CAREER NOTES
• Two-time NCAA Championships 197-pound qualifier (2017, 2018)
2017-18 / AS A SOPHOMORE
• Stats
Tournaments
• Placed third at Navy Classic (11/18)
• Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational as the No. 6 seed (12/1)
• Placed third at Midlands Championships as the No. 8 seed (12/29-30)
• Placed fifth at Big Ten Championships as the No. 6 seed (3/3-4)
• Competed at NCAA Championships as the No. 16 seed (3/15-16)
• Competed at UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships at 92 kg (5/27)
• Placed fourth at 92 kg at U23 Freestyle World Team Trials (6/2-3)
Team Leader
• Points scored in the second period (63)
Career Highs Set
• Tournament wins (16), wins over ranked opponents (4), technical falls (4), bonus point wins (11), first (89) and second period points (73), riding time (46:36), takedowns (45), four-point nearfalls (15), back points (68), riding time points (15), total points (251), points per match (7.2)
Season Notes
• Had the highest scoring differential among Purdue wrestlers at +126 (251-125) ... went over 200 total points for a second season.
• Entered the NCAA Championships as the No. 16 seed at 197 pounds ... was upended by Patrick Brucki of Princeton in the first round ... a 10-1 major decision of Utah Valley’s Tanner Orndorff in wrestlebacks was his lone win ... exited on a 3-2 loss to 15th-seeded Matt Williams of CSU Bakersfield.
• Earned his second NCAA trip by upsetting Iowa’s third-seeded Cash Wilcke 8-2 in the Big Ten Championships quarterfinals ... four stalling calls on Wilcke rewarded Brunner with three points, on top of a takedown, escapes in the first and third periods and 2:15 of riding time for the win.
• The two were set to collide in the fifth-place match, but Wilcke gave the match to Brunner via injury default (0:00) ... Brunner became a two-time Big Tens placewinner while extending Purdue’s presence on the 197 podium to 15 straight years ... his fifth-place showing was the best for a Purdue 197-pounder since 2009 when Logan Brown placed fifth.
• Opened Big Tens with a 4:56 fall of Rutgers’ Anthony Messner ... second-seeded Shakur Rasheed of Penn State defeated Brunner 10-2 in the semifinals ... suffered a 6-3 setback to Wisconsin’s fifth-seeded Hunter Ritter in the consolation semifinals.
• Missed five duals in January due to injury ... returned Jan. 26 with a 2-0 win over Cordell Eaton of North Dakota State ... scored bonus points against Michigan State’s Nick May (12-4) and Jake Kleimola of Indiana (17-2 (5:54)).
• Turned in a third-place finish at the Midlands Championships as the No. 8-seed ... won four straight matches on day 2: pinned Clarion’s Dustin Conti (4:54), rallied in the third period for a 9-5 decision against Jackson Striggow of Michigan in the consolation quarterfinals and he defeated 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist Jacob Warner of Iowa (unattached) 10-6 in the semifinals ... he received a medical forfeit from No. 6 Nate Rotert of South Dakota State in the third-place bout.
• A 15-0 technical fall (6:50) of Minnesota’s Bobby Stevenson was one of Brunner’s two technical falls in wrestlebacks of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Wrestling Invitational.
• Placed third at the Navy Classic with a record of 4-1 ... put up his second major decision of the season with a 10-1 win over Kent State’s Kyle Conel in the third-place match ... his 16-1 (5:24) technical fall of Oregon State’s Adam Rateb was the first of his career.
• Trailed No. 10 Danny Chaid of North Carolina 1-0 at the start of the third period ... escaped to even it at 1-1 ... scored the match-winning takedown and added 2:11 of riding time for a 4-1 decision at the Journeymen/MyHouse Northeast Duals.
2016-17 / AS A FRESHMAN
• Stats
Awards & Honors
• Purdue Wrestling Outstanding Freshman Award
• Purdue Wrestling Boiler Up Tough Award
Tournaments
• Placed fifth at Eastern Michigan Open (unattached) (11/5)
• Placed third at Roadrunner Open (11/20)
• Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (12/2)
• Competed at Midlands Championships (12/29)
• Placed seventh at Big Ten Championships as the No. 8 seed (3/4-5)
• NCAA Championships qualifier (3/16-17)
• Competed at UWW Junior Men’s Freestyle Junior National Championships at 96 kg (5/28)
Season Notes
• Wrestled at 197 pounds during true freshman campaign ... started all 16 duals for the Boilermakers.
