March 9, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Purdue wrestling team secured four bids to the national tournament with a 10th-place showing at the Big Ten Championships, hosted by the University of Minnesota over the weekend, scoring 51.5 team points.
The Boilermakers posted several impressive accomplishments on the weekend, scoring 18.5 more team points than last year's conference championships, notching third-, fourth- and fifth/sixth-place individual finishes and toppling a pair of 2007 NCAA Runner-Ups. Their team point total is the highest since the 2004 season, when they took sixth with 89 points. It also marks just the fourth time in the last 14 years they've surpassed the 50-point plateau. Freshman Luke Manuel earned the bronze medal at 165 pounds, junior 149-pounder Jake Patacsil took fourth place and freshman Logan Brown finished in fifth/sixth at 197 pounds. Patacsil and sophomore Nick Bertucci both took down 2007 NCAA second-place finishers in the tournament as Patacsil defeated Michigan's Josh Churella in the quarterfinals, while Bertucci took down Wisconsin's Craig Henning in the 157-pound wrestlebacks.
Patacsil and Manuel opened the day with wins, advancing to the third-place matches in the championship round. Patacsil knocked off fifth-seeded Lance Palmer of Ohio State, while Manuel outlasted sixth-seeded Matt Coughlin of Indiana. After surrendering a pair of early takedowns to Palmer, Patacsil closed out the first frame with a takedown of his own to square the count at 4-4. Palmer started the second neutral and quickly took Patacsil to the ground for a third time, but Patacsil counted with a slick reversal and rode Palmer for the rest of the match to walk away with the 8-6 win.
Manuel went the distance and then some with Coughlin, needing both the sudden victory and tie-breaker periods to earn the win. The pair worked in solid position for the entirety of regulation, trading escapes to send it to overtime at 1-1. Neither would score in the sudden-victory period, but Manuel used a quick escape and 30 seconds of riding time to walk away with the win.
Patacsil attempted to beat the 2007 NCAA Runner-Up at 149 pounds for the second time in two days, but fell short in the third-place match, falling to third-seeded Churella in a tie-breaker, 6-5. Churella opened the first two periods with takedowns to take a 4-0 lead, but Patacsil went on the offense towards the end of the second, reversing Churella and riding him out. Patacsil picked up a third point on Churella's second stalling warning, and evened the match with a riding time point to force overtime. After the one-minute sudden-victory period, Patacsil started on top of Churella, but surrendered a reversal to give his foe the upper hand. Patacsil managed to escape in the second half of the tie-breaker, but the match ended there with the one-point loss.
Manuel was the Boilermakers' lone medalist on the weekend, and their first since volunteer assistant coach Ben Wissel took third in 2006. The Purdue rookie used 1:15 of riding time and a third-period escape to edge seventh-seeded Dave Rella of Penn State. Manuel becomes the third different 165 pounder to qualify for nationals for the Boilermakers in the past three years (Dan Bedoy in 2006 and Justin Fraga in 2007).
Brown lost his second match in as many days to third-seeded Patrick Bond of Illinois, but rebounded with a 3-2 decision over Indiana's Joe Fagiano to place fifth at 197 pounds. Brown snared a solid, double-leg takedown in the final period to edge his Hoosier foe and pick up the Boilermakers' final team point of the tournament.
Freshman A.J. Kissel secured his trip to St. Louis, winning the seventh-place match at 184 pounds with his 18th pin of the season. After a scoreless first frame, Kissel and Michigan State's Nick Palmieri put together a series of three reversals, the last of which put Palmieri on his back for the fall. Kissel becomes the first true freshman to qualify for the national championships for the Boilermakers since Colton Salazar accomplished the feat in 2005.
Bertucci and fellow sophomore Chris Kasten fell just shy of NCAA qualification, each taking eighth place, respectively, at 157 and 285 pounds. Bertucci suffered a 6-1 loss to seventh-seeded Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, while Kasten dropped a 6-3 decision to Indiana's Nathan Everhart.
The top-ranked University of Iowa took home the team title, amassing 126/7 points on the weekend. The host Golden Gophers followed in second with 112.5 points, while Michigan placed third with 97.5. Iowa's Brent Metcalf earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championship and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, while Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands was awarded Big Ten Coach of the Year honors and Michigan rookie Kellen Russell nabbed Big Ten Freshman of the Year plaudits.
The Boilermakers return to action in two weeks at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo.