March 6, 2016
Saturday Video / Sunday Video / Results / Brackets / Automatic Qualifiers / Allocations
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A trio of Purdue wrestlers placed at the Big Ten Championships, with two earning an automatic berth to the upcoming NCAA Championships. Redshirt seniors Danny Sabatello, Chad Welch and Drake Stein were top-eight finishers after two days of wrestling concluded inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday. Sabatello and Welch captured fifth-place honors, at 141 and 165 pounds, respectively, while Stein took eighth at 197 pounds.
The Boilermakers scored 34 points to place 10th in the team standings. They finished ahead of Indiana (30.5), Northwestern (11.5), Michigan State (10.5) and Maryland (7.5). Penn State captured the team title with 150.5 points with a 23.5 point cushion to runner-up Iowa. Ohio State was third with 126 points, Nebraska was fourth with 117 points and Rutgers rounded out the top-five teams with 106.5 points.
Sabatello and Welch's fifth-place finishes automatically qualified each for their third trip to the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 17 to 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
With a trio of placewinners, the Boilermakers now have 301 in program history. Drake Stein's eighth-place showing at extended Purdue's streak of 197-pound podium finishes to 13 straight years.
Although automatic qualifier slots have been filled through the Big Ten Championships, there are still 46 at-large bids up for grabs. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the at-large qualifiers, which will be announced throughout the day via social media Wednesday. Brackets will unveiled through a streamed NCAA Selection Show, which can be found here, starting at 6 p.m. ET.
All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; quality wins; coaches ranking; results against common opponents; RPI; qualifying event placement; and winning percentage.
DANNY SABATELLO / 141
Highlights from Sabatello's quarterfinal win over No. 2 seed Tommy Thorn, putting Danny in the semis tonight! https://t.co/fpxrHD9b7e
-- Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) March 5, 2016
- Sabatello became a two-time Big Ten Championships placewinner for the Boilermakers at 141 pounds ... as a redshirt sophomore in 2014 he took eighth.
- The veteran will take a 19-15 record to New York City ... Sabatello qualifies for NCAAs a second time at 141 pounds ... he was an at-large selection in 2014 ... last year he was an automatic qualifier at 133 pounds.
- Went 3-2 as the No. 7 seed for his best outing in his three Big Ten Championships ... opened with consecutive wins to advance to the semifinals ... shut out Gabe Grahek of Wisconsin 4-0 in his first match and followed by upsetting Minnesota's second-seeded Tommy Thorn ... raced out to a 6-2 lead in the first period vs. Thorn thanks to a pair of takedowns and a two-point nearfall ... added a takedown in the second and third periods on his way to an 11-6 decision.
- Was denied in the semifinals by third-seeded Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers, the eventual Big Ten champion, 8-4 ... both wrestlers scored two takedowns, but a reversal by Ashnault late in the second period and his second takedown in the third was the edge for the Scarlet Knight.
- Sabatello avenged a Jan. 15 dual loss to Michigan State's Javier Gasca III with a 3-2 decision for fifth place ... 1:47 of riding time accumulated in the first and early in the second periods was the difference maker in the match ... Sabatello blasted Gasca with a double-leg takedown in the opening period.
- The win over Gasca marked the 80th of Sabatello's career ... he owns a four-year record of 80-47.
- His fifth-place finish is the 34th all-time for Purdue in the tournament's 102-year history.
- Continued to ascend the career record lists for takedowns and back points ... tallied seven takedowns and a two-point nearfall in five matches ... now has 252 career takedowns, ranking 15th ... 142 career back points to rank 13th.
CHAD WELCH / 165
- Welch became a two-time Big Ten Championships placewinner, with both finishes coming at different weights ... as a redshirt freshman in 2013 he placed eighth at 174 pounds ... he is the 35th wrestler to place fifth for Purdue in the tournament's 102-year history.
- The redshirt senior will take a 30-7 record to New York City ... he is a three-time NCAA qualifier ... in 2013 and 2015 he made it at 174 pounds ... his 30 wins are a career best in a season.