• First Purdue true freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Cashé Quiroga at 125 pounds in 2010.
• Went 1-2 at NCAAs ... Brunner recovered from a pair of first period takedowns by Jacob Berkowitz of Northwestern by nearly pinning the Wildcat on his way to a 10-4 victory in the first round of wrestlebacks ... surged in the second period with a six-point move and appeared to have Berkowitz pinned ... the win avenged two previous losses to Berkowitz when it mattered most, with the season on the line.
• Avenged an early season loss to Iowa’s Cash Wilcke when it mattered most, beating the seventh-seeded Hawkeye 7-2 to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships ... a takedown was scored in each of the three periods, including the final one with five seconds on the clock to lock down his bid.
• Became the first true freshman to place for the Boilermakers at the Big Ten Championships since Quiroga took sixth at 125 pounds in 2010 ... Brunner also extended Purdue’s streak of 197-pounders earning a spot on the podium to 14 straight years.
• Team leader in points scored in the third period (105) and point differential in the third period (+49) ... only Purdue wrestler to go over 100 points in the third period (105) ... 1 of 5 Boilermakers to score 200+ total points ... his 233 total points were the third most on the team.
• Shared major decision lead alongside Ben Thornton and Luke Welch with five ... tied for second with three pins.
• Credited with the highest ranked opponent defeated by a Purdue wrestler this season in No. 7 Nate Rotert of South Dakota State ... Brunner took Rotert down three times in his 8-3 victory ... two of the takedowns came in the third period, one of which was originally not called on the mat, but successfully challenged ... the win was part of the Boilermakers’ comeback, criteria-winning dual at South Dakota State.
• Was named TheOpenMat.com’s College Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 20 after his upset of Rotert ... TheOpenMat.com coined Brunner as a “postseason dark horse” ... that same week he made his debut on the FloWrestling’s rankings at No. 20 ... he was the only Boilermaker to appear on FloWrestling’s rankings this season.
• Spent two weeks on FloWrestling’s 197-pound rankings, climbing to No. 19 on Feb. 27.
• Celebrated his 19th birthday on Feb. 10 by upending No. 11 Ricky Robertson of Wisconsin 4-1 ... he took Robertson down in the first and rode the period out ... also rode out the second ... Brunner escaped in the third and earned a point for his 1:16 of riding time.
• His 13-3 major decision of Indiana’s Jake Hinz broke a 12-12 dual tie and all but secured Purdue’s 19-12 victory.
• Pinned his first two opponents at the Roadrunner Open ... finished with three pins at the tournament.
• Went 5-1 in his first collegiate tournament with three major decisions at the Eastern Michigan Open.
HIGH SCHOOL
• Listed as the No. 84 overall recruit of 2016 by InterMat, No. 90 by FloWrestling ... 11th-ranked 195-pounder by both InterMat and WIN Magazine, ranked 12th by FloWrestling.
• Three-time Illinois High School Association class 3A state placewinner ... was 195-pound champion in 2016 ... placed third at 195 in 2015 ... 182-pound runner-up in 2014.
• Pinned his way to a state title to end high school career ... also pinned in the first round and had a technical fall in the semifinals.
• Owns the Dundee-Crown record for career wins (165), career falls (103) and wins in a season (48).
• 2016 Northwest Herald Wrestler of the Year.
• High school record of 165-21 (27-15, 43-4, 47-2, 48-0).
• Went 3-2 wrestling for Team Illinois at the 2016 Junior National Freestyle Duals ... Team Illinois took second at the tournament.
• 2015 ASICS/Vaughan Junior freestyle All-American with seventh-place finish at 195.
• 2014 ASICS/Vaughan Cadet freestyle All-American with seventh-place finish at 195 ... Illinois claimed the team title as well.
• Two-time Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection (2015, 2014).
• Also played football.
