March 18, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Purdue wrestling team finished the 2011 NCAA Championships with nine team points on Friday night as the Boilermakers' final competitor was eliminated from the tournament. Senior Luke Manuel was the last man standing for the Old Gold and Black, reaching the Round of 12 at 174 pounds, but falling one win shy of All-America status.
Manuel was the lone Boilermaker to advance past the consolation second round and did so in thrilling fashion, taking a 3-1 sudden victory from Rutgers' Alex Caruso. After both wrestlers came close to takedowns a few times in regulation, the match headed into the one-minute sudden victory period tied 1-1. Manuel appeared dead in the water as Caruso snagged a low single, but the Boilermaker senior captain battled the takedown for at least 30 seconds and eventually worked his way around the edge for the two and the win.
In the consolation third round, Manuel came up with his first back points of the year at the right time, using a three-point nearfall for a 4-0 win over Boston's Hunter Meys. After a scoreless first frame, Meys chose bottom in the second period and wound up paying for it. He got into a scramble with Manuel about halfway through the period and spun to his back trying for a reversal. Manuel caught him at the halfway point and held him there for a solid five count to earn three backs and a 3-0 lead. The advantage allowed Manuel to choose neutral in the third period, where the two went scoreless for the final two minutes, giving Manuel a riding-time point and a 4-0 victory.
The Round of 12 contest with Penn State's second-seeded freshman Ed Ruth came down to the wire, but Manuel came up on the short end of a 7-6 decision. Manuel topped the competition on the feet, scoring takedowns in the first and second periods, but each time Ruth was able to counter with a reversal and then ride Manuel out to the end of the period. The Purdue senior tried to throw together a flurry of shots in the final minute of the match after escaping and trimming the lead to one in the third period, but was unable to score and cover the final gap in the scoring.
Manuel finishes his time at Purdue as one of the most statistically impressive wrestlers to ever don the Old Gold and Black, posting 118 career victories, good for fourth all-time at Purdue, including a single-season record 41 as a junior. His career win percentage of .747 is 11th best in Boilermaker history, while his 276 career takedowns are the eighth most on the Purdue record list.
Senior Colton Salazar completed a solid collegiate career in the first session on Friday, suffering a narrow 6-4 decision to Bloomsburg's Frank Hickman in the consolation second round. Salazar was up early, scoring a first-period takedown, but surrendered two takedowns in the third for the final difference. Salazar finishes with 74 career victories and was a four-time NCAA qualifier for Purdue. He tallied 224 career takedowns for the Old Gold and Black, good for 16th all-time on the Boilermaker record list.
Classmate Logan Brown suffered the same fate at 197 pounds, dropping a 9-6 decision to Missouri's Brent Haynes in the consolation second round. Like Salazar, Brown took an early lead with a pair of first-period takedowns, but Haynes chipped away at the lead, tying it in the second and pulling away in the third. Brown amassed 109 career victories at Purdue, becoming of 16 wrestlers in school history to eclipse the century mark, and was one of six Boilermakers wrestlers to ever surpass 300 career takedowns, finishing sixth all-time with 335.
The Boilermakers' final team placing will be determined over the duration of the championships and final team scores and brackets will be included at the completion of tomorrow's action.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
125 Pounds: Camden Eppert
Preliminary Round - lost to #7 Ryan Mango (Stanford), D 9-11
Consolation Preliminary Round - lost to Alan Bartelli (Boise State), D 0-4
157 Pounds: Colton Salazar
1st Round - def. Aaron Sulzer (Eastern Michigan), MD 13-4
2nd Round - lost to #1 Adam Hall (Boise State), D 2-6
Consolation 2nd Round - lost to Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg), D 4-6
174 Pounds: Luke Manuel
1st Round - def. Ryan Patrovich (Hofstra), D 5-2
2nd Round - lost to #1 Jon Reader (Iowa State), MD 0-13
Consolation 2nd Round - def. Alex Caruso (Rutgers), SV 3-1
Consolation 3rd Round - def. Hunter Meys (Boston), D 4-0
Consolation Round of 12 - lost to #2 Ed Ruth (Penn State), D 6-7
184 Pounds: A.J. Kissel
1st Round - lost to #5 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming), Fall 6:41
Consolation 1st Round - lost to Austin Trotman (Appalachian State), D 4-7
197 Pounds: #10 Logan Brown
1st Round - def. Shawn Fendone (Edinboro), MD 13-4
2nd Round - lost to #7 Zac Thomusseit (Pittsburgh), D 2-3
Consolation 2nd Round - lost to Brent Haynes (Missouri), D 6-9