Dec. 31, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Purdue Boilermakers came into the 43rd Midlands Championships with three wrestlers earning seeded positions, and left the tournament field with three wrestlers on the awards podium.
Ben Wissel, a senior from Richmond, Ind., came one second from winning his first attempt at the Midlands, falling to Illinois' Pete Friedl in the 184-pound championship match 3-1 in sudden victory. With one second remaining in the extra period and the match tied 1-1, Friedl scored the winning takedown and hit Wissel with his first lost of the season. Wissel nearly scored the winning takedown at the edge of the mat in the extra period, but Friedl was able to keep a leg out of the Boilermaker's reach and get a stoppage of the action by going out of bounds.
Junior 149-pounder Doug Withstandley (Jackson, N.J.) placed fourth in the tournament, posting a 4-1 record before withdrawing from the field with a medical default prior to the third-place match. Withstandley was seeded fifth in the 149-pound weight class.
Nathan Moore (Indianapolis, Ind.), the junior 197-pounder, was defeated in the fifth-place match by Andrew Anderson of Northern Iowa 4-3. Moore got in on Anderson's legs in the final 30 seconds in an attempt at the winning takedown, but could not come away from a 20-second scramble with the two-point score. Moore was seeded sixth among the tournament's 197-pound participants.
In the first semifinal match of the day for the Boilermakers, Withstandley fell shy of the 149-pound title match, losing 7-2 to Cliff Moore of the Hawkeye Training Club. The matchup was a repeat of the 2004 141-pound Big Ten championship match in which Moore defeated Withstandley 6-2.
Wissel, Purdue's other semifinalist, advanced to the Midlands finals with a 5-4 decision over Josh Glenn of American University. A takedown in the first and third periods enabled the Boilermaker 184-pounder to earn a spot in his third championship match of the season.
As a team, the Boilermakers finished 11th in the overall team standings with 54.5 points. Illinois won their third consecutive team title with 115.5 points, edging Central Michigan by just three points. The victory for the lllini was by the narrowest margin of victory since North Carolina defeated the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club by 1.75 points in 1986.
Purdue's best team finish in the history of the Midlands was a fourth-place showing in 1990, a year in which the team scored 49.25 points. That season's Boilermaker team featured three All-Americans: Dave Walter (158). Charles Jones (167), and Matt Lindley (Hwt).
Next up for the Purdue Boilermakers is a trip to Texas on Jan. 7 for the Lone Star Duals. Purdue will face Navy, Cal State-Fullerton, Northern Colorado and Brown in the one-day event at South Grand Prairie High School.
Midlands Notes
~ With his first takedown against Ryan Newberry (Olivet), senior 184-pounder Ben Wissel (Richmond, Ind.) became the fifth Purdue wrestler to record 300 career takedowns. With 24 takedowns in five matches, Wissel now has 316 takedowns in his 138 career matches. The next Boilermaker on the takedown list ahead of Wissel is Alex Coriano (1993-1996) with 340.
~ 149-pound senior Doug Withstandley (Jackson, N.J.) moved into 20th on the Purdue career wins list with 83 when he defeated Brad Stockton (Waldorf) in the consolation semifinals. Withstandley moved ahead of former heavyweight Israel Blevins (2001-2004) to gain the spot on career top 20 list.
