March 8, 1999
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The 14th-ranked Purdue wrestling team will have three representatives at the upcoming NCAA Championships in two weeks. Overall, the Boilers finished in 10th place accumulating 31.50 points. An era came to an end today, as Minnesota ended Iowa's twenty-five year reign at the top of the conference amassing 139 points. This was the first time a team other than Iowa had won since 1973. This was Minnesota's first title since 1959. Iowa took second followed by Penn State, Illinois and Michigan to round out the top five.
"I'm a little disappointed with our performance this weekend," Purdue coach Jessie Reyes said. "We are young team and we came out and seemed to be intimidated early and that cost of some matches.. Included in this scenario, we lost a few critical matches that we really needed to win. Hopefully, we can learn from this and come back stronger than ever next year. "
At 125 pounds, Purdue's fourth-seeded Jason Silverstein captured fifth place with an 11-2 major decision victory over Wisconsin's seventh-seeded Kevin Black. The redshirt freshman mounted his offense early in the first period, as he built a 9-0 lead and was able to hang on for the victory. He now stands at 30-8 overall and 10-5 in Big Ten.
Also claiming fifth place today was Purdue's heavyweight senior David Pierce. The fourth-seeded Pierce defeated Michigan's Matt Brink 8-1 to earn his third straight berth in the NCAA's. The defeat of Brink was redemption of sorts for Pierce who lost to the fifth-seed 3-1 in the second round yesterday. Last year at Big Ten's, Pierce finished sixth.
In the third-place match at 157, third-seeded Purdue senior Wineberg fell to top-seeded Golden Gopher Chad Kraft 8-2. Wineberg finished the two-day tournament with a 3-2 record. Two of Wineberg's three lossed in the 1998-99 season have come at the hands of Minnesota's Kraft. He now stands at 21-3 overall, 8-3 in the Big Ten and is making his second straight appearance in the NCAA's.
"I am happy we have three guys get the opportunity to advance on to nationals," Reyes said. "In the next week or so, we need to keep working with them and get them physically as well as mentally ready to compete. It will take an effort from the whole team to make that possible. Their confidence level needs to be at the highest level when the championships start."
With a berth in the NCAA's going to the victor, Purdue senior Josh Hutchens came up one second short, as he lost his seventh-place match to Illinois Dave Stoltz 4-3 at 133 pounds. Hutchens had 59 seconds of riding time when the seven minutes of intense competition was over. If a wrestler has one minute or more of riding time when the match is over, that wrestler receives one point. Hutchens finishes his last year at Purdue with a 13-9 record.
The NCAA Championships will be held on March 18-20 in College Park, Pa., hosted by Big Ten member Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center. Next year's Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be held in West Lafayette on March 4-5.
TEAM STANDINGS:1. Minnesota 139.002. Iowa 121.003. Penn State 109.004. Illinois 82.505. Michigan 76.506. Wisconsin 59.507. Northwestern 56.508. Michigan State 53.509. Indiana 48.0010. Purdue 31.5011. Ohio State 30.00
THIRD-PLACE MATCH:
157: Chad Kraft (MIN) dec. Willie Wineberg (PU) 8-2
FIFTH-PLACE MATCH:
125: Jason Silverstein (PU) major dec. Kevin Black (WIS) 11-2 Hwt: David Pierce (PU) dec. Matt Brink (MICH) 8-1
SEVENTH-PLACE MATCH:
Dave Stoltz (MICH) dec. Josh Hutchens (PU) 4-3
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES:
125: Jeremy Hunter (PSU) dec. Pat Cassidy (IU) 3-1 133: Pat McNamara (MSU) dec. Joe Warren (MICH) 12-10 141: Doug Schwabb (IOWA) dec. Damion Logan (MICH) 6-4 149: T.J. Williams (IOWA) dec. Troy Marr (MIN) 8-3 157: Jamie Heidt (IOWA) dec. Clint Musser (PSU) 6-2 165: Don Pritzlaff (WIS) dec. Josh Holiday (MIN) 5-1 OT 174: Glenn Pritzlaff (PSU) dec. Mark Bybee (NU) 6-4 OT 184: Brandon Eggum (MIN) dec. Ross Thatcher (PSU) 6-3 197: Tim Hartung (MIN) dec. Lee Fullhart (IOWA) 2-1 Hwt: Brock Lesnar (MIN) dec. Karl Roesler (ILL) 7-0