Jan. 31, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The 25th-ranked Purdue wrestling team suffered a 30-9 loss at fifth-ranked Big Ten rival Minnesota on Sunday, falling to 10-7 overall and 1-3 in conference duals. The Boilermakers won just three of the 10 contests on the afternoon, including an outstanding upset victory by junior Juan Archuleta over the nation's fourth-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds.
Along with Archuleta's outstanding win at 141 pounds, fellow junior Akif Eren became the seventh Purdue starter to hit the 20-win plateau this season, matching the Boilermakers' highest total since 2004. Purdue is now 2-5 against ranked teams in dual competition this year with their last win coming against 15th-ranked Kent State at the Wendy's Duals.
Sunday's match kicked off with Minnesota's three-time All-American Dustin Schlatter wrestling just his second match of the season at 157 pounds against Boilermaker junior Colton Salazar. Schlatter scored early and often, earning his second straight major decision at his new weight class as he posted an 11-1 victory. The Golden Gophers quickly ran their lead to 14-0 as freshman Cody Yohn defeated Purdue senior Jason Martin by major decision at 165 pounds, 11-1, and the Boilermakers forfeited at 174 pounds to give up six team points.
Senior Nick Corpe put the Boilermakers on the board at 184 pounds, improving to 16-12 on the season and 2-2 in conference bouts with a 3-2 decision over Golden Gopher sophomore Kaleb Young. After a scoreless first frame, Young took a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape. Corpe quickly put himself in the driver seat with the only takedown of the match for a 2-1 lead before another Young escape left it knotted at 2-2 after two periods. Corpe's win came on a third period escape, cutting the Minnesota lead to 14-3 after four bouts.
The Golden Gophers went right back to work at 197 and 285 as 14th-ranked Minnesota sophomore Sonny Yohn upset 10th-ranked Purdue junior Logan Brown at 197 pounds, 5-3, while Ben Berhow needed just 1:59 to stick Boilermaker freshman Adam Walls at 285, pushing the Minnesota lead to 23-3.
The return to the top of the lineup provided an exciting match between Boilermaker freshman Cashé Quiroga and sixth-ranked Minnesota sophomore Zachary Sanders. Sanders got on the board first with a quick takedown, but Quiroga, fresh off his upset of 18th-ranked Nikko Triggas of Ohio State on Friday, responded with an escape and takedown of his own for a 3-2 lead after one. An escape made it 4-2 Quiroga in the second period, but Sanders jumped back ahead as he took the Purdue freshman down and turned him for three points and a 7-4 lead at the end of the second. Sanders escaped to start the third and made it 8-4, but Quiroga responded with a second takedown to cut the lead to 8-6. Even after a Sanders escape made it 9-6 the bout was still in reach, but a penalty point awarded to Sanders by the official put the match out of reach as it ended in a 10-6 decision for the Golden Gophers.
The fans got another close contest at 133 pounds as Eren earned a 2-1 tie-break victory over Minnesota freshman Thane Antczak. The pair traded escapes in the first seven minutes, ending regulation deadlocked at 1-1 and advancing to overtime. After a scoreless sudden victory period, the two wrestlers each had 30 seconds to escape and score from the bottom position, but Eren was the only one able to do so, improving to 2-2 in Big Ten Duals this season.
The thrillers continued at 141 pounds as Archuleta shocked the Golden Gopher fans with a 5-3 sudden victory upset of No. 4 Mike Thorn. The Minnesota junior led through the majority of the bout, building a 3-0 lead heading into the final period with a takedown in the first and an escape in the second. However, Archuleta erased the gap in the last two minutes of regulation, escaping quickly, taking Thorn down in the final minute and riding him out to force overtime. Archuleta ended the match in the extra minute of time, scoring a second takedown to earn his second conference win and fourth win of the season over a ranked opponent.
The Golden Gophers closed out the match with a 16-4 major decision for 18th-ranked freshman Mario Mason over Purdue senior Nick Bertucci at 149 pounds as Mason racked up eight back points in the victory. Minnesota improved to 9-4 in duals with the win, including a 4-0 Big Ten Dual record.
The Boilermakers return to action and remain in the national spotlight next weekend, hosting No. 12 Wisconsin on Friday night and traveling to Michigan State on Sunday. Friday night's match with the Badgers will air live at 7 p.m. online at BigTenNetwork.com, while Sunday's contest in East Lansing, Mich., is scheduled to air on tape delay on the Big Ten Network.
Complete Results
#25 Purdue 9 - #5 Minnesota 30
157: Dustin Schlatter (UM) def. Colton Salazar (PU), MD 11-1 (0-4)
165: Cody Yohn (UM) def. Jason Martin (PU), MD 11-1 (0-8)
174: #8 Scott Glasser (UM) wins by forfeit (0-14)
184: Nick Corpe (PU) def. Kaleb Young (UM), D 3-2 (3-14)
197: #14 Sonny Yohn (UM) def. #10 Logan Brown (PU), D 5-3 (3-17)
285: Ben Berhow (UM) def. Adam Walls (PU), Fall 1:59 (3-23)
125: #6 Zachary Sanders (UM) def. Cashé Quiroga (PU), D 10-6 (3-26)
133: Akif Eren (PU) def. Thane Antczak (UM), TB 2-1 (6-26)
141: Juan Archuleta (PU) def. #4 Mike Thorn (UM), SV 5-3 (9-26)
149: #18 Mario Mason (UM) def. Nick Bertucci (PU), MD 16-4 (9-30)