- Welch wrestled true to his seed ... he went 4-2 with two bonus point victories and he received a medical forfeit ... in his three matches wrestled, Welch outscored his opponents 26-0 ... he has blanked eight opponents during the season and 17 in his career.
- Welch pushed his bonus point victories total to 19 with a technical fall and a major decision ... in his opening round 16-0 technical fall of Michigan's Jordan Amine, Welch racked up 14 back points in 2:27 ... it was the first time he had won by technical fall in the first period and the fastest technical fall for the Boilermakers this season ... he climbed to No. 11 on the season back points list with 84 and he jumped into No. 10 on the career list with 157 ... the technical fall was the third of the season and sixth of his career ... the major decision was the 10th of the season and 14th of his career.
- His 2-0 win over eighth-seeded Patrick Rhoads of Iowa in the wrestleback quarterfinals was the 80th win of his career ... he owns a four-year record of 81-53.
- Welch received a medical forfeit from fourth-seeded Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers in the fifth-place match ... the two also met in the second round with the Scarlet Knight slipping into a defensive pin at the 4:49 mark with the match tied 4-4 ... Perotti injury defaulted in the semifinals and medically forfeited the next two matches.
DRAKE STEIN / 197
Session 3 starts in about an hour. Drake Stein wants you to follow along on Twitter or he might come do this to you! https://t.co/QwwGCrinnM
-- Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) March 6, 2016
- Capped off his career with an impressive outing at the Big Ten Championships ... entered tournament unseeded, registered one upset and captured eighth place ... he closed out his final season for the Boilermakers with a 15-21 record ... his 15 wins are a career best in a season.
- Stein became the 27th Purdue wrestler to place eighth for Purdue in the tournament's 102-year history.
- Went 2-3 at the tournament ... used his go-to headlock to pin two opponents in wrestleback action at 197 pounds ... first was a 4:39 stick of Northwestern's Jacob Berkowitz, followed by pinning No. 8-seed Jacob Cooper of Michigan State in 3:23 ... he was trailing in both matches before earning the fall in the second period.
- The two falls pushed his season total to eight, which is the most he's had in a season during his career ... he closed out his career with 19 pins in his career to rank 16th all-time at Purdue.
- Stein also wrestled in the 2012 Big Ten Championships, but exited after going 0-3.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS OVERVIEW
- Three Boilermakers finished with 1-2 marks: Alex Griffin, Doug Welch and Tanner Lynde ... Luke Welch had a 1-3 tournament ... Ben Thornton, Andy Hoselton and Tyler Kral went 0-2.
- L. Welch's victory was a 12-10 decision in sudden victory over No. 14 Sam Brancale of Minnesota ... the redshirt sophomore scored the winning takedown 22 seconds into the 60-second winner take all session ... it was his third overtime win ... L. Welch bowed out with his record standing at 17-14.
- Griffin moved into No. 11 on the career back points list thanks to 14 in his 16-0 technical fall of Michigan State's Kaelan Richards ... Griffin has 152 back points through three seasons ... he was one point shy of landing on the season record list, closing out his redshirt junior campaign with 66 ... the shutout was his fourth of the season and 12th of his career ... the technical fall was third of season and 10th of career ... it was the fifth time during the season he posted 10 or more points ... Griffin exited the tournament with a season mark of 14-7.
- Doug Welch put his name on Purdue's career reversals list with a pair in a 10-4 win over Maryland's Lou Mascola ... Welch is in a three-way tie for No. 19 with 29 reversals ... he shares the record with Josh Hutchens (1996-99) and Jason Cook (2004-07) ... the redshirt senior leaves Iowa City with a record of 15-11.
- Redshirt senior Andy Hoselton saw his career came to an end at his first-ever Big Ten Championships.
- Lynde's 8-1 performance in the first round of wrestlebacks earned him his 25th career victory ... he concludes his redshirt junior season with an even 13-13 record.
- Kral's season came to an end with a loss in sudden victory, dropping a 7-5 decision to Youssif Hemida of Maryland ...his redshirt junior campaign finishes at 9-16.