March 6, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team wrapped up a ninth-place finish at the 2011 Big Ten Championships on Sunday, hosted by Northwestern University at Welch Ryan Arena. The Boilermakers scored 51 team points in the two-day tournament, automatically qualifying four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 17-19 in Philadelphia.
The consolation semifinals were rough for the Old Gold and Black as they went 1-3 with the lone victory coming from 174-pound senior Luke Manuel. Manuel went to overtime with Wisconsin's sixth-seeded Ben Jordan, going scoreless through the sudden victory but dominating the tie-break frames for a 4-3 decision. Manuel rode Jordan for the entire first 30 seconds, and then escaped and scored a takedown to seal the bout.
Freshman Camden Eppert took a tough 6-3 loss to Michigan's fifth-seeded Sean Boyle at 125 pounds, giving up two first-period takedowns in the loss. Eppert appeared to have Boyle pinned in the second period, but the official not only didn't award the fall, but didn't even credit Eppert with a takedown. Senior Colton Salazar suffered a 10-1 major decision loss to third-seeded Jason Welch of Northwestern at 157 pounds, and classmate Logan Brown was upset by unseeded Tyler Dickenson at 197 pounds, 4-2.
Eppert rebounded in the fifth-place match at 125 pounds, knocking off Wisconsin's eighth-seeded Tom Kelliher by decision, 3-0, and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Eppert controlled the whole match, scoring in the first and adding a riding time point, becoming the Boilermakers' fourth automatic qualifier for the national meet. Salazar followed Eppert's lead, taking his fifth-place contest in solid fashion with a 4-2 win over Michigan State's Sean McMurray. Salazar scored two takedowns in the first period and pushed his offense through most of the match as McMurray spent a lot of time defending takedowns.
Manuel was the Boilermakers' top placer in the tournament, finishing fourth at 174 pounds, but suffered a 4-1 loss to Iowa's Ethen Lofthouse in the third-place bout. Lofthouse scored the lone takedown of the match, hitting a double-leg takedown on the edge and riding Manuel out in the first, and added an escape and penalty point in the second for the decisive scores. Brown suffered a similar fate in his fifth-place contest at 197 pounds, dropping a narrow 3-2 decision to fifth-seeded Sonny Yohn of Minnesota. Yohn funked through one of Brown's shots in the first period for the only takedown of the bout, which proved the final difference.
Manuel, Brown and Salazar became four-time Big Ten Championship placewinners for the Boilermakers, earning a spot on the podium in every year of their respective careers. The 2011 conference title went to Penn State University in one of the closest team races in Big Ten history. The Nittany Lions beat Iowa by one point, 139-138, as junior heavyweight Cameron Wade scored a major decision in the fifth-place match for the decisive tally.
The Boilermakers split a pair of seventh-place bouts with both contests going to sudden victory. Junior Jake Fleckenstein gave up a takedown to Indiana's Mitchell Ritchey in the last 10 seconds of the extra period for a 5-3 loss at 141 pounds, while fellow junior A.J. Kissel scored off a low-single for a 5-3 win over fourth-seeded Ian Hinton of Michigan State at 184 pounds.
Purdue now awaits final word on the NCAA Championship brackets, which will be announced Wednesday, March 9 at 6 p.m. (ET) on NCAA.com.
Team Scores
1. Penn State - 139
2. Iowa - 138
3. Minnesota - 108.5
4. Wisconsin - 104.5
5. Michigan - 86.5
6. Illinois - 64
7. Northwestern - 62
8. Ohio State - 57
9. Purdue - 51
10. Indiana - 50
11. Michigan State - 49.5
Individual Results
125: #7 Camden Eppert - 5th Place NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Quarterfinals - lost to #2 Brandon Precin (Northwestern), MD 8-0
Consolation 1st Round - def. Logan Arlis (Illinois), MD 11-3
Consolation Quarterfinals - def. Eric Olanowski (Michigan State), Fall 5:50
Consolation Semifinals - lost to #5 Sean Boyle (Michigan), D 6-3
5th Place Match - def. #8 Tom Kelliher (Wisconsin), D 3-0
133: Akif Eren
Preliminary Round - lost to #2 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), D 10-4
Consolation 1st Round - lost to #8 Ian Paddock (Ohio State), D 3-2
141: #7 Jake Fleckenstein - 8th Place
Preliminary Round - lost to Mitchell Ritchey (Indiana), Fall 4:56
Consolation 1st Round - def. #8 Shane McQuade (Wisconsin), D 13-9
Consolation Quarterfinals - lost to #5 Andrew Alton (Penn State), TF 17-2 (4:32)
7th Place Match - lost to Mitchell Ritchey (Indiana), SV 5-3
149: Sam Patacsil
Preliminary Round - lost to #4 Eric Terrazas (Illinois), D 9-3
Consolation 1st Round - lost to #3 Kurt Kinser (Indiana), Fall 4:32
157: #4 Colton Salazar - 5th NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Preliminary Round - def. Jackson Morse (Illinois), D 11-6
Quarterfinals - lost to #4 Paul Young (Indiana), MD 13-5
Consolation Quarterfinals - def. Sean Nemec (Ohio State), D 8-3
Consolation Semifinals - lost to #3 Jason Welch (Northwestern), MD 10-1
5th Place Match - def. Sean McMurray (Michigan State), D 4-2
165: Kyle Mosier
Preliminary Round - lost to #7 Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana), D 5-3
Consolation 1st Round - lost to #8 Kevin Bialka (Northwestern), D 6-3
174: #4 Luke Manuel - 4th Place NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Quarterfinals - lost to #5 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), D 5-2
Consolation 1st Round - def. Brian Roddy (Northwestern), MD 16-5
Consolation Quarterfinals - def. #8 Curran Jacobs (Michigan State), D 6-1
Consolation Semifinals - def. #6 Ben Jordan (Wisconsin), TB 4-3
3rd Place Match - lost to #5 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), D 4-1
184: #6 A.J. Kissel - 7th Place
Quarterfinals - lost to #3 Grant Gambrall (Iowa), D 5-4
Consolation 1st Round - def. Eric Cameron (Indiana), Fall 2:06
Consolation Quarterfinals - lost to #7 Cody Magrum (Ohio State), D 2-1
7th Place Match - def. #4 Ian Hinton (Michigan State), SV 5-3
197: #3 Logan Brown - 6th Place NCAA Automatic Qualifier
Preliminary Round - def. Nick Ruggear (Penn State), MD 12-3
Quarterfinals - def. #6 Anthony Biondo (Michigan), TB 2-1
Semifinals - lost to #2 Luke Lofthouse (Iowa), D 9-3
Consolation Semifinals - lost to Tyler Dickenson (Michigan State), D 4-2
5th Place Match - lost to #5 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota), D 3-2
285: Roger Vukobratovich
Preliminary Round - lost to #5 Ben Apland (Michigan), Fall 4:12
Consolation 1st Round - lost to #6 Eric Bugenhagen (Wisconsin), D 3-2