2009-10 Wrestling Season Preview

[Drooke]

2009-10 Wrestling Season Preview

 

 

The Purdue wrestling team enters its 96th season in 2009-10, and its third under current head coach Scott Hinkel. Share DeliciousDiggFacebookGoogleMySpaceTwitterYahoo     

 

 

 

 

Purdue junior Colton Salazar is garnering lots of national attention at 157 pounds.

 

 

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2009-10 Wrestling Season Preview

Boilermakers Name 2009-10 Wrestling Captains

 

 

Oct. 13, 2009

 

 

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team enters its 96th season in 2009-10, and its third under current head coach Scott Hinkel. The Boilermakers are after their third straight winning dual season and hope to make a move towards the top of the standings in the rigorous Big Ten Conference. Despite seven of 10 starters returning, the lineup could look incredibly different this season.

 

125 Pounds

The Boilermakers' starting job at 125 is up for grabs between sophomore Matt Fields and true freshman Cashé Quiroga. Fields had a standout freshman year in limited fashion, posting an 11-6 mark, including a win at the Big Ten Championships. He tied for 10th on the roster for wins and was second overall with 53 back points. Quiroga comes to West Lafayette with outstanding credentials including the 2009 USA Wrestling Junior Freestyle Championship and No. 65 national recruiting ranking from InterMat Wrestling. Sophomore transfer Reece Freeman and highly-touted freshman Camden Eppert provide more competition for the job and a group of able bodies in the room. Both were Indiana State High School Champions as Freeman won a 2007 title and posted 28 wins at Marion Military Academy last year, while Eppert took home a 2009 crown and was the nation's No. 63 recruit on InterMat's list, but is expected to redshirt this year. Freeman may also compete at 133 pounds.

 

133 Pounds

Purdue junior Akif Eren is the favorite for the starting nod at 133 pounds, bumping up after two years at 125. With a career mark of 20-33 heading into the season, Eren is expected to show great improvement at a more natural weight. He'll received ample competition and support from Freeman and sophomore Bill Putman. Putman was 4-3 in limited action last season, and all four victories were at 133 pounds, three of which came by fall.

 

 

141 Pounds

The 141-pound weight class is crowded one for the Old Gold and Black, but is led by returning starter Juan Archuleta. His first year with the Boilermakers was interrupted midseason as he was 15-6 before an injury at Old Dominion and 0-7 after. Now healthy, he expects to return to form and lead the Boilermakers' 141 weight class. An army of competition waits in the wings, including sophomore Jake Fleckenstein and redshirt freshman Tommy Churchard. Fleckenstein was 8-5 at 133 pounds in his inaugural season with the Boilermakers, including the 2008 Eastern Michigan Open title, while Churchard was a 2008 Indiana State High School Champion and is ready for varsity competition after a redshirt year. Other 141-pounders for Purdue are junior Matt Hemry, redshirt freshman Matt Manuel and true freshmen Will Mascaro and Steven Standefer. Hemry got several starts at 141 last year and provided the Boilermakers with some thrilling moments in his 6-7 campaign, and Manuel, like Churchard, is anxious to join the varsity ranks after his redshirt. Mascaro and Sandefer were both Indiana High School standouts last season as Mascaro placed third at 135 pounds, while Sandefer won his second straight 140 pound title.

 

149 Pounds

A huge hole was left in the lineup with the graduation of three-year starter and 2009 All-American Jake Patacsil, but several ready and able bodies are ready to jump in and compete for the starting nod. A trio of redshirt seniors will vie for the job in Nick Bertucci, Sam Patacsil and Matt Redmond, while the Boilermakers' top-ranked recruit, Kendrick Sanders of Miami, Fla., hopes to throw his hat in the ring as well. Bertucci and Patacsil have made the cut down from 157 pounds, looking to continue a pair of very successful careers. Bertucci was 10-6 last year, and 14-14 the season before as a starter at 157, including a win over NCAA runner-up Craig Henning of Wisconsin at the Big Ten Tournament. Sam Patacsil missed most of the 2008-09 campaign with injury after an outstanding 14-6 sophomore season that included three technical falls and five major decisions. Redmond has a 20-11 career mark at 149 pounds, competing in solid fashion in limited action over two seasons. Sanders brings very impressive credentials in Purdue, including multiple USA Wrestling Junior Greco-Roman National Championships, a trio of Florida State High School Championships and the No. 55 national recruit ranking from InterMat Wrestling.

 

157 Pounds

The Boilermakers' 157-pound starting job is in safe hands with returning junior Colton Salazar leading the way in 2009-10. A two-time Big Ten Championship placewinner and NCAA Championship qualifier, Salazar is receiving a wealth of national love in the preseason rankings, earning as high as the No. 10 nod in the standings. His two trips to nationals were separated by three years that included a religious mission to Japan and a redshirt season, but he hasn't missed a beat, putting together 27 career wins, including three at the 2009 Big Ten Championships and a fourth-place showing. Freshman Kyle Mosier looks to gain valuable experience in the room as he plans to redshirt the season after a third-place effort at last year's Indiana State High School Championship and 45-1 season record.

