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Five early signees all ranked among nation’s top 20 at their weight Nov. 18, 2015 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue has inked five nationally ranked wrestlers, including four of the nation’s top overall recruits, during the early signing period head wrestling coach Tony Ersland announced Wednesday. These elite future Boilermakers include Indiana’s top heavyweights, multi-time state champs from Michigan and Minnesota and a top-20 195-pounder with family roots in Purdue athletics. “I think the overwhelming thing about this group is they really bought into our message, which is the transformation of Purdue and where we are taking this program,” Ersland said. “They saw the impact of what we did in year one and how the guys bought into our message. “This same group was excited about what that message was and that’s accomplishing a lot of firsts for Purdue wrestling,” Ersland said. “I love that those kids want to be a part of doing something the first time, not just be another cog in the wheel of another program. They understand the special opportunity that they have before them.” Christian Brunner (East Dundee, Illinois) is a two-time Illinois High School Association class 3A state placewinner for Dundee-Crown High School with a third-place finish at 195 pounds as a junior and was the 182-pound runner-up as a sophomore. He is currently ranked among the nation’s top-20 prep wrestlers at 195. Brunner’s family has roots in Purdue athletics with a pair of uncles, Jeff Zgonina and Frank Kemt, playing football for the Boilermakers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Click on the image above to learn more about Brunner. The nation’s No. 19 overall recruit and a top-five wrestler at 152 pounds, Griffin Parriott will make his way to West Lafayette from New Prague, Minnesota. Parriott is a two-time Minnesota State High School League Division AA champion and four-time tournament qualifier. In May he took third at the UWW Junior Nationals at 66 kg, finishing behind a World Cadet gold medalist and an NCAA All-American. Click on the image above to learn more about Parriott. Devin Schroder becomes the second wrestler from Grand Rapids Catholic Central to commit to Purdue during Ersland’s tenure, joining former high school teammate Nate Limmex, who is a 149-pounder for the Boilermakers. Schroder, the No. 56 overall recruit, is a three-time Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 champ. He has won back-to-back titles at 119 pounds after winning the 2012 championship as a freshman. The Northview native is a two-time FloNationals finalist, taking top honors at 113 pounds in 2014. Click on the image above to learn more about Schroder. Indiana’s own Shawn Streck, the country’s second-ranked high school heavyweight and No. 21 overall recruit, will make the move an hour south to join Coach Ersland’s squad. Streck pinned his way to the 285-pound title as a junior, capping off a 46-0 season. As a sophomore he placed third and seventh as a freshman. The Merrillville native also has a trio of top-four finishes at national tournaments. Click on the image above to learn more about Streck. Streck is joined by fellow Indiana product and close friend Kobe Woods. Hailing from Mishawaka, Woods is tabbed as the No. 54 overall recruit and is currently listed as a top-six 220-pounder nationally. Woods is the defending IHSAA champ at 220, which he won with a perfect 44-0 record. Outside of the high school mat, Woods’ resume is highlighted by a finals appearance at the 2015 Cadet World Team Trials at 100 kg and in 2014 he claimed the 195-pound title at the Cliff Keen USA Wrestling Cadet Folkstyle Nationals. Click on the image above to learn more about Woods. Click here to view the article

