DUAL INFORMATION
Purdue (8-7, 3-6 B1G) at No. 17 South Dakota State (13-4, 7-1 Big 12)
Friday, Feb. 17 / 8 p.m. ET
Frost Arena / Brookings, South Dakota
Purdue Notes / Live Video / Live Results / Event Information
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - One more dual is on the docket for Purdue wrestling after being selected to the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals Championship Series presented by Theraworx and the United States Marine Corps. The Boilermakers, who learned of their selection, opponent and destination Monday, are set to take on No. 17 South Dakota State on Friday. The trip to Brookings, South Dakota, not only marks the first-ever meeting between the teams, but also Purdue's first-ever dual in the state of South Dakota. Competition is scheduled to get underway at 8 p.m. ET from Frost Arena.
The Boilermakers are one of eight Big Ten Conference teams that are traveling to non-Big Ten opponents in a showcase weekend of college wrestling duals. The three-day event features two other duals Friday, a single dual Saturday and concludes with four duals Sunday.
Various formats for national duals have been used by the NWCA over the years. The current format of Big Ten teams meeting non-Big Ten teams is in its second year, with the Big Ten teams visiting college campuses in the ACC, Big 12 Conference, EIWA, EWL and Southern Conference.
It is Purdue's first time earning a spot in the current National Duals Championship Series format. Although the format has varied, the Boilermakers are 5-9 at national duals, previously participating in 1992, 1993, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Jackrabbits, who are 7-1 in the Big 12 with one conference dual remaining, will be making its first appearance in the event.
The matchup with SDSU comes in the exact same event four years to the date from Purdue's last Big 12 opponent. At the 2013 edition in Columbia, Missouri, on Feb. 17, the 16th-ranked Boilermakers defeated No. 20 Wyoming 20-16.
| NATIONAL DUALS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES SCHEDULE | |
| Friday, February 17 | |
| No. 12 Rutgers at No. 11 Lehigh | 7 p.m. ET |
| No. 16 Michigan at No. 7 NC State | 7 p.m. ET |
| Purdue at No. 17 South Dakota State | 8 p.m. ET |
| Saturday, February 18 | |
| No. 3 Iowa at No. 23 Edinboro | 7 p.m. ET |
| Sunday, February 19 | |
| No. 4 Ohio State at No. 8 Cornell | 1 p.m. ET |
| No. 2 Penn State at No. 1 Oklahoma State | 4 p.m. ET |
| Indiana at No. 20 Appalachian State | 3 p.m. ET |
| No. 6 Nebraska at No. 5 Virginia Tech | 7 p.m. ET |
| PURDUE PROBABLE LINEUP | ||||
| WEIGHT | NAME | YEAR | RECORD | HOMETOWN |
| 125 | Ben Thornton | RS So. | 23-12 | Stoddard, Wis. |
| 133 | Luke Welch | RS Jr. | 18-10 | Newburgh, Ind. |
| Cody Pae | RS Jr. | 15-6 | Fulton, Mo. | |
| 141 | Kyle Ayersman | RS Sr. | 14-11 | Dyer, Ind. |
| 149 | Nate Limmex | RS Fr. | 11-12 | Ada, Mich. |
| Jeremy Golding | RS Sr. | 14-5 | Spokane, Wash. | |
| 157 | Alex Griffin | RS Sr. | 22-10 | Lafayette, Ind. |
| 165 | Dylan Lydy | RS Fr. | 16-16 | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| 174 | Jacob Morrissey | RS Jr. | 14-7 | Oconto Falls, Wis. |
| 184 | Tanner Lynde | RS Sr. | 13-15 | Delphi, Ind. |
| 197 | Christian Brunner | Fr. | 19-13 | East Dundee, Ill. |
| 285 | Tyler Kral | RS Sr. | 20-14 | Crown Point, Ind. |
| Jacob Aven | RS So. | 12-9 | Zionsville, Ind. | |
Head Coach / Tony Ersland
Head Assistant Coach / Tyrel Todd
Assistant Coach / Kendric Maple
Volunteer Assistant Coach / Jake Sueflohn
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BOILERMAKERS
- South Dakota State marks the eighth nationally ranked team Purdue will have faced this season and the sixth straight ... the Jackrabbits are the second nationally ranked non-conference opponent ... six of the seven ranked teams on the schedule hail from the Big Ten.
- The Boilermakers are 3-3 on the road ... it is their third non-conference road dual ... Purdue is 7-6 when the starting weight is 125 ... two of the non-conference duals started at 174.
- In six non-conference duals, the Boilermakers are a combined 40-20 with 13 matches earning bonus points (4 MD, 5 TF, 4 F) ... eight of Purdue's probables own winning non-conference dual records, led by 5-1 marks from Alex Griffin, Tyler Kral and Ben Thornton.
- Griffin, who has been sidelined with an injury for the last four duals, is listed as the only probable at 157 pounds for the first time since taking an injury default on Jan. 22.
- Purdue has started 18 different wrestlers in 11 different lineups ... the most times a particular lineup has been used is three ... Thornton, Dylan Lydy and Christian Brunner have started every dual this season ... the 16-dual streak is the longest among all of the starters.
- A pair of Boilermakers appear in Trackwrestling's top-25 rankings this week ... for a second straight week Luke Welch checks in at No. 25 ... it is his fourth appearance on Trackwrestling's 133-pound rankings ... Griffin holds down the No. 22 spot for a third straight week ... he has been ranked in the Nos. 19-25 range for five weeks.
- The NCAA released its second edition of the Division I Wrestling Coaches' Panel Rankings and the first rating percentage index on Feb. 10 ... Purdue has five in the coaches rankings and six in the RPI standings.
- Welch notched his 18th victory against Wisconsin to set a career high mark for wins in a season ... he is one of four grapplers to set a career high mark for wins in a season: Griffin (22), Kral (20) and Thornton (23) ... Tanner Lynde has matched a career high in wins with 13.
- Nine of Jacob Morrissey's 14 wins this season have resulted in bonus points, which is a career high (2 MD, 4 TF, 3 F) and ranks second on the team ... he is averaging a career high 7.3 points per match, which ranks third among wrestlers that have 20+ matches ... Morrissey has earned back points in 11 of his 21 matches ... five of Morrissey's eight Big Ten bouts saw him score back points.