From the edge of the mat....
In just four short years, Trine University, located in Angola, Indiana in the extreme northeast corner of the state, has gone from fledgling program to nationally respected, ranked program.
Much of the credit has to go to head coach Dan Callahan, former head coach of Fremont High School. Callahan and his staff, which includes former multi-X state qualifier and team state champ Mike Ester  (formerly of Fort Wayne Snider High School) have rapidly created a national contender at the NCAA Division 3 level.
Trine, currently ranked 23rd in the country and recently ranked 22nd, has a roster littered with former Indiana state contenders, qualifiers and state placers. While there are too many Hoosier wrestlers to name, some of the notables include :
Senior 149 lber and former state 4th place finisher Kyle Pittman (130 lbs., 2004-05, Greensburg HS)
Senior 141 lber  and former state 8th place finisher Bryan Wight (112 lbs., 2004-05, Homestead HS)
Junior 133 lber and former state 6th place finisher Thomas Pompei (125 lbs., 2005-06, Hamilton Southeastern HS).
Freshman 157 lber and former state 5th place finisher Kyle Long (152 lbs., 2007-08, South Bend Washington HS)
Junior 174 lber and former state 3rd place finisher Nick Kraus (171 lbs., 2005-06 New Prairie HS)
Freshman 125 lber and former state 8th place finisher Brandon Harvey (119 lbs., 2007-08, Elkhart Memorial HS)
Kraus and Pompei were NCAA regional runners-up last year.
Additionally, Trine's roster features several former state qualifiers:
Tye Bowman, Clinton Central HS
Justin Wight, Homestead HS
Zach Leffel, Peru HS
Kyle Marsh, West Noble HS
Max Begovich, New Palestine HS
Also contributing to Trine's success is former Indiana standout George Markou (Peru HS). The rest of the team features a ton of other former Indiana wrestlers, as well as wrestlers from Michigan, Illinois and Ohio.
Trine is coming off of a couple of tough results vs. elite programs on January 8th, falling to 13th ranked Elmhurst and 28th ranked Lakeland. Still, an off night doesn't begin to diminish Trine's season, which includes a huge win over then-16th ranked Olivet in November.
While still in it's infancy as a program, I wouldn't bet against Coach Callahan's crew in the near future. One of the great outcomes of Trine's emergence has been the creation of another excellent place for Indiana's finest high school wrestlers to continue to wrestle at the collegiate level. Expect to see many familiar names and faces on Trine's roster in the coming seasons.
On a different topic, the following Indiana wrestlers are ranked in D1:
Intermat rankings:
125 #1 Angel Escobedo IU
133 #8 Reece Humphrey OSU
141 #1 Alex Tsirtsis Iowa
141 #19 Andrae Hernandez IU
157 #11 Kurt Kinser IU
165 #14 Andrew Howe Wisconsin
184 #13 Alex Dolly UNI
RevWrestling rankings:
125 #2 Escobedo
133 #9 Humphrey
141 #2 Tsirtsis
157 #19 Matt CoughlinIU
165 #8 Howe
AWN rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #7 Humphrey
141 #1 Tsirtsis
157 #10 Kinser IU
165 #9 Howe
WIN rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #8 Humphrey
141 #2 Tsirtsis
165 #10 Howe
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