CAREER NOTES
- Two-time NCAA Championships qualifier (149, 157)
- Ranks fourth on Purdue's season record list for back points (160)
- Ranks third on Purdue's career back points list (312)
2016-17 / AS A REDSHIRT SENIOR
- Stats
Awards & Honors
- Purdue Wrestling Most Outstanding Wrestler
Tournaments
- Placed third at Eastern Michigan Open (11/5)
- Roadrunner Open runner-up (11/20)
- Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (12/2-3)
- Placed seventh at Midlands Championships as the No. 10 seed (12/29-30)
- Placed sixth at Big Ten Championships as the No. 10 seed (3/4-5)
- NCAA Championships qualifier (3/16-17)
Season Notes
- Bumped up to 157 pounds after wrestling at 149 in three previous seasons.
- Knocked off a pair of seeded opponents during wrestlebacks in a 2-2 showing at NCAA Championships ... major decisioned No. 12-seed Clark Glass of Oklahoma 9-1 in first round of wrestlebacks ... the win marked the 70th of Griffin's career and his 38th career bonus point victory.
- Followed with an 8-6 decision over Army's 11th-seeded Russell Parsons in the second round of wrestlebacks ... win over Parsons avenged an early season loss in the championship bout of the Roadrunner Open ... Parsons was ranked 11th nationally, marking the highest ranked opponent Griffin had beaten this season ... it was also his team-leading fifth win over a nationally ranked opponent.
- Wrestled above his No. 10 seed at the Big Ten Championships, placing sixth for his first podium finish at the tournament.
- Secured his second NCAA Championships appearance with a 6-2 upset of ninth-seeded TJ Ruschell of Wisconsin in the second round of wrestlebacks ... followed with another upset in the consolation quarterfinals, beating Illinois' fifth-seeded Kyle Langenderfer with a barrage of back points in the second period en route to an 8-4 decision.
- Returned to competition at the Big Ten Championships for the first time since taking an injury default vs. John Van Brill of Rutgers on Jan. 22, a span of 42 days.
- Set numerous season career highs: wins (26), technical falls (10), bonus point wins (14), shutouts (6), takedowns (48), two-point nearfalls (20), four-point nearfalls (30), back points (160), total points scored (321) ... his 321 total points is 129 points more than his previous season high in 2013-14.
- Surpassed the total point leader from the last three seasons: Chad Welch (278), the 2014-15 point leader, Brandon Nelsen (267) and Cashé Quiroga (285) in 2013-14.
- Twenty-eight percent of his career wins have been by tech fall ... 54 percent of his career wins have resulted with bonus points (12 MD, 20 TF, 6 F).
- Team leader in tech falls (10), bonus point wins (14), scoring first percentage among those that have wrestled 20+ matches (.659), back points (160), two- and four-point nearfalls (20, 30), total points scored (321), points per match (7.8), points scored in the first and second periods (150, 99) ... is the only Purdue wrestler to own a 50+ point overall scoring advantage at 181.
- Shared team lead for most wins with Ben Thornton at 26 ... tied for third in total takedowns (48) ... tied for fourth in dual points scored (28).
- Won a career-best seven straight matches from Nov. 13 to 20, four of which were with bonus points ... streak tied for the longest of the season for the Boilermakers.
- Began season at the Eastern Michigan Open by becoming the first Boilermaker since Logan Brown (197) to win three or more consecutive matches by tech fall ... won four of his five matches by tech fall, including three straight ... Brown strung together four at the Purdue Duals on Dec. 20, 2009.
- Unseeded at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Griffin upset third-seeded Victor Lopez of Bucknell with a defensive pin with just five seconds left in the match.
- Wrestled above his seed by placing seventh at Midlands ... defeated Van Brill 5-1 in the seventh-place match ... posted a 4-2 record over two days of competition ... opened with a tech fall and followed with three decisions, highlighted by a 7-2 upset of seventh-seeded and No. 17 B.J. Clagon of Rider in his third match ... outscored his opponents 42-25.