PERSONAL
• Full Name: Christian William Brunner
• Major: Animal science
• Birthday: February 10, 1998
• City Born: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
• Parents: Jim and Kim Brunner
• Siblings: Older sister, Chloe; younger sister, Lily
• Notes: Uncles Jeff Zgonina (1989-92) and Frank Kmet (1988-91) played football at Purdue ... aunt Kandace Kemt also graduated from Purdue ... sister Lily also attends Purdue
• Two-time NCAA Championships 197-pound qualifier (2017, 2018)
2017-18 / AS A SOPHOMORE
• Stats
Tournaments
• Placed third at Navy Classic (11/18)
• Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational as the No. 6 seed (12/1)
• Placed third at Midlands Championships as the No. 8 seed (12/29-30)
• Placed fifth at Big Ten Championships as the No. 6 seed (3/3-4)
• Competed at NCAA Championships as the No. 16 seed (3/15-16)
• Competed at UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships at 92 kg (5/27)
• Placed fourth at 92 kg at U23 Freestyle World Team Trials (6/2-3)
Team Leader
• Points scored in the second period (63)
Career Highs Set
• Tournament wins (16), wins over ranked opponents (4), technical falls (4), bonus point wins (11), first (89) and second period points (73), riding time (46:36), takedowns (45), four-point nearfalls (15), back points (68), riding time points (15), total points (251), points per match (7.2)
Season Notes
• Had the highest scoring differential among Purdue wrestlers at +126 (251-125) ... went over 200 total points for a second season.
• Entered the NCAA Championships as the No. 16 seed at 197 pounds ... was upended by Patrick Brucki of Princeton in the first round ... a 10-1 major decision of Utah Valley’s Tanner Orndorff in wrestlebacks was his lone win ... exited on a 3-2 loss to 15th-seeded Matt Williams of CSU Bakersfield.
• Earned his second NCAA trip by upsetting Iowa’s third-seeded Cash Wilcke 8-2 in the Big Ten Championships quarterfinals ... four stalling calls on Wilcke rewarded Brunner with three points, on top of a takedown, escapes in the first and third periods and 2:15 of riding time for the win.
• The two were set to collide in the fifth-place match, but Wilcke gave the match to Brunner via injury default (0:00) ... Brunner became a two-time Big Tens placewinner while extending Purdue’s presence on the 197 podium to 15 straight years ... his fifth-place showing was the best for a Purdue 197-pounder since 2009 when Logan Brown placed fifth.
• Opened Big Tens with a 4:56 fall of Rutgers’ Anthony Messner ... second-seeded Shakur Rasheed of Penn State defeated Brunner 10-2 in the semifinals ... suffered a 6-3 setback to Wisconsin’s fifth-seeded Hunter Ritter in the consolation semifinals.
• Missed five duals in January due to injury ... returned Jan. 26 with a 2-0 win over Cordell Eaton of North Dakota State ... scored bonus points against Michigan State’s Nick May (12-4) and Jake Kleimola of Indiana (17-2 (5:54)).
• Turned in a third-place finish at the Midlands Championships as the No. 8-seed ... won four straight matches on day 2: pinned Clarion’s Dustin Conti (4:54), rallied in the third period for a 9-5 decision against Jackson Striggow of Michigan in the consolation quarterfinals and he defeated 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist Jacob Warner of Iowa (unattached) 10-6 in the semifinals ... he received a medical forfeit from No. 6 Nate Rotert of South Dakota State in the third-place bout.
• A 15-0 technical fall (6:50) of Minnesota’s Bobby Stevenson was one of Brunner’s two technical falls in wrestlebacks of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Wrestling Invitational.
• Placed third at the Navy Classic with a record of 4-1 ... put up his second major decision of the season with a 10-1 win over Kent State’s Kyle Conel in the third-place match ... his 16-1 (5:24) technical fall of Oregon State’s Adam Rateb was the first of his career.
• Trailed No. 10 Danny Chaid of North Carolina 1-0 at the start of the third period ... escaped to even it at 1-1 ... scored the match-winning takedown and added 2:11 of riding time for a 4-1 decision at the Journeymen/MyHouse Northeast Duals.
2016-17 / AS A FRESHMAN
• Stats
Awards & Honors
• Purdue Wrestling Outstanding Freshman Award
• Purdue Wrestling Boiler Up Tough Award
Tournaments
• Placed fifth at Eastern Michigan Open (unattached) (11/5)
• Placed third at Roadrunner Open (11/20)
• Competed at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (12/2)
• Competed at Midlands Championships (12/29)
• Placed seventh at Big Ten Championships as the No. 8 seed (3/4-5)
• NCAA Championships qualifier (3/16-17)
• Competed at UWW Junior Men’s Freestyle Junior National Championships at 96 kg (5/28)
Season Notes
• Wrestled at 197 pounds during true freshman campaign ... started all 16 duals for the Boilermakers.
