During his lengthy wrestling career, Griffith graduate Angel Escobedo wasn’t thinking much about a future in coaching.
“I really thought I was going to wrestle forever,” he said. “When you’re in the moment, you think you can compete for a long, long time.”
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But Escobedo retired from competitive wrestling in 2015 and now has his first head coaching job at his alma mater, Indiana University.
“It’s a great opportunity, Escobedo said. “I’m going to work with the alumni, the fans, the community and the entire state to build up this program as best we can.”
In Escobedo’s wrestling career, he won four state titles while at Griffith, a national title at IU, placed fifth in the world in 2013 and won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. He was an assistant coach at Iowa State for three seasons before returning to IU last year.
Escobedo takes over for Duane Goldman, the winningest coach in IU history, who retired after 26 seasons. Escobedo served as associate head coach for the Hoosiers last season.
And though Escobedo didn’t see himself as a coach in his younger years, that option become more attractive towards the end of his career.
“Once I started getting some injuries, it made me appreciate wrestling more and really want to give back,” he said. “That’s when I wanted to start coaching. I wanted to share the characteristics and principles you get from wrestling that will carry you through life.”
Escobedo inherits a roster that includes two Duneland Athletic Conference products. Freshman Michael De La Pena from Merrillville, who went 16-10 at 133 pounds last season, said he — like many other local wrestlers — grew up idolizing Escobedo.
“He’s a big name in the wrestling world,” De La Pena said. “He’s someone I looked up to in my wrestling career.”
Redshirt freshman 197-pounder Jake Kleimola, who won a state title for 195 at Lake Central in 2016, said that Escobedo also has the versatility to handle wrestlers in every weight class.
“He allocates his expertise across all weights,” Kleimola said. “Even though he doesn’t get to roll around with the heavier classes, he does a good job instructing or breaking down moves to give everyone the individual attention they need.”
Escobedo talked at length about the vision he has for the IU program. With a new arena for the wrestling program opening in September, part of Escobedo’s vision included generating more excitement around Indiana’s rivalry with Purdue.
“When you look at the high school state championships, they get 13,000 fans there,” he said. “Why can’t we get that for an Indiana and Purdue wrestling match and have that type of atmosphere? I want people to be so excited about wrestling in Indiana that it’s a hard ticket to get. If I can accomplish that, I’d be pretty satisfied.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.