Three Hoosiers Place at 51st Midlands

Short-handed Indiana notched a top-10 finish

Dec. 30, 2013

EVANSTON, Ill. - Three Hoosiers remained in contention entering Day Two of the 51st Midlands Championship, each finding their way to the stand. Taylor Walsh led the way with a finals appearance at 157 pounds. Ethan Raley (141 lbs) and Ryan LeBlanc (165 lbs) also placed, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.

All three Hoosiers out-wrestled their seeds as third-seeded Walsh placed second, 10th-seeded Raley placed fifth and the 8-seed LeBlanc came out in seventh.

Complete Results & Final Team Standings

#22/- Indiana posted a top-10 finish in the team standings despite being without the services of NCAA Qualifiers Joe Duca and Adam Chalfant due to illness. The Hoosiers topped four nationally ranked schools: -/#14 Virginia Tech, -/#21 Purdue, -/#25 Rider and #25/- North Dakota State.

Walsh picked up where he left off, notching his fourth Midlands pin (15th consecutive and 22nd of the season) to reach the finals. The redshirt junior trailed 2-1 early in the first period before locking in a cradle and sticking the defending Midlands champion Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) in the semifinals. Walsh then faced the defending NCAA champion Derek St. John of Iowa for the title, ultimately suffering his first loss of the season. The 9-3 decision brings Walsh's 2013-14 record to 25-1 with 22 falls. His semifinal pin gave him sole possession of second place on the all-time IU career falls list with 43, surpassing four-time All-American and national champion Angel Escobedo (42, 2006-09). The top mark is 47 pins by Viktor Sveda (1998-2002).

Raley bolstered his NCAA resume while in Evanston, taking six of eight bouts with both defeats coming at the hands of top-10 foes. Competing in his first season of D-I wrestling, Raley placed fifth at the Midlands Championships and improved to 23-7 on the season. He began Day Two with a fall followed by an 8-1 decision to set up a battle with ninth-ranked Josh Dziewa (Iowa). Raley jumped out to a 6-2 lead over the Hawkeye before ultimately coming up just short in sudden victory, falling 11-9. He did bounce back in his subsequent bout though, earning a 5-2 decision over Pat Greco in front of the home Northwestern crowd.

LeBlanc notched major decision number 10 of his senior campaign to open Day Two. He paced the Big Ten and ranked second nationally with seven majors entering the event. After a 6-3 defeat to #13 Pierce Harger (Northwestern), LeBlanc nearly carded another major decision by blanking Chad Lowman (Grand View) 7-0 in the seventh-place match.

Indiana returns to Evanston this weekend, getting the Big Ten slate started with a 4:30 pm ET dual against #9/#16 Northwestern airing LIVE on the Big Ten Network.

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DAY ONE RECAP
Redshirt junior Taylor Walsh extended his current pinning streak to 14 straight matches and broke an all-time Indiana University record with 21 falls on the season, pushing into the Midlands 157-pound semifinals on Day One of the competition. Ethan Raley (141 lbs) and Ryan LeBlanc (165 lbs) also remain in contention to place at the prestigious event, each winning three of four bouts on Sunday.

Walsh's 42nd career pin moved him into a tie with four-time All-American and national champion Angel Escobedo (2006-09) for the second most falls in school history. The all-time top mark is held by Viktor Sveda (1998-2002) with 47 pins. Rob Chamberlin's 22-year record of 19 pins during the 1981 season has been bypassed by Walsh's 21 thus far. The Cherry Hill, N.J., native still has the entire Big Ten schedule, SIUE Duals and postseason action to distance himself atop the record books.

Walsh will face defending Midlands champion Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) in the semifinals during Session III on Monday.

Raley was triumphant in each of his first three bouts, thrusting into the 141-pound quarterfinals before running into No. 1 Mitchell Port of Edinboro. Raley begins Day Two four wins away from a third-place showing and just one raised hand from guaranteeing his spot on the stand.

The Big Ten's leader in major decisions (t-2nd nationally), Ryan LeBlanc, added to that total with a pair of majors on Sunday. His season total is now nine majors and he, too, is four wins from third place and a lone besting from placing at Midlands.

Eric Roach (149 lbs) and Luke Sheridan (184 lbs) were multi-match winners as well, both splitting four bouts.

The short-handed Hoosiers sit in 11th place of the 40-plus team field despite being represented in only eight of 10 weight classes. NCAA Qualifiers Joe Duca and Adam Chalfant fell ill and were forced to withdraw from the competition. Indiana ends Day One ahead of the following nationally-ranked opponents: #19/20 Lehigh (12th place), -/#14 Virginia Tech (19th), -/#25 Rider (t-17th) and #25/- North Dakota State (14th).