Jan. 17, 2009
ASHLAND, Ohio - The Purdue wrestling team dominated its competition on Saturday, winning 29 of 30 individual bouts en route to three wins at the Wendy's Duals, hosted by Ashland University. The Boilermakers rolled up 129 team points in the three wins and moved to 11-1 on the year, led by sophomore A.J. Kissel who pinned all three of his opponents.
Kissel's three pins give him 15 for the year and 34 for his career. He's now tied for second with Dave Lilovich on Purdue's single-season falls list (after setting the school record last season), and is in third place all-time behind Lilovich and current Purdue head coach Scott Hinkel. Seventh-ranked senior Jake Patacsil won a pair of matches on the day, moving his season record to 25-3 and marking his 107th career win. He also posted his team and nation's best ninth technical fall of the year.
The Boilermakers steamrolled Findlay in the day's opener, winning all 10 matches in the first win in school history in which their opponent finished with a negative team total. The 45-to -1 victory included three falls, a technical fall and a pair of major decisions. Boilermaker freshman Matt Fields needed just five minutes to open the match with a 15-0 technical fall over Findlay's Nickholaas Weisjahn at 125 pounds, while Purdue classmate Carson Beebe followed with a 9-1 major decision over Mike Peraino at 133. Sophomore Matt Hemry scored his second fall of the year at 141 pounds, sticking Alex Schmaker in 4:42, and a Findlay forfeit at 149 pounds gave junior Matt Redmond his ninth win of the season.
Junior Nick Bertucci kept the action rolling at 157 pounds, coming up just shy of a major decision in a 9-2 win, while ninth-ranked sophomore Luke Manuel piled up seven takedowns before sticking seventh-ranked NCAA Division II foe Justin Shannon in 5:11. Purdue junior Jason Martin posted his first victory of the year at 174 pounds, improving to 14-6 overall with a 10-2 major decision, and Kissel stuck No. 7 (Div. II) Hiram Smith in 2:28 at 184 pounds. The Boilermakers' only step backwards in the match came after No. 13 Logan Brown's 4-1 decision at 197 pounds. Brown and Roughneck Andrejs Zalaiskains each cost their squads a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct. Purdue junior heavyweight Chris Kasten kept the ball rolling in the final bout of the match, edging out seventh-ranked NCAA Division II heavyweight Travis Clark by decision, 4-2.
Purdue ran its win streak to 18 straight individual matches on the day at the start of the second round of duals, winning eight straight against the host Eagles of Ashland. Fields displayed a dominant performance on the mat in the 125 bout, scoring a pair of reversals and two three-point nearfalls en route to a 16-5 major decision. Beebe, Hemry and Patacsil scored three straight decisions to run the team score to 13-0, and sophomore Colton Salazar tacked on bonus points at 157 pounds with a major decision. Hemry had an incredibly gutsy performance at 141 pounds, rallying from a 7-1 deficit to earn a 10-9 victory over Adley Edwards on the strength of four late takedowns, while Salazar rolled up five takedowns in his major decision over Nic Albaugh.
Manuel knocked off Tony Bradberry with a 10-4 decision at 165, normally a 165 pounder, Martin was victorious at 174 pounds over Justin Ferguson, No. 3 in Division II, and Kissel needed only a minute to stick Tom Kerrigan at 184 pounds. Purdue's lone hiccup of the day came at 197 pounds as Ashland's Josh Ohl upset Brown, 7-6, in a very close match. With the score tied, 5-5, heading into the final frame, Ohl came up with a late takedown to secure the lead. Brown cut the advantage to one with an escape, but couldn't respond with a takedown of his own and suffered the loss. Kasten closed out the match with his first fall of the season and 10th of his career, sticking Jesse Campbell in 6:39.
The last dual of the day went a lot like the first as Purdue swept East Stroudsburg on its way to a 49-0 win. Fields, Martin and Kissel all stuck their opponents in one of the largest victories in Purdue's history and the Boilermakers' third shutout of the year. Both Martin and Kissel's falls came in under a minute as Martin stuck Jeff Jacobs in 57 seconds, while Kissel flattened Trevor Salvatore in 52 seconds. Patacsil rolled up his ninth technical fall of the season, needing just five minutes to earn a 16-1 win over Scott Heckman, and Hemry completed a solid take at 141 pounds, scoring nine takedowns, a reversal and a three-point nearfall en route to a career-high 23-point effort. Both Salazar and Kasten took defaults as Salazar's foe at 157 defaulted after a couple minutes of competition, while the East Stroudsburg heavyweight was injured early in the day.
The Boilermakers return to action next Saturday as they host the 14th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions to open the Big Ten schedule. The match is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Holloway Gymnasium and will be webcast live on Purdue All-Access.