2015 B1G WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Seven Purdue wrestlers punched their ticket to the 2015 NCAA Championships during the first day of the B1G Championships, hosted by Ohio State on Saturday in St. John Arena. The Boilermakers can get one more qualified to St. Louis in Sunday's third session, which features the consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches starting at 1 p.m. ET. Fifth- and third-place matches, along with the championship finals will start at 3 p.m.
The Boilermakers are in 10th-place in the team standings with 33.5 points. Ohio State leads the way with 102.5 points, followed by Iowa with 101 points. The top five are rounded out by Minnesota (86.5), Michigan (80.5) and Illinois (79).
Braden Atwood (197) earned his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships, with Danny Sabatello (133) and Chad Welch (174) punching their second ticket. Seniors Nick Lawrence (141), Pat Robinson (165) and Patrick Kissel (184) qualified for their first-ever appearance, along with Doug Welch at 157 pounds.
The eighth Purdue grappler that can qualify is Brandon Nelsen at 149 pounds. The senior is looking to earn his second trip to the NCAA Championships by claiming the seventh automatic bid. Nelsen will face off against Michigan State's Nick Trimble in the seventh-place match.
The locked in seven qualifiers are the most since 2010 and the fifth time in program history (1997, 1998, 2004, 2010).
Lawrence and D. Welch are still vying for their place match and will begin the third session in the consolation semifinals. Lawrence, the No. 8 seed at 141, will face off against second-seeded Nick Dardanes of Minnesota. It will be a battle between the fifth and sixth seeds with D. Welch and Ohio State's Josh Demas.
In addition to Nelsen, Robinson and Atwood will wrestle for seventh at 165 and 197 pounds, respectively.
For complete brackets, match-by-match results, upcoming matches, updated records, photo albums, videos and much more, please visit the 2015 B1G Wrestling Championships Central page here.