2015-16 / AS A REDSHIRT JUNIOR
- Stats
Tournaments
- Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational as the No. 9 seed (12/4-5)
- Competed at Midlands Championships as the No. 9 seed (12/29)
- Competed at Big Ten Championships as the No. 6 seed (3/5)
- NCAA Championships qualifier (3/17)
- Placed seventh in freestyle at University Nationals at 74 kg (6/4)
Season Notes
- 149-pound starter in 11 duals ... missed last four duals of the season due to a leg injury
- Set career high with 66 back points (7 2N, 13 4N) ... was just one point shy of landing on the season top-20 list ... climbed to No. 11 on the career back points list with 152
- Tied for team lead with three technical falls ... surrendered just two points in the three tech falls, shutting out two of them
- Ranked second on the team in a handful of stats: two-point nearfalls (7), four-point nearfalls (13) and back points (66) ... third in second period points (51) ... tied for third with a 6.2 points per match average among those that wrestled 20 or more matches this season
- Posted 10 or more points in five matches
- Made InterMat debut in mid-November, spending five weeks on the poll and climbing as high as No. 17 ... made one more appearance on the poll at No. 19 the first week in February ... was ranked for majority of the season by FloWrestling in the range of Nos. 15-20.
- Had three wins over NCAA qualifiers ... opened season beating Justin Oliver of Central Michigan (7-6) and Eastern Michigan's Nick Barber (3-1 (SV1)) ... used sudden victory to defeat Jake Short of Minnesota (4-2) ... the win over Short was the biggest upset of his career ... Short was ranked ninth
- Received an at-large bid to his first NCAA Championships ... went 0-2 ... drew the No. 10 seed, Mike DePalma of Kent State, in the first round
- Finished the Big Ten Championships with a 1-2 record ... his win was a 16-0 technical fall of Michigan State's Kaelan Richards ... the shutout was his fourth of the season and 12th of his career ... the technical fall was third of season and 10th of career
- At the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational he bounced back from narrow 6-5 loss to eighth-seeded Geo Martinez of Boise State by shutting out Virginia Tech's third-seeded and 13th-ranked Sal Mastriani with an 8-0 major decision ... it was the second dominating upset of his career ... last season he posted an 8-1 upset of No. 11 Alexander Richardson of Old Dominion in dual action
- Started the season 5-0 to match his career-best winning streak
2014-15 / AS A REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE
Tournaments
- Competed at Michigan State Open (unattached) (11/2)
- Placed fourth at Roadrunner Open (11/16)
- Competed in freestyle at University Nationals at 74 kg (5/30)
Season Notes
- Shortened season due to injury suffered in mid-December
- Team season leader in technical falls (3), two-point nearfalls (12), first-period scoring advantage (65-17; +48) and points per match (8.5) ... tied for team lead in total back points (54), second-period scoring advantage (49-14; +35)
- Registered bonus point victories in two of six dual appearances ... scored 19 dual points
- In three shutouts, outscored opponents 47-0
- Blanked Jacob Leon of Cal Poly in first dual of season with a 17-0 second-period technical fall (4:51)
- Upset 11th-ranked Alexander Richardson of Old Dominion 8-1 while picking up 30th career win and first over a nationally ranked opponent at the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals
2013-14 / AS A REDSHIRT FRESHMAN
Awards & Honors
- Outstanding Freshman Award
- Co-Bonus Points Award (2 Falls, 4 TF, 5 MD)
Tournaments
- Placed fourth at Michigan State Open (11/9)
- Placed sixth at Cleveland State Open (12/14)
- Competed at Midlands Championships (12/29-30)
- Lake Erie College Storm Open champion (1/5)
- Competed at Big Ten Championships (3/8-9)
Season Notes
- Split season at 149 (15-7) and 157 (3-6) pounds
- Appeared in two duals at 149 early in the season and became the 157 starter in late-January
- Registered 11 bonus point victories with five major decisions, four tech falls and two pins ... five majors and four techs were both team bests
- His 18 wins tied for fourth most on the team
- Held five opponents scoreless, combining to outscore those opponents 65-0
- Had four match point totals that ranked among the team's top 10
2012-13 / AS A FRESHMAN
- Redshirted
HIGH SCHOOL
- Four-year varsity letterwinner at McCutcheon High School
- Placed third at the Indiana High School Athletic Association championships as a senior, going 45-1 ... set the single-season back point record as a senior with 180 ... named McCutcheon's MVP wrestler
- Won the Boiler Elite Freestyle Tournament twice, second at freestyle state championships
PERSONAL
- Full Name: James Alexander Griffin
- Major: Building Construction Management
- Birthday: February 8, 1994
- City Born: Noblesville, Indiana
- Parents: Doug and Kristy Griffin
- Siblings: Two brothers, Tyler and Will
- Two-time NCAA Championships qualifier (149, 157)
- Ranks fourth on Purdue's season record list for back points (160)
- Ranks third on Purdue's career back points list (312)
2016-17 / AS A REDSHIRT SENIOR
- Stats
Awards & Honors
- Purdue Wrestling Most Outstanding Wrestler
Tournaments
- Placed third at Eastern Michigan Open (11/5)
- Roadrunner Open runner-up (11/20)
- Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (12/2-3)
- Placed seventh at Midlands Championships as the No. 10 seed (12/29-30)
- Placed sixth at Big Ten Championships as the No. 10 seed (3/4-5)
- NCAA Championships qualifier (3/16-17)
Season Notes
- Bumped up to 157 pounds after wrestling at 149 in three previous seasons.
