COLUMBUS, Ohio - Purdue's 12th-ranked Doug Welch won his sixth-straight match in a 24-9 dual loss to No. 4 Ohio State Friday inside St. John Arena. Brandon Nelsen and Gelen Robinson, who made his debut as a Boilermaker grappler, also provided decisions as the 21st-ranked Old Gold & Black slipped to 8-6, 1-4 B1G. The Buckeyes pushed their mark to 10-3, 6-1 B1G while winning their sixth consecutive dual.
Welch used a pair of takedowns, an escape and rode Kyle Visconti for 2:22 en route to a 6-1 decision at 157 pounds. After a takedown 55 seconds into the match, Welch maintained control and rode Visconti out in the period. The Buckeye escaped at the start of the second period and Welch hit him with a late takedown for a 4-1 advantage. He added another point with an escape in the third.
With the win, the redshirt junior hailing from Newburgh, Ind., improved to 23-6 overall, 13-1 in duals and is now 5-0 against conference opponents. Welch has won his last nine duals for the Boilermakers.
Welch's win came on the heels of an 8-2 decision from Nelsen at 149 pounds. Nelsen took Ohio State's Randy Languis down in each period to pick up the 17th win of his final campaign. The redshirt senior also added an escape to start the second and had 2:34 of riding time for an extra point.
Wrestling in his first collegiate match at 285, Robinson decisioned Ray Gordon, 5-3. The true freshman, who also plays linebacker on the Purdue football team, needed just 37 seconds to take Gordon down. Gordon escaped a few seconds later to make it a 2-1 lead for Robinson after three minutes of action. Robinson delivered another takedown at the 50-second mark in the second period to take a 4-2 lead. The Buckeye escaped for a third time to close out the period. The final point was awarded to the Boilermaker thanks to 1:03 of riding time.
In the night's lone bout pitting ranked wrestlers, it was a pair of takedowns that lifted Ohio State's No. 7 Johnni DiJulius past 14th-ranked Danny Sabatello, 4-0, at 133 pounds.
The Boilermakers will be back in action Sunday at home in Holloway Gymnasium to host No. 14 Illinois live on the Big Ten Network at 2 p.m. ET. The Illini will bring a 10-4, 4-3 B1G record into Sunday's dual after defeating Maryland 32-3 on their home mat Friday in Champaign, Ill.
NO. 4 OHIO STATE 24, NO. 21 PURDUE 9
125 // No. 7 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Aaron Assad (Purdue), 11-5
133 // No. 7 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) dec. No. 14 Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 4-0
141 // No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) dec. Nick Lawrence (Purdue), 4-0
149 // Brandon Nelsen (Purdue) dec. Randy Languis (Ohio State), 8-2
157 // No. 12 Doug Welch (Purdue) dec. Kyle Visconti (Ohio State), 6-1
165 // No. 5 Bo Jordon (Ohio State) tech. fall Pat Robinson (Purdue), 20-5 (4:08)
174 // No. 13 Mark Martin (Ohio State) dec. Chad Welch (Purdue), 6-0
184 // No. 12 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) dec. Patrick Kissel (Purdue), 8-3
197 // No. 4 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. Tanner Lynde (Purdue), 18-7
285 // Gelen Robinson (Purdue) dec. Ray Gordon (Ohio State), 5-3