March 5, 2000
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., --The host Purdue Boilermakers finished in 11th place with 23.00 points at the 2000 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Defending national champion Iowa won the team title with 139.50 points and 1999 Big Ten champion Minnesota finished second with 132.50. Illinois, Michigan State and Michigan finished third through fifth, respectively.
Although the Boilermakers did not send any wrestlers to the championship finals, there was plenty at stake for Purdue on Sunday. Six Boilers were attempting to earn an automatic berth at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., with a finish of seventh or better.
Purdue's Evan Robinson, wrestling at 133-pounds, advanced to the third-place match with a 9-5 decision over Brett Lawrence of Minnesota in the third round of the consolation brackets. Robinson, the #6 seed, overcame a 4-3 deficit in the third period with two takedowns and a near fall to move past Lawrence, the fourth seed in the championships.
In the third-place match, Robinson held a 4-2 lead over Joe Warren of Michigan on the center mat but surrendered a takedown in the final seconds of the opening period that evened the score heading into the second. Warren grabbed the lead on an escape followed by a takedown and began the third period with a 7-5 advantage. The Wolverine senior would not let the Purdue junior up from the mat in the final period and won 8-5 with ride-time advantage.
The Boilermaker win leader heads to the NCAA Championships with a 28-7 record after his fourth-place Big Ten finish this weekend. Robinson will be making his first appearance at the national championships after injuries kept him out of the Big Ten's the past two seasons.
At 125-pounds, 11th-ranked Purdue sophomore Jason Silverstein defeated Ryan Escobar of Illinois 12-3 for seventh place and earned a chance to repeat as an All-American. Kirk Moore's 11-5 victory over Indiana's Butch Hildebrand at 165-pounds avenged a 6-5 loss at the hands of the Hoosier senior in the regular season finale on Feb. 20 in West Lafayette, Ind., and sends the freshman to St. Louis in his first season of intercollegiate competition.
In the final match of the consolation finals, Purdue's Jacob Vercelli earned a 3-2 decision over Northwestern's Josh Saul in the heavyweight division. Vercelli, also a first-time national qualifier, increased his win total to 21, second best on the Boiler team.
In other action on Sunday, Purdue junior Luis Blanco and freshman Jimmy Hawthorne lost 7th-place matches to narrowly miss spots at the national championships. Blanco dropped a 7-2 decision to Mike Castillo of Michigan State at 141-pounds and Hawthorne fell in a 3-2 heartbreaker to #6 seed Brian Roskovich of Ohio State. Hawthorne needed only an escape to force overtime, but Roskovich maintained his tight grip as the last period expired to take the decision.
Purdue's four national qualifiers (Silverstein-125, Robinson-133, Moore-165, Vercelli-Hwt.) return to action at the 2000 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo., on March 16-18.
Final Big Ten Wrestling Championships standings1. Iowa 139.502. Minnesota 132.503. Illinois 96.504. Michigan State 87.505. Michigan 73.006. Northwestern 51.007. Wisconsin 48.008. Ohio State 47.508. Penn State 47.5010 Indiana 45.0011. Purdue 23.00
Championship final results125 #2 Jody Strittmatter (IOWA) dec. #1 Jeremy Hunter (PSU), 3-2133 #1 Eric Juergens (IOWA) dec. #2 Pat McNamara (MSU), 4-2141 #2 Doug Schwab (IOWA) dec. #1 Scott Schatzman (NW), 5-2149 #3 Adam Tirapelle (ILL) dec. #1 Jared Lawrence (MINN), 4-2157 #1 T.J. Williams (IOWA) dec. #2 Luke Becker (MINN), 10-4165 #1 Don Pritzlaff (WIS) dec. #2 Brad Pike (MINN), 6-2174 #4 Mark Bybee (NW) dec. #3 Gabe McMahan (IOWA), 9-2184 #1 Brandon Eggum (MINN) med. forf. #3 Nate Patrick (ILL)197 #1 Nick Muzashvili (MSU) dec. #2 Nick Preston (OSU), 8-3Hwt.#2 Brock Lesnar (MINN) dec. #1 Wes Hand (IOWA), 2-1
Purdue third-round wrestle-back results133 #6 Evan Robinson (PU) dec. #4 Brett Lawrence (MINN), 9-5
Purdue consolation-final results125 7th place #4 Jason Silverstein (PU) maj. dec. #6 Ryan Escobar (ILL), 12-3133 3rd place #3 Joe Warren (MICH) dec. #6 Evan Robinson (PU), 8-5141 7th place Mike Castillo (MSU) dec. Luis Blanco (PU), 7-2149 7th place #6 Brian Roskovich (OSU) dec. Jimmy Hawthorne (PU), 3-2165 7th place Kirk Moore (PU) dec. Butch Hildebrand (IU), 11-5Hwt. 7th place #6 Jacob Vercelli (PU) dec. Josh Saul (NW)