- Knocked off a pair of seeded opponents during wrestlebacks in a 2-2 showing at NCAA Championships ... major decisioned No. 12-seed Clark Glass of Oklahoma 9-1 in first round of wrestlebacks ... the win marked the 70th of Griffin's career and his 38th career bonus point victory.
- Followed with an 8-6 decision over Army's 11th-seeded Russell Parsons in the second round of wrestlebacks ... win over Parsons avenged an early season loss in the championship bout of the Roadrunner Open ... Parsons was ranked 11th nationally, marking the highest ranked opponent Griffin had beaten this season ... it was also his team-leading fifth win over a nationally ranked opponent.
- Wrestled above his No. 10 seed at the Big Ten Championships, placing sixth for his first podium finish at the tournament.
- Secured his second NCAA Championships appearance with a 6-2 upset of ninth-seeded TJ Ruschell of Wisconsin in the second round of wrestlebacks ... followed with another upset in the consolation quarterfinals, beating Illinois' fifth-seeded Kyle Langenderfer with a barrage of back points in the second period en route to an 8-4 decision.
- Returned to competition at the Big Ten Championships for the first time since taking an injury default vs. John Van Brill of Rutgers on Jan. 22, a span of 42 days.
- Set numerous season career highs: wins (26), technical falls (10), bonus point wins (14), shutouts (6), takedowns (48), two-point nearfalls (20), four-point nearfalls (30), back points (160), total points scored (321) ... his 321 total points is 129 points more than his previous season high in 2013-14.
- Surpassed the total point leader from the last three seasons: Chad Welch (278), the 2014-15 point leader, Brandon Nelsen (267) and Cashé Quiroga (285) in 2013-14.
- Twenty-eight percent of his career wins have been by tech fall ... 54 percent of his career wins have resulted with bonus points (12 MD, 20 TF, 6 F).
- Team leader in tech falls (10), bonus point wins (14), scoring first percentage among those that have wrestled 20+ matches (.659), back points (160), two- and four-point nearfalls (20, 30), total points scored (321), points per match (7.8), points scored in the first and second periods (150, 99) ... is the only Purdue wrestler to own a 50+ point overall scoring advantage at 181.
- Shared team lead for most wins with Ben Thornton at 26 ... tied for third in total takedowns (48) ... tied for fourth in dual points scored (28).
- Won a career-best seven straight matches from Nov. 13 to 20, four of which were with bonus points ... streak tied for the longest of the season for the Boilermakers.
- Began season at the Eastern Michigan Open by becoming the first Boilermaker since Logan Brown (197) to win three or more consecutive matches by tech fall ... won four of his five matches by tech fall, including three straight ... Brown strung together four at the Purdue Duals on Dec. 20, 2009.
- Unseeded at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Griffin upset third-seeded Victor Lopez of Bucknell with a defensive pin with just five seconds left in the match.
- Wrestled above his seed by placing seventh at Midlands ... defeated Van Brill 5-1 in the seventh-place match ... posted a 4-2 record over two days of competition ... opened with a tech fall and followed with three decisions, highlighted by a 7-2 upset of seventh-seeded and No. 17 B.J. Clagon of Rider in his third match ... outscored his opponents 42-25.
