March 21, 2014
NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA CITY - Purdue's Cashé Quiroga came up one match short of earning his second All-America honor as he was dealt a 5-3 setback by the No. 12 seed Joe Roth of Central Michigan in the fourth round of the 133-pound wrestlebacks Friday at the NCAA Wrestling National Championships in Chesapeake Energy Arena. With the loss, the seventh-seeded Boilermaker is forced to bow out of the tournament as his career with the Old Gold & Black comes to a close.
Two sessions will be held on the third and final day of competition. Wrestleback semifinals and medal matches will take place in session five starting at 10 a.m. CT with all four mats carried on ESPNU and via WatchESPN. Championship finals will take the stage at 7 p.m. live on ESPN.
True to form, Quiroga was on the attack from the first whistle. He got in on an ankle of Roth's and elevated it to his shoulders looking for the trip. Roth bounced around on one foot for close to a minute before he attempted to flip himself out of Quiroga's hold with both wrestlers falling to the mat. The Chippewa circled around creating a tie up to which a stalemate was called. As the first three minutes came to an end, the score deadlocked at 0-0.
Quiroga had first choice and opted to start from bottom in the second. Eleven seconds in, the Boilermaker escaped for a 1-0 edge. Out of a high tie up in the center of the mat, Roth bounced and struck with a high double blast to take Quiroga down on the edge of the mat to take a 2-1 lead. The score was evened at 2-2 with a Quiroga escape at the 11 second mark.
Roth took bottom in the third and a 3-2 lead with an escape at 1:43. Tied up once again, Quiroga was the aggressor, going for a left ankle pick. As he shot, Roth lifted his leg to elude the shot and countered by circling back around and getting Quiroga's left leg while still locked up up top. The takedown was awarded as the two went out of bounds, giving Roth a 5-2 advantage with 1:25 to go. Six seconds later Quiroga got himself within two points by escaping, making the score 5-3.
His trademark relentless style was on display as time wound down in the match and potentially on his career. Each shot that Quiroga took, Roth dropped to his knees to close up any window of opportunity for Quiroga to score. Time expired before he was able to find the points needed to tie or win. His redshirt senior campaign concluded with an 18-8 record.
Quiroga's mark on the Purdue wrestling program as an individual and for what he is to his teammates is one that will not be forgotten. He tallied a career record of 78-34 (.696) with 55 percent of his victories resulting in bonus points. Quiroga's explosive and high octane offense earned him 23 major decisions, 12 falls and eight technical falls.
In four years of competition, including two shortened seasons, the Indianapolis, Ind., native racked up 383 takedowns. He leaves his name at the No. 4 spot on Purdue's career takedown list behind Ryan Lange (523; 2001-04), Ben Wissel (406; 2003-06) and Willie Wineberg (387; 1996-99). Quiroga averaged 3.61 takedowns per match in his final campaign, racking up 94 in 26 matches wrestled.
Quiroga was a three-time NCAA qualifier who earned All-America honors as a true freshman in 2010 with a sixth-place finish at 125. He was unseeded and became only the fifth freshman Boilermaker to accomplish the feat.