Escobedo completed his run at the nationals on Saturday with a pair of wins over opponents ranked in the top-10, including second-ranked Troy Nickerson of Cornell.
The Griffith, Ind., native began by posting a 10-3 decision over No. 6 Zach Sanders of Minnesota. Escobedo took down the Golden Gopher three times and turned him for a two-point near-fall in the opening period. With the win, Escobedo advanced to the third-place match where he would face fellow four-time All-American and defending national champion, Troy Nickerson.
Escobedo worked a single-leg mid-way through the first period to record the takedown. As Nickerson attempted to bring the action out of bounds, Escobedo was able to drag him back inside the circle before lunging for the successful takedown.
That takedown would prove to be the difference in the end as it was the last points scored in Escobedo's 2-0 decision, ending his season with a 38-1 record.
Escobedo concludes his career with 137 total wins and 42 falls, each ranking as the second most in IU lore. He posted NCAA finishes of third, fourth, fifth and won the 2008 national title during his four years donning the Cream and Crimson. Next up for the celebrated Hoosier is a run at qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Fellow senior Nate Everhart also had a stellar performance at the nationals, reaching the round of 12 and coming up just one victory shy of claiming his own All-America accolades.
Everhart notched three W's in the NCAAs, defeating Corey Morrison (Ohio State), 5-2, Eric Bugenhagen (Wisconsin), 5-1 and Brendan Barlow (Kent State), 4-1.
Kurt Kinser was a three-time winner as well. The Bloomington High School South product went on a three-match winning streak in the consolations that saw him out-score his competition by a combined scored of 16-2.
Fellow South Panther Paul Young was also in action on day two at the NCAA Championships. Young posted back-to-back wins in the morning session, one by major decision and the other a 6-1 decision.
In his final match of the event, Young put together a valiant comeback by recording four takedowns in the final minute and a half. Fourth-seeded Jonathan Reader held on for the win though, 13-11.
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