Complete Results // TrackWrestling FRESNO, Calif. - Eleven Purdue wrestlers placed at the Roadrunner Open, highlighted by a championship outing from Danny Sabatello (133) and a runner-up performance from Nick Lawrence (141), Sunday inside Selland Arena. The Boilermakers additionally earned a pair of third-place finishes, one fourth and three fifth- and sixth-place finishes. Together the 13 grapplers in action posted a 54-18 record at the event, while winning 25 of their 54 matches via bonus points (4 TF, 6 MD, 15 F). After receiving a first-round bye, Sabatello went on an offensive tear by winning back-to-back bonus point matches. The redshirt junior began the day by building a 10-0 lead on Jack Hogan of Peninsula Grapplers before pinning him early in the second period (3:39). He then disposed of Appalachian State's Vito Pasone with a 13-3 major decision. A first-period takedown and penalty point, combined with 1:07 of riding time gave Sabatello a 4-1 decision over Ian Nickell of Cal State Bakersfield to move into the finals for a battle against Joey Palmer. Sabatello shut his unattached opponent out, 6-0, behind takedowns in the first and third periods, an escape in the final period and racked up 2:51 of riding time. With a 4-0 mark on the day, the Long Grove, Ill., native pushed his season record to 7-1. Like Sabatello, Lawrence went on an offensive tear in his first two matches at 141 pounds. The redshirt senior took down his first two opponents a dozen times in a 13-4 major decision of Peter Russo, who was wrestling unattached, and a 20-5 technical fall of Cal State Bakersfield's Adrian Panduro. Lawrence needed just 5:33 for the tech fall, his first since Feb. 2, 2013. In the quarterfinals, Lawrence scored a 7-1 decision of Appalachian State's Mike Longo with a single takedown in each period and had an escape to start the second period. Even though Troy Heilmann of North Carolina held the riding time advantage (1:23), Lawrence defeated the Tar Heel 3-2 thanks to an early takedown and escape in the second. He went up against another North Carolina opponent in the title match, 14th-ranked Joey Ward, and suffered a 5-2 loss. Ward took the Boilermaker down twice and escaped in the second to win the match. With a 4-1 outing, Lawrence's season mark moved to 8-3. Fellow redshirt senior Brandon Nelsen took third at 149 pounds while moving up the Purdue wrestling history charts. Nelsen pinned his first two opponents, Daniel Avalos of Fresno State Wrestling Club and San Francisco State's Dylan Furtado, in 2:25 and 3:27, respectively, to get into the semifinals. He then 7-2 decision to Stanford's Garrett Schaner, but fell to Illinois' Kyle Langenderfer, 8-4, in the semifinals. He picked up where he left off in the consolation semifinals, taking just 90 seconds to stick AJ Fierro of Cal State Bakersfield. The third pin of the day lifted his career total to 28 and moved him in to the No. 6 spot in program history. Nelsen collided with teammate Alex Griffin in the third-place match, with a first-period takedown and an escape in the second serving as the deciding factor in a 3-1 decision for the veteran. The Indianapolis, Ind., native now owns a record of 9-2 with five of his nine victories coming by way of fall. Pat Robinson captured third-place honors 165 pounds with an exclamation point, pinning Nick Kee of Appalachian State in 3:41. To get there, he first held off Justin Lozano of Peninsula Grapplers for a 10-8 decision and followed with a 5-3 win over Menlo's Eric Lopez. Neither Robinson nor No. 14 Jim Wilson of Stanford scored in the first period of their semifinal matchup. Wilson got on the board with an escape to start the second period and Robinson struck with the takedown. Wilson eluded Robinson's hold and tied the bout at 2-2 with two minutes to go. Starting the third period from bottom, Robinson took a 3-2 edge with an escape, but it didn't hold as Wilson got the decisive takedown and the 4-3 win. In the consolation semifinals, the redshirt senior edged North Carolina's Ethan Ramos, 9-7. Robinson holds a 5-1 record after his season-opening weekend in California. Three other Purdue wrestlers registered multiple pins. The first of Chad Welch's two pins was a dramatic one as he upset No. 20 John Michael Staudenmayer of North Carolina with the horn sounding at the end of the first period. He pinned the Tar Heel again in 6:54 to place fifth at 174 pounds. In the 184-pound wrestlebacks, Patrick Kissel stuck unattached wrestler Dylan Bollinger