March 19, 2010
Interview with Purdue head coach Scott Hinkel
OMAHA, Neb. - Purdue freshman Cashé Quiroga's bid for an national championship ended on Friday night as he fell in the semifinals to third-seeded Iowa freshman Matt McDonough at the 2010 NCAA Championships at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Quiroga is the only Boilermaker still alive in competition and will continue wrestling tomorrow in the placing rounds as Purdue sits tied for 27th place with 20.5 points.
Quiroga fell behind early in his semifinal match as McDonough grabbed a single leg, and finished the takedown for a 2-0 lead. He caught Quiroga in a cradle about a minute later, turning him to his back for three more points before the Purdue rookie would escape in the last 20 seconds to make it 5-1 at the end of the first.
The entire second period was contested on the mat as McDonough started in the bottom position and reversed Quiroga before riding him out. Quiroga battled through an extensive arm bar effort by McDonough, refusing to go to his back and give up near fall points.
The tide appeared to turn at the start of the third as Quiroga darted in for his first takedown of the match, cutting into the lead and making it 7-3 in the Hawkeye rookie's favor. The Boilermaker excitement was short-lived, however, as McDonough escaped, scored a takedown and tacked on three more back points to seal up the 14-3 major decision.
Quiroga's one takedown in tonight's match pushes his season total to 124, earning him sole possession of the No. 6 spot on the Boilermakers' single-season record list. The mark is the highest in school history by a freshman wrestler, and leaves him just five takedowns from the next highest mark on the list: Mike McHenry's 1990 total of 129 takedowns. Also, Quiroga remains within reach of the 30-win mark for the season, sitting at 28-13 after his 3-1 mark in the championship. Purdue already has three grapplers with 30 wins this season and is eying the first season since 2003 to have four 30-match winners in the same year.
Quiroga falls to the consolation bracket, where he'll face second-seeded Troy Nickerson of Cornell in the wrestleback semifinals tomorrow morning. The winner scores at least 3.5 team points and advances to the third-place match, while the loser will compete for fifth place. The 2009 NCAA Champion at 125 pounds, Nickerson advanced with a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Anthony Robles of Arizona State in the Round of 12.
Action starts tomorrow at 11 a.m. (ET) and will be aired live on ESPNU. Continue following the Boilermakers via live results and Twitter at PurdueSports.com.