Jan. 13, 2000
In one of the most exciting finishes in recent Boilermaker history, the 24th-ranked Purdue wrestling team came from behind to upset eighth-ranked Pennsylvania, 18-16 before 600 frenzied fans in the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility on Thursday night. The Boilermakers improve to 4-3 on the season, while the Quakers drop to 1-1 overall. This was the Boilers' first victory over a top 10 school since they defeated No. 6 Michigan State, 19-16 on Feb. 1, 1997.
"This was a total team effort here tonight," Purdue coach Jessie Reyes said. "Tonight, we did the little things and I really thought that we just wrestled good."
The reason the fans were so excited was the final match of the night when sophomore Jared Williams walked onto the mat needing a win over Craig Melcher to earn a team victory at 184-pounds. To the delight of the Purdue fans, Williams not only defeated Melcher but controlled all the action of the match in the 8-2 victory.
Williams scored a takedown 37 seconds into the match for the first points of the night and was able to keep Melcher on his stomach to pick up riding time. In the second period, Williams again scored a takedown and had an escape to push his lead to 5-0 at the end of five intense minutes of competition. He then scored another takedown in the third, but a reversal late by Melcher as time expired made the score 7-2. Williams earned another point as he accumulated 4:56 of riding time to secure the win.
"When I took to the mat, I forgot about the score and the crowd," Purdue's Jared Williams said. "My whole focus was on my opponent. I wanted to remember the little things coach Reyes stresses to us in practice and just to wrestle my match. I think that tonight I did that."
Penn kept the match close despite winning just four of the 10 individual matches by earning bonus points. A pin by second-ranked Rick Springman at 174 and a major decision by third-ranked Brett Matter at 157 were the only bonus points scored in the dual with all of Purdue's six wins coming by decision.
Sophomore Jacob Vercelli, ranked 12th at heavyweight, upset No. 4 Bandele Adeniyi-Bada 3-1 for the Boilers first win of the night. With the win, Vercelli improves to 12-1 on the season. The Old Gold and Black then reeled off three straight wins at the top on the lineup, as All-American Jason Silverstein defeated Kevin Rucci 6-2, Evan Robinson racked up 1:30 of riding time in a 7-4 win over Jason Nagle and Carlos Blanco returned to the lineup and scored a 8-5 win over Jody Giuricich. With Robinson's win at 133, he now leads the team with 13 wins on the season.
Kirk Moore was Purdue's other winner in the dual with a 5-1 decision over Tim Ortman at 165-pounds.
"I am so proud of my kids," Reyes said. "Tonight we wrestled our match. We controlled the mat and we did the little things, which make a good team ever better. Hopefully, we can build off this and just keep improving. This was an excellent effort by all."
The Boilermakers will return to the mat tomorrow, as they will entertain the Northern Iowa Panthers at 7 p.m. in the IAF. The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Upcoming promotions for the 81st-season of Purdue wrestling include, jello wrestling on Feb. 4 during the Ohio State meet and the following night is 'Nitro Night' on Feb. 5 during the Penn State match.
PURDUE 18, PENNSYLVANIA 16 125 Jason Silverstein (PU) dec. Kevin Rucci (UP), 6-2133 Evan Robinson (PU) dec. Jason Nagle (UP), 7-4141 Carlos Blanco (PU) dec. Jody Giuricich (UP), 8-5149 Jonathon Gough (UP) dec. Jimmy Hawthorne (PU), 2-0 157 Brett Matter (UP) major dec. James Leavell (PU), 10-2 165 Kirk Moore (PU) dec. Tim Ortman (UP), 5-1174 Rick Springman (UP) win by fall Jon Fitch (PU), 5:54184 Jared Williams (PU) dec. Craig Melcher (UP), 8-2197 Mike Fickell (UP) dec. Mark Colegrove (PU), 4-3 Hwt. Jacob Vercelli (PU) dec. Bandele Adeniyi-Bada (PU), 3-1