in 4:44 and followed with a 39-second fall of Appalachian State's Dominick Vetell. The 39-second pin is the fastest of the redshirt senior's career. Kissel (9-3) placed fifth. Ninth-ranked Braden Atwood used 3:27 to pin Andrew Teats of Sierra (1:09) and Marcus Haughian of Grand Canyon (2:18). The two falls by the redshirt senior pushed his career total to 26 and now ranks ninth all-time in program history. ROADRUNNER OPEN PLACEWINNERS 133 // Danny Sabatello // 1st 133 // Kyle Ayersman // 5th 141 // Nick Lawrence // 2nd 149 // Brandon Nelsen // 3rd 149 // Alex Griffin 4th 157 // Doug Welch // 6th 165 // Pat Robinson // 3rd 174 // Chad Welch // 5th 184 // Patrick Kissel // 5th 197 // Braden Atwood // 6th 285// Tyler Kral // 6th The Purdue wrestling team will host Indiana Tech and No. 17 Northern Iowa in its first home duals of the season inside Holloway Gymnasium on Nov. 23. Action starts at 1 p.m. ET with the Boilermakers taking on Indiana Tech, followed by Northern Iowa at 2:30 p.m. Northern Iowa and Indiana Tech will also dual at 4 p.m. Click here to view the article

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Powered behind four bonus point victories, the Purdue wrestling team corralled Cal Poly, 30-9, in its season opening and first-year head coach Tony Ersland's debut Friday in the Mott Athletics Center. The Boilermakers (1-0, 0-0 B1G) received bonus points at 133, 141, 149 and 197. "There were a lot of good things, I really like that we took the fight to them to start," Ersland said. "I think we need to do a better job of closing out matches though. We showed that we can wrestle hard, but we need confidence to finish it." The aggressive mindset that Ersland has instilled in the Boilermaker grapplers showed. Purdue registered 16 takedowns to the Mustangs' nine and combined for 18 back points while giving up none. "Overall I was very happy with the tone of most of the matches; guys went out and scored points and put a lot of points on the board, we just need to make sure we finish matches," Ersland said. "I think tonight should be a big confidence booster for all of these guys; first time down to weight on a one-hour weigh-in, they competed hard and I am happy with the effort. I think we should make a big jump in confidence knowing that we can hold up, wrestle hard and take control of these situations." Purdue took five of the first six weights from the Mustangs (0-3) to build a 23-3 lead. The Mustangs won the 125-pound match in sudden victory, but the Boilermakers took over from there. A forfeit from Cal Poly at 133 gave the Old Gold & Black six points, to which Nick Lawrence followed with six of his own. The redshirt senior, who was wrestling in his first dual since Feb. 23, 2013, built on an offensive clinic with five takedowns and had a two-point nearfall before sticking Connor Kim at the 3:56 mark to improve to 4-2. Redshirt sophomore Alex Griffin (5-2) put on a show with a 17-0 technical fall of Jacob Leon. In 4:51, Griffin took the Mustang down twice, got a pair of five-counts for two three-point nearfalls and a trio of two-point nearfalls. He also escaped to start the second period. The team's leader in points scored pushed his early season total to 67 while winning his second match via technical fall. "I liked Griffin's aggressiveness," Ersland said. "We know that he will go out and tilt and turn and he got to his positions. You saw how he took control of the match right away." Wrestling in the first match of his final season, Braden Atwood showed why he is the nation's ninth-ranked 197-pounder with a 12-3 major decision of J.T. Goodwin. Atwood struck for an early takedown and went to work for back points, receiving a pair of two-point nearfalls. Starting the second period from bottom, he added an escape and Goodwin back down to the mat and rode him out for the red of the period. The Mustang opted to start the final period neutral, to which Atwood took advantage of by taking him down again. He accumulated 4:52 worth of riding time for his final point. The Boilermakers also received decisions from Doug Welch (157), Pat Robinson (165) and Patrick Kissel (184). Welch used a