March 5, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Purdue Boilermakers finished ninth at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on the campus of Indiana University, and will send four individuals to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City.
The Boilermakers scored 45.5 points in their ninth-place showing. Minnesota won the team title, its first team championship since winning back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. The Golden Gophers scored 138.0 points, followed by Illinois (125.0), Michigan (115.0), and Penn State (91.0). Northwestern placed fifth with 87.5, and Iowa finished sixth (86.0), the Hawkeye's worst finish since 1967 (8th). Wisconsin finished seventh with 76.5 points, and Michigan State was eighth with 68.0. The Boilermakers finished ahead of host Indiana (10th, 43.5) and Ohio State (11th, 40.0).
Senior Ben Wissel (184), sophomore Dan Bedoy (165), junior Nathan Moore (197) and senior Chris Fleeger (133) will travel to Oklahoma City for the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The championships will be held March 16-18 at the Downtown Arena.
In the consolation semifinals, Wissel scored a takedown in the final 15 seconds of the match to defeat Tyrel Todd of Michigan 10-8.A Todd takedown and Wissel reversal in the opening period made the score 2-2 after three minutes. In the second, two duo exchanged takedowns, but two escapes by Todd gave the Wolverine a 6-4 advantage. Wissel's escape to start the final stanza followed by an immediate takedown gave the Boilermakers the lead at 7-6. However, Todd was awarded a penalty point to tie the match, and he regained the lead with an escape with 1:00 on the clock. Trailing 8-7 with under 20 seconds remaining, Wissel's shot attempts resulted in a stalling call against Todd, giving Wissel a point to tie the match. Four seconds later Wissel scored the winning takedown, advancing him to the third-place match vs. Penn State's Eric Bradley.
Up against Bradley for third place, Wissel scored first 20 seconds into the opening period after picking Bradley's right ankle and securing the takedown at the edge of the circle. Wissel rode Bradley for the remainder of the first period, building up a 2:40 riding time advantage. Wissel chose bottom to start the second period and Bradley cut him for the escape, giving Wissel a 3-0 lead. Bradley got in on Wissel near the four-minute mark of the match with a single leg and picked up the two-point takedown. Wissel got away for the immediate escape, but suffered another takedown to Bradley 13 seconds before the end of the period to tie the score 4-4. In the third period, Bradley had an escape 30 seconds in, but Wissel brought him right back to the mat with a takedown at 5:41 of the match. Despite a stalling call, giving Bradley the tying point at 6-6, Wissel rode Bradley out for the remainder of the match, earning the riding-time point due to his 4:09 advantage on top. The 7-6 win by Wissel earned the senior third place.
In the 165-pound consolation semifinals, Dan Bedoy took down Iowa's Eric Luedke in the opening seconds of the match, and two escapes by Luedke, one following that takedown and one at the start of the second period, left the match tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation. In the sudden victory period, Luedke scored with a takedown as timed expired in the one-minute match to defeat Bedoy 4-2. The loss put Bedoy in the fifth-place match vs. Indiana's Max Dean.
The fifth-place match at 165 was decided by the referee's awarding of a stalling point to Dean, as the Hoosier defeat Bedoy 2-1. After a scoreless first period, Dean registered the first point of the match with a quick escape to start the second. With two seconds remaining in the second frame, Bedoy was called for stalling, his second violation, and a point was awarded to Dean. Bedoy scored an escape early in the third period to draw to within one at 2-1, but his offensive attempts in the third were avoided by Dean, ending the match with the one point differential.
Moore was unable to come back from a first-period five-point move by Willie Breyer of Michigan, falling in the 197-pound consolation semifinal 8-4. Breyer caught Moore in a cradle, taking the Boilermaker down and scoring three back points as the opening period came to an end. A second-period takedown by Breyer moved the score to 7-1 in favor of the Wolverine, an advantage too great for Moore to overcome. The defeat sent Moore into a fifth-place match against Dan Erekson of Iowa.
