March 19, 2009
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Purdue got things underway at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., going 4-1 in the opening session and scoring nine team points. Senior Jake Patacsil and sophomores Colton Salazar, A.J. Kissel and Logan Brown earned wins for the Boilermakers and moved on to the second round in tonight's session.
Patacsil and Salazar got the Boilermakers out of the gates, scoring five quick team points with their first-round victories. Patacsil posted an 8-0 major decision over Kellon Balum of Virginia at 149 pounds, using a strong third period to earn the bonus point. Neither wrestler scored in the first period, and despite riding Balum through the entire second frame, Patacsil was unable to turn him and it went to the third tied, 0-0. Patacsil finally got things going in the third, scoring a takedown at the 5:25-mark, turning Balum twice for five back points and scoring a riding-time point for the major decision. Salazar was in a tight one with Oklahoma's Chad Terry at 157 pounds, but emerged victorious by decision, 5-2. Salazar snagged slick takedowns to start the first and third periods, and tacked on a minute and a half of riding time to advance to the second round. Patacsil is set to face 11th-seeded Steven Brown of Central Michigan in tonight's session, while Salazar will meet top-seeded Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska.
Kissel posted an upset of fifth-seeded Dustin Kilgore of Kent State at 184 pounds, rebounding from an early deficit to advance. Kilgore quickly took a 4-1 advantage, taking Kissel down twice in the first 1:30. Kissel reversed Kilgore with just under a minute in the first period and nearly pinned him as he locked in a cradle, but settled for three back points and a 6-4 lead. Kilgore chipped away lead in the second period, picking up a penalty point for locked hands and scrambling away late in the frame and evened the count at 6-6 heading into the third. Kissel took the bottom position for the final period and reversed Kilgore before riding him throughout the final period for the win. He is set to face 12th-seeded Vince Jones of Nebraska in tonight's second round.
Brown cruised past Duke's Dan Tulley at 197 pounds, scoring a pair of first-period takedowns en route to a 5-2 decision. Brown finished two single-leg shots and strung together just over a minute of riding time to lock up the win. He moves on to meet second-seeded Jake Varner of Iowa State in the second round.
Sophomore 165-pounder Luke Manuel stumbled in his tournament opener, falling to North Carolina's Keagan Mueller by decision, 10-4. Mueller grabbed a takedown and three back points in the first period, and strung together a series of escapes to coast through to the win. Manuel rallied with takedowns in the second and third periods, but came up short and fell to the consolation bracket. He is matched with top-seeded Mack Lewnes of Cornell, who was upset in the first round by Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich.
Wrestling resumes at 6 p.m. (CST) this evening. Visit the Boilermakers' schedule and results page here for continuous play-by-play and results updates.