Complete Brackets / Purdue Results
FRESNO, Calif. -- Luke Welch captured the 133-pound title to lead the way among 10 Purdue wrestling placewinners Sunday at the Roadrunner Open. Nate Limmex and Alex Griffin were runners-up at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively, and Ben Thornton (125) and Christian Brunner placed third (197).
Welch defeated unattached competitor Durbin Lloren 8-5 for his first collegiate title. The redshirt junior earned a spot in the finals by taking Carlos Herrera of CSU Bakersfield down with five seconds left in sudden victory in a 5-3 semifinal matchup. Welch began the day with a 7-1 decision over Stanford's Gabe Townsell and followed with a 12-4 major decision, his fifth of the young season, against Noah Blakely-Beanes of CSU Bakersfield.
"The title is important because it shows all the hard work that I have been putting into my wrestling is paying off," Welch said. "[I'm] certainly not satisfied with today, but am happy that God gave me another day to showcase the talent He has blessed me with. I feel like a lot of things are clicking and I have been doing a lot of things right with my diet, school, religion and the mat. It is reassuring to get the result from today!"
The 4-0 day pushed the Newburgh, Indiana, native's mark to 11-2. He also became the second Purdue 133-pounder to capture top honors at the Roadrunner Open. In 2014 Danny Sabatello was the 133-pound champion.
To get into the finals at 149, Limmex posted a pair of decisions and technical falls, to which he outscored his opposition 51-16. He was denied in the title bout by CSU Bakersfield's Coleman Hammond in a 14-2 major decision. Limmex went 6-1 while in California to move to 8-5 in his redshirt freshman campaign.
Big bonus point wins came for Griffin through his first three matches. He needed just 2:00 to stick San Francisco State's Landon Myers. Back-to-back technical falls pushed him into the semifinals where he defeated Paul Fox of Stanford for a second time in three days, notching a 1-0 decision. Army's 14th-ranked Russell Parsons beat the native of Lafayette, Indiana, 6-2 in the championship match. With a 4-1 tournament, Griffin's redshirt senior record stands at 12-3.
In the third-place match at 125, Thornton defeated Menlo's Troy Lakin 11-4 to close out a 4-1 day of competition. Thornton, who hails from Stoddard, Wisconsin, advanced to the semifinals with a pair of decisions, but was then dealt a 5-2 setback by unattached competitor Segio Mendez. The redshirt sophomore rebounded by winning a wild 21-11 consolation semifinal bout with San Francisco State's Matt Gamble. Thornton's record also now stands at 12-3.
Brunner pinned his way to victory three times, including a quick 1:02 stick of Johnny Costa of San Francisco State in the third-place match at 197. The true freshman began the day with consecutive pins. One of those falls came against his Boise State opponent from Friday, Harley DiLulo. Brunner tilted for a four-count three times in the first period after the opening takedown before pinning him at the 2:32 mark. His lone setback was an 8-2 decision to the eventual champion, Matt Williams of CSU Bakersfield. The 4-1 tournament performance brought his record to 12-4.
The Big Ten Conference season opener awaits the Boilermakers. They will take on third-ranked Iowa at 1 p.m. ET in Holloway Gymnasium on Nov. 27.
Welch Wins Roadrunner Open Title
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