BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The #20 Indiana University wrestling team defeated #16 Northwestern Sunday afternoon, 23-11. It marks the third straight win for IU over the Wildcats, and the Cream and Crimson's 10th victory in the last 11 meetings between the two schools.
Northwestern is a really good team and is having a fine season," said Head Coach Duane Goldman. "It was a nice win for us, they are all big wins in this conference."
The match began with the 174-lbs. bout where Trevor Perry won the first of seven individual bout victories for the Hoosiers. Perry was a 9-6 winner over Robert Kellogg. After a Northwestern tech fall at 184 pounds, Indiana then ripped off four straight victories to build a 17-5 lead with three matches remaining.
Matt Powless started the streak with his fourth Big Ten victory of the season, topping John Schoen by an 8-2 tally. At heavyweight, Nate Everhart improved to 5-1 in conference action by posting a 10-2 major decision.
The marquee match-up of the day came next when defending 125-lbs. national champion Angel Escobedo faced #3 Brandon Precin and his 23-1, 5-0 record entering the contest. The bout lived up to the billing, ending in sudden victory after Escobedo recorded a takedown and the 3-1 win.
Matt Ortega was also in the win column, garnering a bonus point by majoring Eric Metzler in the 133-lbs. match. #13 Kurt Kinser clinched the team victory in the second last match of the day. The Bloomington, Ind., native notched a big win over #14 Jason Welch. Kinser is now 2-0 versus Welch this season after pinning him earlier in the year.
Kinser's high school teammate at Bloomington South, Paul Young, put the icing on the cake at 165 pounds. A total of nine takedowns occurred in the 16-14 scoring outburst. Young notched three takedowns in the third period alone to push ahead for good.
