No. 24 Indiana University’s wrestling team is set to host No. 27 Army at Wilkinson Hall on Saturday at 2 p.m., marking its third home match of the season and first in this venue.
Indiana enters the event with a 4-1 record, following two dual wins last weekend. The Hoosiers defeated Central Michigan at home, 33-7, and secured a victory against No. 22 Little Rock, 25-16. In the match against Central Michigan, Indiana won eight out of ten bouts, with five matches resulting in bonus points. Joey Buttler (149 lbs) achieved his first career ranked win by defeating No. 30 Jimmy Nugent with a score of 6-1.
The win over Little Rock was Indiana’s first ranked dual victory of the season and marked the initial meeting between the two programs. Freshman Matt Kowalski moved up to heavyweight and recorded his first career dual win with an 8-4 decision over Michael Gasper. Jacob Moran, ranked No. 14 nationally at 125 lbs, maintained an undefeated record at 8-0 after securing two wins across both duals.
Saturday’s matchup will be the first time Indiana and Army have faced each other since January 18, 1930, when Indiana won their only previous meeting, 26-6.
Both teams are currently ranked: Indiana is No. 24 and Army is No. 27 in national dual rankings. Army has five wrestlers listed in national rankings and has experienced losses this season to No. 2 Nebraska and No. 27 Wisconsin. Despite these setbacks, Army had four champions at the Princeton Open and three flight winners at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic while hosting tournaments on consecutive weekends.
According to recent national rankings, seven Indiana wrestlers are placed within the top-33 for their respective weight classes—a figure that matches last season’s highest number for the program. These include Jacob Moran (No.14/125), Henry Porter (No.23/141), Bryce Lowery (No.33/157), Tyler Lillard (No.23/165), Derek Gilcher (No.30/174), Sam Goin (No.14/184), and Gabe Sollars (No.13/197). Previously, Logan Frazier was also ranked No.33 at 133 lbs by InterMat and FloWrestling.
As a team, Indiana holds the No.24 spot in national dual lineup rankings according to InterMat.
The Hoosiers’ schedule features challenging non-conference opponents this year alongside traditional Big Ten competition; they have already competed against Lock Haven, Columbia, Central Michigan, as well as three nationally-ranked non-conference teams: Oklahoma (away), Little Rock (away), and now Army (home). This demanding schedule has led to fewer tournaments being included in their main slate for the season.