Keen National Duals at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa this past weekend.

     

    The Good

     

     The Good starts with a young Juggernaut living in Madison, Wisconsin continuing to show just Howe good he is, even as a true freshman. Although Wisconsin's stay in the tourney was relatively brief, consisting of just 3 matches, Howe has shown that youth will be served this year at 165. Howe started off the Duals with a clutch 7-6 decision win over perennial contender Tyler Sherfey of Boise State. Some of you might remember Sherfey as the villain from Washington state who spoiled Alex Tsirtsis' bid for a Senior Nationals title with (literally) a last second takedown. Howe was one of only four victorious Badgers' wrestlers versus Boise State. Andrew helped Wisconsin avoid Indiana's fate (0 for 2 BBQ...more on that in a minute), as his 8-6 win over IU's Fightin' Paul Young was pivotal in the outcome of the dual. Simpy put, if Howe loses that match, Wisconsin loses to IU. The Juggernaut from Cedar Lake finished his tourney by beating a very solid Scott Glasser of Minnesota 6-3. In short, Howe beat everyone placed in front of him, joining top-10-ranked teammates Kyle Ruschell and Zach Tanelli as the only Badgers to win all three matches.

     

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="124" caption="Alexander the Great]Alexander the Great[/caption]

     

    Also falling under the category of The Good was the performance of Alexander Tsirtsis. Perhaps still smarting from his loss to Tanelli in the championship match at the Midlands, Alex joined Howe in beating everyone in front of him. Unlike Howe, Tsirtsis beat four opponents. First on the menu was Wyoming's Cole Dallasera;  tech fall victory, 16-1. Next--Minnesota's 8th ranked (Intermat) Mike Thorn; another Tsirtsis nail-biter, a 2-1 decision win. Alex didn't take his foot off the gas versus Nebraska's Curtis Salazar, earning another decision, this time by a 7-2 count. T-shirts finished the weekend as one of only four Hawkeyes to win all 4 of their matches. Alex wrapped up his fantastic day with a 10-2 major decision over Cornell's Corey Manson. Tsirtsis is continuing what has been a masterful season thus far.  He has a lot of close matches, as he has for his entire collegiate career, but this year he's winning nearly all of them.

     

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Dolly is BACK!]Dolly is BACK![/caption]

     

    One last dose of The Good....this one from a guy who went 0-2 at the Duals. I've admitted before that I'm a big Alex Dolly fan, but all biases aside, it's great to see the gritty, gutty senior from Mishawaka back in action. Dolly lost his first match by an 11-2 score to reigning national champ Mike Pucillo of Ohio State. Alex dropped his second and last match to Michigan's Anthony Biondo by fall. I'm sure those weren't results that pleased Alex, but his past history has shown that he peaks at Nationals. With a much shortened season this year, that trend may be in jeopardy, but I wouldn't be surprised by a late season roll by Dolly. It's just great that he's back wrestling for the Panthers.

     

     

     

     

    The Great

     

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="600" caption="HUMP nosed viper]HUMP nosed viper[/caption]

     

    Under almost any other situation, Tsirtsis and Howe would belong here. However, Reece Humphrey won the Most Outstanding Wrestler award at the duals. He did so in spectacular fashion, downing Intermat's #2, #4 and #17 ranked 133 pounders. Reece's undefeated weekend began with a pin of UNI's Josh Baldridge. Hump was just getting started, as he followed up the fall with a dominant 10-3 decision victory over All-American Mike Grey of Cornell. At this point, the rout was on, and Humphrey next added a 19-7  major decision over Missouri's Taylor Crane. Next up was Reece's biggest win of the season, and one of the biggest of his career--a 6-4 win over Boise State's 2nd ranked Andrew Hochstrasser. Not content with an already very impressive performance, Hump capped off his weekend with a huge 5-4 decision over last year's 125 lb. national runner-up and current 4th-ranked 133 lber, Jayson Ness of Minnesota. Reece got out to an early lead and held on to beat the extremely dangerous Ness, a notorious pinner. Hump finished as one of four Bucks to win all of their matches. This is a prime example of Humphrey's improved conditioning coming into play this season. With his march through some of the elite competitors in his weight class, Reece has put himself in a position that might see him with a high seed at Big 10s and Nationals. It's conceivable that Hump might join Tsirtsis and Escobedo as Hoosiers ranked #1 in their weight class this season. It is unknown whether or not the former Lawrence North standout busted out some of his dance moves after his huge performance, but who could blame him if he did?