2015-16 / AS A REDSHIRT JUNIOR
- Stats
Tournaments
- Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational as the No. 9 seed (12/4-5)
- Competed at Midlands Championships as the No. 9 seed (12/29)
- Competed at Big Ten Championships as the No. 6 seed (3/5)
- NCAA Championships qualifier (3/17)
- Placed seventh in freestyle at University Nationals at 74 kg (6/4)
Season Notes
- 149-pound starter in 11 duals ... missed last four duals of the season due to a leg injury
- Set career high with 66 back points (7 2N, 13 4N) ... was just one point shy of landing on the season top-20 list ... climbed to No. 11 on the career back points list with 152
- Tied for team lead with three technical falls ... surrendered just two points in the three tech falls, shutting out two of them
- Ranked second on the team in a handful of stats: two-point nearfalls (7), four-point nearfalls (13) and back points (66) ... third in second period points (51) ... tied for third with a 6.2 points per match average among those that wrestled 20 or more matches this season
- Posted 10 or more points in five matches
- Made InterMat debut in mid-November, spending five weeks on the poll and climbing as high as No. 17 ... made one more appearance on the poll at No. 19 the first week in February ... was ranked for majority of the season by FloWrestling in the range of Nos. 15-20.
- Had three wins over NCAA qualifiers ... opened season beating Justin Oliver of Central Michigan (7-6) and Eastern Michigan's Nick Barber (3-1 (SV1)) ... used sudden victory to defeat Jake Short of Minnesota (4-2) ... the win over Short was the biggest upset of his career ... Short was ranked ninth
- Received an at-large bid to his first NCAA Championships ... went 0-2 ... drew the No. 10 seed, Mike DePalma of Kent State, in the first round
- Finished the Big Ten Championships with a 1-2 record ... his win was a 16-0 technical fall of Michigan State's Kaelan Richards ... the shutout was his fourth of the season and 12th of his career ... the technical fall was third of season and 10th of career
- At the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational he bounced back from narrow 6-5 loss to eighth-seeded Geo Martinez of Boise State by shutting out Virginia Tech's third-seeded and 13th-ranked Sal Mastriani with an 8-0 major decision ... it was the second dominating upset of his career ... last season he posted an 8-1 upset of No. 11 Alexander Richardson of Old Dominion in dual action
- Started the season 5-0 to match his career-best winning streak
2014-15 / AS A REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE
Tournaments
- Competed at Michigan State Open (unattached) (11/2)
- Placed fourth at Roadrunner Open (11/16)
- Competed in freestyle at University Nationals at 74 kg (5/30)
Season Notes
- Shortened season due to injury suffered in mid-December
- Team season leader in technical falls (3), two-point nearfalls (12), first-period scoring advantage (65-17; +48) and points per match (8.5) ... tied for team lead in total back points (54), second-period scoring advantage (49-14; +35)
- Registered bonus point victories in two of six dual appearances ... scored 19 dual points
- In three shutouts, outscored opponents 47-0
- Blanked Jacob Leon of Cal Poly in first dual of season with a 17-0 second-period technical fall (4:51)
- Upset 11th-ranked Alexander Richardson of Old Dominion 8-1 while picking up 30th career win and first over a nationally ranked opponent at the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals
2013-14 / AS A REDSHIRT FRESHMAN
Awards & Honors
- Outstanding Freshman Award
- Co-Bonus Points Award (2 Falls, 4 TF, 5 MD)
Tournaments
- Placed fourth at Michigan State Open (11/9)
- Placed sixth at Cleveland State Open (12/14)
- Competed at Midlands Championships (12/29-30)
- Lake Erie College Storm Open champion (1/5)
- Competed at Big Ten Championships (3/8-9)
Season Notes
- Split season at 149 (15-7) and 157 (3-6) pounds
- Appeared in two duals at 149 early in the season and became the 157 starter in late-January
- Registered 11 bonus point victories with five major decisions, four tech falls and two pins ... five majors and four techs were both team bests
- His 18 wins tied for fourth most on the team
- Held five opponents scoreless, combining to outscore those opponents 65-0
- Had four match point totals that ranked among the team's top 10
2012-13 / AS A FRESHMAN
- Redshirted
HIGH SCHOOL
- Four-year varsity letterwinner at McCutcheon High School
- Placed third at the Indiana High School Athletic Association championships as a senior, going 45-1 ... set the single-season back point record as a senior with 180 ... named McCutcheon's MVP wrestler
- Won the Boiler Elite Freestyle Tournament twice, second at freestyle state championships
PERSONAL
- Full Name: James Alexander Griffin
- Major: Building Construction Management
- Birthday: February 8, 1994
- City Born: Noblesville, Indiana
- Parents: Doug and Kristy Griffin
- Siblings: Two brothers, Tyler and Will