Jan. 4, 2008
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - The Purdue wrestling team picked up a solid 24-18 road win at Rider University on Friday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium. Freshman A.J. Kissel and junior Jake Patacsil led the way, scoring a fall and technical fall, respectively, as Purdue won the first ever matchup between the two schools.
Kissel's pin was his 10th of the season, earning himself a tie for 11th on the Boilermakers' single-season record list, while Patacsil's technical fall gives him seven on the season. Patacsil racked up 12 back points to raise his season total to 93, good for ninth in Purdue single-season history, and his career total to 377, leaving him just 14 shy of the Boilers' all-time mark.
The Old Gold and Black built a 7-0 lead in the first two bouts of the day as freshman Akif Eren picked up a 6-2 decision at 125 pounds, and senior Sean Schmaltz scored a 10-2 major decision at 133. Fred Rodgers bounced back for the Broncs, earning a 9-2 win over Purdue sophomore 141-pounder Matt Redmond, and cutting the lead to 7-3.
Patacsil stretched the lead back to 12-3 with his second technical-fall win over Rider's Don Fisch in a week (he also defeated him at last week's Midlands Tournament), and sophomore Sam Patacsil added three more team points with a 6-2 decision over Robbie Morrison.
Rider rallied again at 165 pounds as Jason Lapham earned a third-period fall over freshman Luke Manuel, but the Boilers responded as junior Nick Corpe and Kissel put the match out of reach for the Broncs. Corpe grabbed his team-leading 16th win of the season with an 8-2 decision over Mike Miller, while Kissel worked Mike Darling's blades to the mat in 2:30 to make it 24-15 in the Boilermakers' favor.
The Broncs captured the final two matches of the day in vain as 16th-ranked T.J. Morrison won at 197 pounds and Ed Bordas picked up the heavyweight win.
Purdue improved to 3-2 with the win and returns to action this evening at 7 p.m. against Drexel University at North Penn High School in Philadelphia.