second period escape and two-point nearfall, plus 1:49 of riding time to shut Colt Shorts out, 4-0. Robinson's takedowns in the first and third periods and an escape lifted him to a 5-3 decision of Travis Berridge in his first match of the season. Kissel improved to 4-1 with a 12-10 come-from-behind decision over Nick Feigener. Purdue will be back in action at the Roadrunner Open hosted by Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday in Fresno, Calif. The tournament will get underway with preliminary matches at 1 p.m. ET. The finals and medal matches are set for a 9 p.m. ET start. PURDUE 30, CAL POLY 9 125 // Yoshito Funakoshi (Cal Poly) dec. Aaron Assad (Purdue), 5-4 (SV1) 133 // Danny Sabatello (Purdue) won by forfeit 141 // Nick Lawrence (Purdue) pinned Connor Kim (Cal Poly), 3:57 149 // Alex Griffin (Purdue) tech fall Jacob Leon (Cal Poly), 17-0 (4:51) 157 // Doug Welch (Purdue) dec. Colt Shorts (Cal Poly), 4-0 165 // Pat Robinson (Purdue) dec. Travis Berridge (Cal Poly), 5-3 174 // Dominic Kastl (Cal Poly) dec. Chad Welch (Purdue), 5-1 184 // Patrick Kissel (Purdue) dec. Nick Fiegener (Cal Poly), 12-10 197 // No. 9 Braden Atwood (Purdue) maj. dec. J.T. Goodwin (Cal Poly), 12-3 285 // Nick Johnson (Cal Poly) dec. Tyler Kral (Purdue), 7-4 Click here to view the article

Photo Gallery WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Nine weights were contested as the Purdue wrestling team held its Gold & Black Matches Saturday in Holloway Gymnasium. Nick Lawrence and Jacob Morrissey notched bonus point victories and four other matches were decided by less than two points. Lawrence took redshirt freshman Cody Pae down four times and tallied a pair of three-point nearfalls en route to a 16-3 major decision at 141 pounds. The redshirt senior added 2:32 worth of riding time in the match. Morrissey, a redshirt freshman, pinned true freshman Blake Reid in 2:59. The Oconto Falls, Wis., native, wasted no time getting after Reid, taking him down early in the first period. He remained in control and got both of Reid's shoulders on the mat with one tick on the clock in the opening stanza. The Gold & Black Matches began with back-to-back 3-1 bouts at 125 and 133 pounds. A second period reversal and 1:38 worth of riding time lifted redshirt freshman Aaron Assadpast true freshman Ben Thornton at 125. In a highly anticipated matchup at 133, it was redshirt junior Danny Sabatello's quick strike in the first period combined with 2:40 riding time that led to the decision over redshirt sophomore Kyle Ayersman. Redshirt sophomore Alex Griffin edged redshirt senior Brandon Nelsen, 3-2, in a battle at 149 pounds. The first three minutes of action were scoreless, but that wasn't the case in the second period. Opting to start from bottom, Griffin got on the board with an escape and followed with a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Nelsen escaped to make it 3-1 as the period came a close. Starting the final period from bottom, Nelsen escaped from Griffin for the final point in the match. After spending last season at 174, redshirt senior Patrick Kissel has made the move to 184, where he took on last year's 184-pound starter, redshirt sophomore Tanner Lynde. Kissel notched a first period takedown and added an escape after starting the second period from bottom. Lynde got a takedown of his at the beginning of the third period after choosing a neutral start. He was unable to keep Kissel down for a 4-2 final. The Boilermakers open their season at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Nov. 14. The dual will start at 10 p.m. ET. Two days later they will wrestle in the Road Runner Open hosted by Cal State Bakersfield in Fresno, Calif. GOLD & BLACK MATCHES 125 // Aaron Assad dec. Ben Thornton, 3-1 133 // Danny Sabatello dec. Kyle Ayersman, 3-1 141 // Nick Lawrence maj. dec. Cody Pae, 16-3 149 // Alex Griffin dec. Brandon Nelsen, 3-2 157 // Doug Welch dec. Dustin Schultz, 6-2 165 // Andy Hoselton dec. Peter Andreotti, 5-1 174 // Jacob Morrissey pin Blake Reid, 2:59 184 // Patrick Kissel dec. Tanner Lynde, 4-2 197 // Drake Stein dec. Jacob Aven, 6-3 Click here to view the article