Jan. 24, 2016
#BoilerNotes
- With one four-point nearfall Sunday, Chad Welch moved into No. 11 on Purdue's career back points list with 143.
- Seventeen of Welch's 23 wins this season are with bonus points … he has nine major decisions, two technical falls and six pins … eight of his nine dual victories have also been with bonus points (5 MD, 1 TF, 2 F) … he leads the team in dual points scored with 42.
- Both of Jacob Morrissey's technical falls this season have come in Big Ten duals … two of Tanner Lynde's four falls this season have been in Big Ten duals.
- The dual started at 157 pounds … it was the first time this season the starting weight had been drawn.
MINNEAPOLIS ââ'¬" The 20th-ranked Purdue wrestling team captured three of the first five bouts in commanding fashion and claimed an upset in sudden victory, but No. 23 Minnesota rallied and came from behind to win 23-18 inside the Sports Pavilion on Sunday. The Boilermakers are now 7-4 and 2-3 in Big Ten Conference duals, while the Gophers moved above .500 (7-6, 3-2 B1G).
After Minnesota took the opening bout by 1:23 of riding time, Purdue rattled off three straight victories to race out to a 15-3 lead. Seventh-ranked Chad Welch was the first with an 11-0 rout of Gopher Brad Dolezal. In typical Welch fashion, he raced out and nearly had his opponent pinned early in the match. He built a 6-0 lead through the opening period and rode out the second. The win pushed the two-time NCAA qualifier's record to 23-3 with his fourth straight major decision.
"It was another solid performance from Chad today," Purdue head wrestling coach Tony Ersland said. "I want to see him be more aggressive about getting points. He had those six right away, but only added three in the third. He needs to continue to aggressively get his points."
The ensuing match at 174 saw Purdue's Jacob Morrissey respond from an early takedown by Nick Wanzek with 18 unanswered points for a technical fall in 5:00. The redshirt sophomore nearly pinned Wanzek on multiple occasions as he racked up a dozen back points through two periods.
"Morrissey's win is something for him to build upon," Ersland said. "He was wrestling hard when he was underneath and made him [Wanzek] pay a price of attrition when he got out. He never let up and overwhelmed him. I see Morrissey getting better; there's improvement. He's finding ways to get into his ties, his scoring holds, his turns and he's finding ways to make positive situations."
From the first whistle at 184, Tanner Lynde was on a mission. He wasted no time getting after Minnesota's Will Balow, taking him down and getting the pin right in front of the Boilermakers' bench at the 2:29 mark. The redshirt sophomore who hails from Delphi, Indiana, moved to 3-2 in Big Ten duals while notching career fall No. 6.
The Gophers chipped away at their deficit by stringing together five consecutive victories, including back-to-back major decisions at 197 and 285 and a pin at 133 that all but sealed the dual in their favor.
Despite the dual's outcome already being decided, Alex Griffin closed it out at 149 with the biggest upset of his career, beating ninth-ranked Jake Short 4-2 in sudden victory.
The first five minutes of action were scoreless, thanks in part to a second-period rideout by Griffin. The Boilermaker got on the board quickly in the third with an escape, only to have Short take him down. After the takedown, time was called for Griffin to be checked for a possible concussion. He was cleared by medical staff and action resumed.
"I was frustrated [coming out of the concussion protocol], you hate to have that happen," Griffin said. "I felt like giving him points and I knew I had to keep compete and take it one point at a time."
Griffin returned to the down position following the concussion protocol, but a few moments later Short had to take his own time for blood.
"When he took the blood time, Coach Tanelli came out and told me the longer the match goes on that it's more in my favor," Griffin said. "He told me I was in a good spot, I'd get the escape and if the takedown was there to get it. He looked at me and told me to tell him I was going to win. I did and I believed it."
And that's exactly what happened. Although Short had eliminated the riding time Griffin had accumulated in the second period, Griffin got the escaped he needed to even the score at 2-2 and force sudden victory. Forty seconds in, the redshirt junior secured the winning takedown.
"I was excited to get the win," Griffin said. "I don't show a lot of emotion after wins, but that one was pretty exciting. It was nice to feel like I could compete and be able to showcase my ability."
The stoppage of time could have swung the match in a totally different direction, but Coach Ersland liked what he saw from his 149 pounder.
"I was pleased with how Griffin responded [coming out of the concussion protocol]," Ersland said. "I thought he had composure and he jumped right back out there and put himself in a position to win. It was a good win for Griffin. It's progress and that's what you're looking for when you're in the middle of the Big Ten season."
The conference slate continues for Purdue next weekend. The Boilermakers return to their home mat in Holloway Gymnasium on Jan. 31 to face No. 9 Ohio State at 1 p.m. ET.