"We are very pleased with the athletic and academic quality of this recruiting class," Goldman said. "They are all impressive wrestlers and hard-working students. They will all fit nicely into the young lineup that we placed on the mat this past season, and will provide a lot of excitement for IU fans."
Pelton finished as the Division II Ohio state champion at 135 pounds this season, earning two major decisions and a pin in his four matches at the championships. In the finals, he upset 11th-ranked Ben Jordan with a 2-1 win. Pelton, who was a two-time runner-up at the state championship, finished his prep career with a 150-13 record and 79 pins. Pelton followed that up at the Cliff Keen/Wrestling USA Dream Team Classic on April 21, when he topped Ortega's former teammate, fourth-ranked Vicente Varela, 3-1 in overtime. Pelton was ranked 20th in the nation by Wrestling International Newsmagazine before his wins over Jordan and Varela.
Powless was the Indiana state champion at 171 pounds this season, going a perfect 51-0 for Memorial as a senior. He became the first wrestler at his high school to ever win the Indiana state championship. His performance in 2007 followed up a sixth-place finish at the state tournament the year prior. Powless is the second state champ to sign with IU for 2007-08, joining fellow undefeated wrestler Freeman, who went 44-0 at 125 pounds for Bloomington South.
Fagiano was the 2006 Illinois state champion at 215 pounds in 2006 and finished as the runner-up in the weight class in 2007, as he was defeated in sudden victory in the championship match. He finished the season 44-3 and his career with a 129-28 mark. He was named the 2006 East Suburban Catholic Conference Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning the conference title, and was most recently ranked 10th in the nation at 215 by W.I.N.
Ortega (125) set a school record by earning his fourth state championship in 2007. He then traveled to Virginia Beach, Va., for the NHSCA Nationals, where he emerged as the 125-pound national champion. Ortega won his first state championship at 103 pounds and his second at 112 before moving up to 119 for his junior campaign. Ortega was most recently the eighth-ranked wrestler in the 125-pound class by W.I.N.
Freeman was a teammate of current Hoosier freshmen Paul Young and Kurt Kinser at Bloomington South, helping the team to two sectional, regional and semi-state championships in his first three years. Freeman finished his career with a 45-0 record at 125 pounds in 2006-07 after going 46-2 and placing fifth in Indiana at 119 the year before. He finished his career with a record of 179-10 over four different weight classes.
The Hoosiers finished the 2006-07 season with a 13-5 dual record and a 4-4 record in Big Ten competition. IU finished fifth at the Big Ten Tournament and 14th at the NCAA Championships. Indiana returns all three of its 2007 All-Americans in addition to two-time All-American Brandon Becker, as nine of Indiana's 10 starters will be back in Hoosier uniforms for 2007-08.
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