Wrestling falls to #13 Indiana, 24-15

Gomez, Osterman, Cheza and Hinton all pick up wins for MSU.

EAST LANSING, Mich., 2/21/10 - On the final regular season matchup of the year, Michigan State fell 24-15 to No. 13 Indiana. Prior to the match, the Spartans honored seniors Kyle Bounds, Franklin Gomez, Alan O'Donnell and Nick Palmieri. The Spartans also honored redshirt junior Eric Anderson

"It was a tough loss but Indiana is a good team," said Spartan head coach Tom Minkel. "We were in a position to win it near the end of the dual but we just couldn't finish it up."

Indiana got off to a quick 6-0 start at 125 pounds when No. 1 ranked Angel Escobedo pinned Brennan Lyon at the 5:47 mark of the match.

The Spartans responded quickly tying the match at six when No. 4 ranked Franklin Gomez pinned Matt Ortega 2:45 into the first period to square the match at six. Gomez, who was wrestling for the final time at Jenison Field House, controlled the match throughout registering three takedowns before finally locking in the pin.

The Spartans took their first lead of match when freshman Dan Osterman earned a decision over Danny Monaco. Osterman narrowly lead 4-2 entering the third period but used a quick escape and takedown to push his lead to 7-2 and eventually take the match, 8-4, with riding time.

Eleventh-ranked David Cheza pushed the Spartan lead to 12-6 when he defeated Matt Coughlin at 149 pounds. Cheza used a first period take down and second period reversal to push his lead to 4-0 entering the final frame where he rode out Coughlin to secure a 5-0 victory.

Indiana gained momentum entering the break when No. 8 Kurt Kinser defeated Anthony Jones. Jones took a quick 2-0 lead on a takedown less than 20 seconds in but was unable to maintain the momentum and eventually fell 9-4, pushing the match score to 12-9.
The Hoosiers retook the lead when No. 12 Paul Young earned a 13-3 major decision over Spartan senior Kyle Bounds.

The final Spartan victory of the day came from sophomore Ian Hinton who defeated IU's Nick Avery, 4-1. Hinton narrowly lead, 2-1, going into the final period but sealed his victory with a reversal with under a minute remaining in the period.

The turning point of the match came at the 184 pound bout. Entering the third down 1-0 Michigan State senior Nick Palmieri quickly recorded an escape tying his match with Indiana's Eric Camerson. Palmieri looked to be primed for a takedown when he had Camerson's leg hooked with 30 seconds remaining but Camerson escaped and quickly went on the offensive scoring his own takedown with only 14 seconds remaining in the match. The takedown gave Camerson a 3-1 lead which he held onto for the critical three points.

Indiana followed the momentum from the Camerson victory by recording a pair of major decisions from its ranked wrestlers at 197 and 285. At 197, No. 14 Matt Powless defeated Tyler Dickenson 12-3 and at 285, No. 2 Nate Everhart dropped Alan O'Donnell 10-2.

The Spartans return to action March 6th and 7th when they head to Ann Arbor for the Big Ten Championships.

No. 13 Indiana 24, Michigan State 15
125: No. 1 Angel Escobedo (IU) pins Brennan Lyon (MSU), 5:47
133: No. 4 Franklin Gomez (MSU) pins Matt Ortega (IU), 2:45
141: Dan Osterman (MSU) dec. Danny Monaco (IU), 8-4
149: No. 11 David Cheza (MSU) dec. Matt Coughlin (IU), 5-0
157: No. 8 Kurt Kinser (IU) dec. Anthony Jones (MSU), 9-4
165: No. 12 Paul Young (IU) mdec. Kyle Bounds (MSU), 13-3
174: Ian Hinton (MSU) dec. Nick Avery (IU), 4-1
184: Eric Camerson (IU) dec. Nick Palmieri (MSU), 3-1
197: No. 14 Matt Powless (IU) mdec. Tyler Dickenson (MSU), 12-3
285: No. 2 Nate Everhart (IU) mdec. Alan O'Donnell (MSU), 10-2