Jan. 21, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 23rd-ranked Purdue wrestling team fell to visiting fifth-ranked Minnesota on Friday, 26-15, at Holloway Gymnasium, despite a pair of upset victories over highly-ranked opponents by the Old Gold and Black. The Boilermakers drop to 5-6-1 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten Dual competition, while the Golden Gophers improve to 11-3 (2-0 Big Ten).
Minnesota took firm control of the dual early, sweeping the first four matches and building a 20-0 team score lead. All four came with bonus points as fifth-ranked junior Zach Sanders posted a major decision at 125, freshman David Thorn and sophomore Matt Mincey posted technical falls at 133 and 139, while second-ranked junior Michael Thorn earned a fall at 141. No. 20 senior Colton Salazar finally put Purdue on the board at 157 pounds, edging out a 5-3 decision over junior Joe Grygelko.
After the intermission the Boilermakers got a huge lift from freshman Kyle Mosier as the Purdue rookie stuck 11th-ranked 165-pound sophomore Cody Yohn in 6:08. Mosier had the tempo the entire first period, nearly scoring on a trio of takedown attempts, but finally scoring out of a scramble in the waning seconds. Yohn took control in the second with a dominant ride-out, but Mosier turned the tide back his way in the third as Yohn took top position, but Mosier earned the reversal for a 4-0 lead. The Boilermaker freshman nearly got himself in a world of trouble midway through the final period as a scramble ensued and he went to his back. However, Mosier never lost complete control of the position, worked through the scramble and put Yohn on his back. With a three-point nearfall in the bag, Mosier slowly worked for the pin on top and finally got it with less than a minute to go in the match.
A highly-anticipated match followed at 174 pounds, but the Boilermakers came out on the wrong end as eight-ranked Gopher senior Scott Glasser edged out No. 9 Purdue senior Luke Manuel, using a pair of third-period takedowns. The action continued at 184 pounds with seventh-ranked Minnesota freshman Kevin Steinhaus and No. 13 Purdue junior A.J. Kissel, and it was the Boilermaker who would come out on top in that one, 4-3. Kissel built a 3-0 lead on a first-period takedown and second-period escape, but Steinhaus put on a late flurry to even the score, 3-3. Kissel worked hard for an escape in the final 30 seconds and scored the decisive point to earn the win.
Tenth-ranked Purdue senior Logan Brown score the Boilermakers' final points of the evening, fighting through an apparent injury to earn a 4-2 decision over senior Joe Nord. Brown picked up the lone takedown of the match in the first period and rode it out for his 16th win of the season. The Boilermakers came up just shy of another upset at heavyweight as junior Roger Vukobratovich just missed in a 4-3 loss to ninth-ranked freshman Tony Nelson. The two traded reversals and escapes in the match, but it was a riding-time point that proved the final difference.
The Boilermakers are off for two weeks and return to action Feb. 4 at Northwestern, and then Feb. 6 at Wisconsin.