 

165 Pounds

The starting job at 165 pounds is another opened by weight movement as two-time NCAA Championship qualifier Luke Manuel makes the move up to 174 pounds this year. Redshirt senior Jason Martin is the leading candidate with 69 career matches in tow at three different weight classes, including a 16-7 mark last year. He filled in as the starter at 174 pounds as a freshman, going just 9-21, but has rebounded with a mark of 23-11 over the last two years at 165. He'll be challenged by redshirt sophomore John Doyle for mat-time, who was 7-3 in his rookie campaign, including a fifth place finish at the Eastern Michigan Open.

 

174 Pounds

Two-year 165-pound standout Luke Manuel makes the jump to 174 pounds and looks to continue his outstanding success for the Boilermakers. Manuel has back-to-back 25+ win seasons for the Old Gold and Black, despite facing an incredibly tough schedule in 2008-09 that included 17 ranked opponents. His 26-15 record last year included a fifth-place showing at the Big Ten Championships and a victory over the No. 1 seed at the NCAA Championships.

 

184 Pounds

Junior A.J. Kissel has been a national force for Purdue at 184 pounds over the last two seasons, already climbing to third all-time at Purdue with 36 career falls. However, Kissel plans to take his redshirt season in 2009-10, opening the door for redshirt senior Nick Corpe and redshirt junior David Pisarcik to try their hands at 184 pounds. Corpe moves up from 174 pounds for his final season, posting 52 wins over his first three years, including a 24-win campaign in 2007-08. Pisarcik cuts down from 197 pounds this year after building a 9-4 record in three open tournaments last season. He placed in all three efforts, winning the Simonson Open. Freshman Justin Dinius adds a more-than-able body in the room at 184 as well, missing his senior season with injury after a solid three-year career at Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.

 

197 Pounds

Purdue redshirt junior Logan Brown is the only 2009 NCAA Championship qualifier set to compete in the same weight class this year for the Boilermakers, and should do so in strong fashion. Leading the team with 76 takedowns last season, he was one of just three Boilermakers with at least 30 victories and placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships. He was second on the team with seven falls, and had a pair of other tournament placings, winning the Eastern Michigan Open and taking fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

 

285 Pounds

With the Boilermakers' starting heavyweight job vacated by the departure of Chris Kasten, redshirt junior Roger Vukobratovich is ably waiting to take over the role for the Old Gold and Black. Last season was a breakout year for Vukobratovich as he posted a 10-4 mark in limited action, winning a pair of open tournaments and sticking a career-best five opponents. He'll be bolstered in the room by true freshmen Adam Walls and Alex White, who were respective state high school championship placewinners in Ohio and Indiana.

 

2009-10 Schedule

NOVEMBER

The Boilermakers have possibly their toughest schedule in school history in 2009-10, taking on 10 of the final members of last year's NWCA Final Coaches Poll, and 14 of the top 25 teams at the 2009 NCAA Championships this season. They open for the fifth straight season at the Eastern Michigan Open, and will kick off the dual schedule the following week with a trio of matches at Big Ten rival Northwestern. There Purdue is set to face Stanford and Northern Iowa, along with their first Big Ten Dual of the season against the host Wildcats. The Boilermakers cap the month with a challenging trip to Missouri, where they'll face the Tigers in a dual match before competing in the Missouri Open tournament as well.

 

DECEMBER

Purdue heads to the desert for the third straight season to open December, set to compete in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational against a star-studded field. The Boilermakers had four placewinners last season, and look to increase that total this year. They'll follow with four matches at the Purdue Duals before the holiday break, facing Mount Saint Joseph, Indianapolis, Southern Illinois and Lakeland, and return at the end of the month to head back to Evanston, Ill., for the Midlands Championships at Northwestern. Another talent-rich field awaits the Boilermakers at Midlands, as they hope to move up from last year's seventh-place team finish.

 

JANUARY

A series of eight grueling duals await the Old Gold and Black in January, including the remainder of the Big Ten Dual season. The Boilermakers head to Old Dominion for the second straight year, set to face the host Monarchs as well as UNC Greensboro and Rider, and to the Ashland Wendy's Duals for the third consecutive season, matched up with the Eagles and highly-touted Kent State and Maryland. The conference schedule resumes Jan. 24, as Purdue hosts defending national champion Iowa at Lowell High School in Lowell, Ind., and follows with last year's national runner-up, Ohio State, coming to town. The Boilermakers have to turn around two days after their bout with the Buckeyes and head to Minneapolis to challenge the Golden Gophers.

 

FEBRUARY

February holds the Boilermakers final four conference bouts, with two contests at home and two on the road. Purdue hosts Wisconsin to open the month, hoping to avenge last year's narrow loss in Madison, and heads to East Lansing, Mich., the same weekend hoping to notch their third consective win over Michigan State. The Boilermakers will host archrival Indiana on Valentine's Day at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Ind., hoping to earn their second victory over the Hoosiers in the last three seasons and score a point in the coveted Crimson and Gold Cup standings. Purdue closes out the regular season at Illinois, seeking their first win over the Fighting Illini since 1998.

 

MARCH

March is championship month for the Boilermakers as they'll head to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the Big Ten Championships and then to Omaha, Neb., for the NCAA Championships. Purdue has improved their conference and national standing in each of the last two seasons under Hinkel, and look to do so for the third straight year.

 

[Boot]

Where did Kasten go, wasn't this going to be his senior year?