Nov. 19, 2010
HAMMOND, Ind. - The 22nd-ranked Purdue wrestling team improved to 2-0-1 in dual competition on Friday night, rolling NAIA host Calumet College of St. Joseph (CCSJ), 39-0. Purdue freshman Kyle Mosier and senior Roger Vukobratovich led the rout, scoring six team points apiece with pins.
The first-ever meeting between the two schools opened at 125 pounds, where Boilermaker freshman Camden Eppert turned out a 10-2 major decision to push Purdue to a 4-0 lead. Eppert was solid throughout, scoring four takedowns and stifling any offense CCSJ freshman Anthony Hawkins put forward.
A hard-fought battle at 133 pounds followed between Purdue junior Matt Fields and CCSJ rookie Tony Lovejoy as the two went down to the wire to see Fields escape with a 3-2 decision. Lovejoy scored the Crimson Wave's only takedown of the night to get out to a 2-0 lead, but Fields inched back into the match, escaping in the first period and again to start the second to even the score at 2-2. Lovejoy made a bad decision to start the third and final period, taking the bottom position and playing into Fields' strength. Fields rode Lovejoy through the entire third period, building two minutes of riding time and earning the narrow win.
Boilermaker senior Akif Eren pushed the lead to 12-0 at 141 pounds, posting a 23-6 technical fall over Crimson Wave sophomore Anthony Nuzzo. Eren dominated the entire way, tallying eight takedowns and a pair of three-point nearfalls in the contest. His sophomore teammate Tommy Churchard followed with an 8-2 decision at 149 pounds, notching two takedowns and a three-point nearfall of his own in the decision over CCSJ sophomore Derek Allen.
The 157-pound bout was a nearfall clinic put on by Purdue senior Sam Patacsil as he scored a quick takedown on freshman Ryan Peters and proceeded to turn him six quick times en route to a 16-0, 2:33 technical fall. The 14 back points push Patacsil's career total to 178, good for eighth all-time at Purdue. Mosier scored his team-leading third fall of the season at 165 pounds, putting on a dominant display against sophomore Lance Surma for a period before turning and sticking him 20 seconds into the second.
Freshman Cameron Vlahos put on the Old Gold and Black singlet for the first time in his career Friday night and emerged victorious, scoring a 4-2 decision over CCSJ sophomore Jonathan Tyler. Vlahos scored the only takedown of the match in the first period, and kept solid position for the rest of the contest, denying several shots from Tyler in the waning seconds.
With no wrestler eligible for either team at 184 pounds as the Crimson Wave's grappler was injured and fifth-ranked Purdue junior A.J. Kissel is en route to California for the NWCA All-Star Classic on Sunday, the contest moved on to 197 pounds. Tenth-ranked Purdue senior continued his takedown onslaught, rolling out 13 two-point maneuvers to score a 27-13 four-point technical fall over senior Artie Grubba. Brown pushes his season total to 36 takedowns and his career total to 276, surpassing Boilermaker head coach Scott Hinkel and Purdue greats Tim Dernlan, Shane Hanson and Dan Jankowski to climb to seventh all-time at Purdue in the category.
Vukobratovich closed out the contest with his second fall of the season, needing just 44 seconds to stick sophomore Eddie Castillo. Vukobratovich caught Castillo in a body lock quickly and put him right to his back to close the night.
Purdue returns to action Sunday in limited fashion as Kissel faces second-ranked Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming in Fresno, Calif. The team rejoins for competition Friday, Dec. 3, for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.