• First Purdue true freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships since Cashé Quiroga at 125 pounds in 2010.
• Went 1-2 at NCAAs ... Brunner recovered from a pair of first period takedowns by Jacob Berkowitz of Northwestern by nearly pinning the Wildcat on his way to a 10-4 victory in the first round of wrestlebacks ... surged in the second period with a six-point move and appeared to have Berkowitz pinned ... the win avenged two previous losses to Berkowitz when it mattered most, with the season on the line.
• Avenged an early season loss to Iowa’s Cash Wilcke when it mattered most, beating the seventh-seeded Hawkeye 7-2 to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships ... a takedown was scored in each of the three periods, including the final one with five seconds on the clock to lock down his bid.
• Became the first true freshman to place for the Boilermakers at the Big Ten Championships since Quiroga took sixth at 125 pounds in 2010 ... Brunner also extended Purdue’s streak of 197-pounders earning a spot on the podium to 14 straight years.
• Team leader in points scored in the third period (105) and point differential in the third period (+49) ... only Purdue wrestler to go over 100 points in the third period (105) ... 1 of 5 Boilermakers to score 200+ total points ... his 233 total points were the third most on the team.
• Shared major decision lead alongside Ben Thornton and Luke Welch with five ... tied for second with three pins.
• Credited with the highest ranked opponent defeated by a Purdue wrestler this season in No. 7 Nate Rotert of South Dakota State ... Brunner took Rotert down three times in his 8-3 victory ... two of the takedowns came in the third period, one of which was originally not called on the mat, but successfully challenged ... the win was part of the Boilermakers’ comeback, criteria-winning dual at South Dakota State.
• Was named TheOpenMat.com’s College Wrestler of the Week on Feb. 20 after his upset of Rotert ... TheOpenMat.com coined Brunner as a “postseason dark horse” ... that same week he made his debut on the FloWrestling’s rankings at No. 20 ... he was the only Boilermaker to appear on FloWrestling’s rankings this season.
• Spent two weeks on FloWrestling’s 197-pound rankings, climbing to No. 19 on Feb. 27.
• Celebrated his 19th birthday on Feb. 10 by upending No. 11 Ricky Robertson of Wisconsin 4-1 ... he took Robertson down in the first and rode the period out ... also rode out the second ... Brunner escaped in the third and earned a point for his 1:16 of riding time.
• His 13-3 major decision of Indiana’s Jake Hinz broke a 12-12 dual tie and all but secured Purdue’s 19-12 victory.
• Pinned his first two opponents at the Roadrunner Open ... finished with three pins at the tournament.
• Went 5-1 in his first collegiate tournament with three major decisions at the Eastern Michigan Open.
HIGH SCHOOL
• Listed as the No. 84 overall recruit of 2016 by InterMat, No. 90 by FloWrestling ... 11th-ranked 195-pounder by both InterMat and WIN Magazine, ranked 12th by FloWrestling.
• Three-time Illinois High School Association class 3A state placewinner ... was 195-pound champion in 2016 ... placed third at 195 in 2015 ... 182-pound runner-up in 2014.
• Pinned his way to a state title to end high school career ... also pinned in the first round and had a technical fall in the semifinals.
• Owns the Dundee-Crown record for career wins (165), career falls (103) and wins in a season (48).
• 2016 Northwest Herald Wrestler of the Year.
• High school record of 165-21 (27-15, 43-4, 47-2, 48-0).
• Went 3-2 wrestling for Team Illinois at the 2016 Junior National Freestyle Duals ... Team Illinois took second at the tournament.
• 2015 ASICS/Vaughan Junior freestyle All-American with seventh-place finish at 195.
• 2014 ASICS/Vaughan Cadet freestyle All-American with seventh-place finish at 195 ... Illinois claimed the team title as well.
• Two-time Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection (2015, 2014).
• Also played football.
PERSONAL
• Full Name: Christian William Brunner
• Major: Animal science
• Birthday: February 10, 1998
• City Born: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
• Parents: Jim and Kim Brunner
• Siblings: Older sister, Chloe; younger sister, Lily
• Notes: Uncles Jeff Zgonina (1989-92) and Frank Kmet (1988-91) played football at Purdue ... aunt Kandace Kemt also graduated from Purdue ... sister Lily also attends Purdue