Wrestling for fifth place, Moore scored a quick takedown vs. Dan Erekson of Iowa, but the two wrestlers were even after three minutes, 3-3. Starting on the bottom in the second, Moore got the escape and then got in on Erekson's leg for a takedown at the 3:45 mark of the match, building a 6-3 lead. Erekson opted for a neutral start for the final period, and Moore took advantage by getting a takedown with just over 1:00 remaining. A late takedown by Erekson narrowed the margin, but it could not deny the Moore victory as the Boilermakers won 9-6. With the win, Moore placed fifth at the conference championships.
At 174 pounds, Corpe was defeated by Ohio State's Blake Maurer in the seventh-place match 7-4. A takedown in each period by the Buckeye grappler were unable to be countered by Corpe, giving the Boilermaker freshman an eight-place finish at his first Big Ten Championships.
Fleeger withdrew from the 133-pound consolation bracket for medical reasons. Fleeger, the 2003 125-pound Big Ten champion, finished sixth at this year's Big Ten Championships.
#3 Chris Fleeger (2 seed), 133 Pounds --- 6th PLACE
Round 1: #19 Gabe Flores, Illinois (7) ... won by medical default
Semifinal: #6 Tom Clum, Wisconsin (3) ... lost by decision, 11-4
Cons. Semi: #9 Jake Strayer, Penn State (5) ... lost by medical default
5th Place: #19 Gabe Flores, Illinois (7) ... lost by medical default
Jason Cook, 141 Pounds
Pigtails: #6 Alex Tsirtsis, Iowa (3) ... lost by major decision, 9-1
Cons. R1: #11 DeWitt Driscoll, Penn State (4) ... lost by decision, 8-4
#9 Doug Withstandley (5 seed), 149 Pounds
Round 1: #10 J Jaggers, Ohio State (4) ... lost by decision, 6-5
Cons. R1: #4 Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan (3) ... lost by major decision, 12-4
Jake Murphy, 157 Pounds
Pigtails: #7 Joe Johnston, Iowa (4) ... lost by major decision, 19-6
Cons. R1: #12 Steve Luke, Michigan (6) ... lost by decision, 5-2
Dan Bedoy, 165 Pounds --- 6th PLACE
Pigtails: #17 Jake Donar, Wisconsin (6) ... won by decision, 5-3
Round 1: #9 Matt Nagel, Minnesota (3) ... lost by technical fall, 16-0 (6:34)
Cons. R1: Bryan Harney, Michigan State ... won by decision, 5-2
Cons. R2: #19 Will Durkee, Northwestern (7) ... won by decision, 4-2 (tb1)
Cons. Semi: #18 Eric Luedke. Iowa (5) ... lost by decision, 4-2 (sv1)
5th Place: Max Dean (8) ... lost by decision, 2-1
Nick Corpe, 174 Pounds --- 8th PLACE
Pigtails: #2 Jake Herbert, Northwestern (1) ... lost by fall (4:08)
Cons. R1: #11 Nick Roy, Michigan (7) ... won by medical default
Cons. R2: #7 R.J. Boudro, Michigan State (3) ... lost by decision, 6-3
7th Place: #20 Blake Maurer, Ohio State (5) ... lost by decision, 7-4
#3 Ben Wissel (2 seed), 184 Pounds --- 3rd PLACE
Round 1: #20 Alex Picazo, Ohio State (7) ... won by decision, 11-10
Semifinal: #9 Roger Kish, Minnesota (3) ... lost by decision, 9-5
Cons. Semi: #18 Tyrel Todd, Michigan (8) ... won by decision, 10-8
3rd Place: #7 Eric Bradley, Penn State (1) ... won by decision, 7-6
#17 Nathan Moore (5 seed), 197 Pounds --- 5th PLACE
Round 1: #12 Brady Richardson, Indiana (4) ... won by decision, 7-1
Semifinal: #8 Tyrone Byrd, Illinois (1) ... lost by decision, 3-1
Cons. Semi: Willie Breyer, Michigan ... lost by decision, 8-4
5th Place: Dan Erekson, Iowa (6) ... won by decision, 9-6
Aaron Keough, 285 Pounds
Round 1: Dave Herman, Indiana (7) ... lost by decision, 2-1
Cons. R1: Matt Weight, Illinois (8) ... lost by decision, 5-1