~ Withstandley, Wissel, and junior 197-pounder Nathan Moore (Indianapolis, Ind.) have placed in every tournament in which they have competed this season. In previous tournament action, Withstandley finished second at the Cliff Keen Invitational and sixth at the Eastern Michigan Open; Wissel claimed the titles at both the Eastern Michigan Open and the Cliff Keen Invitational; Moore won the Eastern Michigan Open, took third at the Body Bar Invitational, and finished eighth at the Cliff Keen Invitational
141 - Jason Cook (Jr., Valparaiso, Ind.) [17-5, 42-21 career] 1st Round Lost to (6) Thad Benton, Pitt-Johnstown / D, 5-0 tb1Cons. 2nd Rd. Defeated Chris Kelly, MacMurray / TF, 15-0 (5:15)Cons. 3rd Rd. Lost to (5) Cassio Pero, Illinois [20] / D, 9-3
149 - (5) Doug Withstandley (Sr., Jackson, N.J.) [17-5, 83-43 career] / #7 national rankPigtail Bye1st Round Defeated Rob Hitschler, Penn / D, 9-32nd Round Defeated Brad Stockton, Waldorf / D, 8-2Quarters Defeated Justin Metcalfe, Northern Illinois / M, 13-1Semifinals Lost to (1) Cliff Moore, Hawkeye Training Club / D, 7-2Cons. Semis Defeated Brad Stockton, Waldorf / M, 11-23rd Place Withdrew / Medical default
149 - Mark Powell (Fr., Washington, Pa.) [12-7]Pigtail Bye1st Round Defeated Bobby Latessa, Harvard / D, 7-62nd Round Lost to (3) Mark Grimes, Northern Illinois [8] / D, 5-1Cons. 3rd Rd. Lost to Colby Goetsch, Northern Iowa / M, 14-4
157 - Jake Murphy (Fr., Chicago Heights, Ill.) [7-9]Pigtail Bye1st Round Lost to Greg Hagel, Northwestern / D, 4-2Cons. 1st Rd. ByeCons. 2nd Rd. Lost to Victer Crenshaw, Cleveland State / M, 10-2
165 - John DeCeault (Jr., Tinley Park, Ill.) [9-5, 35-26 career]Pigtail Defeated Eric Mullen, West Virginia / D, 3-11st Round Defeated Joe Uker, Iowa / D, 8-12nd Round Lost to Scott Dorn, Wisconsin-LaCrosse / D, 1-0Cons. 3rd Rd. Lost to Justin Petrone, Central Michigan / D, 3-1
174 - Nick Corpe (Fr., Granger, Ind.) [13-8]Pigtail Bye1st Round Defeated Mike Andrews, Olivet / D, 6-12nd Round Lost to (1) Jake Herbert, Northwestern [2] / F, 2:23Cons. 3rd Rd. Lost to Luke Feist, Stanford / D, 4-3
174 - Barry Jackson (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind.) [1-2, 18-27 career]Pigtail Bye1st Round Lost to Grant Turner, Iowa State / F, 2:54 (defensive)Cons. 1st Rd. ByeCons. 2nd Rd. Defeated Chuck Koz, Cleveland State / M, 10-0Cons. 3rd Rd. Lost to (9) Brandon Sinnot, Central Michigan [13] / D, 9-6
184 - (1) Ben Wissel (Sr., Richmond, Ind.) [18-1, 94-44 career] / #3 national rank1st Round Defeated Greg Perz, Eastern Illinois / M, 16-42nd Round Defeated Ryan Newberry, Olivet / TF4, 25-10 (5:25)Quarters Defeated Christian Sinnot, Central Michigan / D, 8-5Semifinals Defeated (4) Josh Glenn, American / D, 5-4Finals Lost to (3) Pete Friedl, Illinois [4] / D, 3-1 sv1
197 - (6) Nathan Moore (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) [19-7, 63-31 career] / #20 national rank1st Round Bye2nd Round Defeated Ishmal Williams, Cleveland State / D, 5-4Quarters Lost to (3) Tyrone Byrd, Illinois [13] / D, 3-2Cons. 6th Rd. Defeated Jared Villers, West Virginia / D, 3-0Cons. Quarters Defeated (7) Derick Hunsinger, Northern Illinois / D, 8-2Cons. Semis Lost to (4) Brady Richardson, Indiana [7] / D, 3-25th Place Lost to Andrew Anderson, Northern Iowa / D, 4-3
285 - Aaron Keough (Fr., Batavia, Ohio) [12-11]1st Round Defeated Mike Buchlin, Iowa / D, 4-22nd Round Lost to Payam Zarinpour, Sacred Heart [16] / D, 3-1Cons. 3rd Rd. Defeated Marino Eatman, unattached / D, 3-1Cons. 4th Rd. Lost to (3) Dustin Fox, Northwestern [10] / D, 3-0