    OK, now for The Ugly

     

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="136" caption="IU]IU[/caption]

     

    I hate to go negative, especially against my beloved Hoosiers. However, this has been a strange season in Bloomington. The season, which has featured some puzzling individual losses by IU veterans and a poor Midlands performance (Scott Kelly excluded), took another tough turn at the Duals, as IU was blanked 35-0 by an admittedly very strong Iowa State team in the opening round of action. It's baffling that a team as talented as IU could be completely shutout, even against an elite team like ISU. To their credit, the Hoosiers fought back hard in their consolation match against Wisconsin, losing a tight one to the Badgers. For the record, I can't criticize a bunged-up Angel Escobedo for losing to a very tough Tyler Clark of Iowa State. Like all IU wrestling fans, I'm hoping against hope that his shoulder holds up adequately through Big 10s and Nationals. Otherwise, this could be a disappointing season for the former Griffith stud.

    Speaking of former Griffith studs, Andrae Hernandez continues to struggle at his new weight. While his first round battle with Nick Gallick was a fairly encouraging 4-2 loss, his 13-4 major decision setback to Tanelli was a continuation of what has been a very, very rough season for the former All-American. This performance on the heels of a poor Midlands performance has this IU fan wondering--What, exactly, is eating Andrae Hernandez this year?

     

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="129" caption="What's eating Andrae Hernandez?]Whats eating Andrae Hernandez?[/caption]

     

    While on the subject of former IU All-Americans who would just as soon forget this season to this point, there was a Matt Coughlin sighting at the Duals. Coughlin went 1-1, losing a tight 3-1 decision to #5 Cyler Sanderson of ISU and beating Wisconsin's Ben Jordan 3-2. It was nice to see that Matt was back in action, as Coughlin was supplanted this season by Kurt Kinser. It's a shame that two of IU's finest wrestlers are in the same weight class, and it would be great if both could somehow participate at Nationals. I know I'm not the only IU fan with his fingers crossed for the rest of the season. The talent is there, the experience is there....the word snake-bitten comes to mind as a description of the season thus far.

     

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="124" caption="Ouch! Snakebitten like IU!]Ouch! Snakebitten like IU![/caption]

     

    Despite IU's struggles this season, this has been a stellar season for Indiana wrestlers. Tsirtsis and Escobedo have spent many weeks as the men to beat in their weight classes, and it's possible that Humphrey might ascend to that position as well. Hump and Tsirtsis appear to have excellent chances to obtain valuable high seeds at Big 10s and Nationals; it kind of goes without saying that Escobedo could conceivably run the table if his shoulder holds up. Howe and Kinser are beating elite wrestlers at their respective weights and are extremely capable of becoming All-Americans this season. Guys like Hernandez, Dolly, Navy's Casey Caldwell, Walpole, Young, PU's Chris Kasten and Nick Corpe and Northern Illinois' Bryan Deutsch

    have all had excellent moments this season and might be darkhorses when the postseason rolls around. Combined with the success Indiana's high school wrestlers had this past offseason, this is one of the stronger seasons for Indiana wrestling that I can remember. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.

     

    [caption id=" align="alignleft" width="127" caption="Indiana darkhorses]Indiana darkhorses[/caption]

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Well, this dingo is tired.

     

    [caption id=" align="alignnone" width="124" caption="One tired dingo]One tired dingo[/caption]

     

    See you all next time at the edge of the mat.

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