Jan. 28, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio - In a dual filled with close matches, the Purdue Boilermakers received some key wins to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes at St. John Arena 21-12. The Boilermakers evened their Big Ten record at 1-1 and their overall mark at 7-7 with the victory.
The Boilermakers won the opening four matches, building a 12-0 lead over the Buckeyes in front of a shocked OSU crowd. The crowd went silent when sophomore Nathan Moore won that fourth match, a win over sixth-ranked J.D. Bergman.
With Purdue holding a 9-0 lead, the crowd erupted when Bergman, a 2004 All-American as a freshman, was introduced to the mat. Moore (Indianapolis, Ind.) wasted little time in gaining the advantage, taking down the 197-pound Buckeye just 23 seconds into the match. A Bergman reversal and a later takedown, accompanied by escapes by Moore, left the match tied at 4-4 after one period. The wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third period, forcing overtime tied at 5-5. Moore shot at the starting whistle in the sudden victory period, catching Bergman off balance and sending the Buckeye to the mat for the winning takedown.
The win over Bergman marks the second time in as many Big Ten duals that Moore, unranked at 197 pounds, defeated a ranked opponent. One week earlier, Moore knocked off Northwestern's Matt Delguyd, then ranked 13th.
The dual opened at 165 pounds with a win by sophomore John DeCeault (Tinley Park, Ill.) over Zach Craiglow, 8-7. A third period takedown by the Boilermaker, plus a 2:16 riding time advantage, earned DeCeault the win and the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Dan Bedoy (Hammond, Ind.), wrestling at 174 pounds for just the thrd week, defeated Nathaniel Augustson with a last-second takedown, 4-3. Bedoy scored a first period takedown but trailed in 3-2 in the third period after Augustson reversed Bedoy in the second. with just six seconds remaining in the match, the Boilermaker freshman took down the Buckeye and rode the OSU 174-pounder to close the match with the win.
Purdue extended its lead to 9-0 at 184 pounds when junior Ben Wissel (Richmond, Ind.) bested Alex Picazo 11-5. Wissel, taken down first in the opening period, overcame an early 2-0 deficit with four takedowns of his own to post the six-point win.
After a loss at heavyweight, Purdue returned to the win column at 125 pounds in impressive fashion.
Trailing 6-2 after one period, freshman Brandon Tucker (Broken Arrow, Okla.) started the second period on top of OSU's Nathan Costello - the match would not reach the third period. Approximately 30 seconds into the second stanza, Tucker turned Costello to his back and settled in for the pin, which came at the 3:55 mark. Tucker's win extended Purdue's lead to 18-3.
Back-to-back losses at 133 and 141 closed the margin to nine points, but the Buckeyes would get no closer.
Junior Goug Withstandley (Jackson, N.J.) continued his success at St. John Arena with a 7-2 decision over Steve Wolery. Withstandley finished second at the 2004 Big Ten Championships, defeating three seeded wrestlers in the OSU arena. On Friday, Withstandley widened a close 3-2 match after two periods with an escape and takedown in the final two minutes, giving himself the five-point win.
The Buckeyes tallied a win at 157, but is was not enough to overcome a tremendous start by the Boilermakers.
With a Big Ten win under its belt, Purdue will continue on the conference road, traveling to State College, Pa., to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions. Sunday's dual will begin at 1 p.m. in Recreational Hall and can be heard via internet radio at www.gopsusports.com.