Nov. 18, 2000
The Purdue Wrestling team kicked off its 2000-2001 wrestling season in impressive fashion, coming away with a second-place finish at the Navy Classic. The Boilers finished with a team score of 133, second only to Virginia Tech, who finished with 152.5.
Junior Jason Silverstein came away with a third-place finish at 133. A regular competitor at 125, Silverstein moved up to compete at 133. He began his day with a 16-5 win over James Madison's Dalton Head, before losing to Brian Floyd of West Virginia. Silverstein rebounded in the consolations, winning five matches, including a rematch with Floyd, to capture third place. He is currently ranked fifth at 125.
Also moving up one weight class was Evan Robinson, who competed at 141 and placed second. Robinson pinned Boston's Mark Laramee at the 3:46 mark, and followed that by defeating Navy's Dan Hemminger 13-5. Robinson then beat second-seeded Tom Wysocki of Rutgers, before losing 7-3 to returning All-American Sean Gray of Virginia Tech. He is currently ranked sixth at 133.
"Jason and Evan did really well for moving up a weight class. Evan lost to a really tough kid in Sean Gray, who is ranked third in the nation at 141," head coach Jessie Reyes said.
The Boilermakers had a couple of strong performances at 149 from Brad Harper and Dan Jankowski. Harper entered the competition as the seventh seed, and finished the day with a second-place finish. Jankowski, who was not seeded, placed fourth. Harper defeated Navy's Brent Peterson 4-1, then upset second-seeded John Forster of Rutgers 5-4. Harper beat Virginia Tech's Brent Rider 3-1 before losing to top-seeded Malik Elliot of Boston. Jankowski picked up an 8-6 win over Ken Rodriguez of Rutgers, followed by a 3-1 loss to top-seeded Elliot. Jankowski did well in the consolations, picking up four more wins before losing to second-seeded John Forster of Rutgers, in a battle for third place.
"We had a great effort from those kids at 149. Brad and Dan are two of the hardest workers on the team, and it really paid off for them at Navy," Reyes added.
The Boilers had another impressive performance from a pair of wrestlers at 157. Sophomore Oscar Santiago was arguably the most pleasant surprise of Saturday's competition, coming away with a first-place finish. Santiago defeated the first-, second- and third-seeded wrestlers at 157. Santiago began his run with a 16-1 technical fall win over seventh-seeded John Campbell of Navy. He followed that up with a 13-9 win over second-seeded Shane Engle-Folks of Rutgers, then a 3-1 win over Boston's Jason Holder. In the championship match, Santiago soundly beat top-seeded Pierre Pryor, of N.C. State, 14-4. Sophomore Clovis Crane also did well, placing sixth. Crane upset fourth-seeded Andrew Shuler of Virginia Tech 4-2, and followed that with an upset win over fifth-seeded Frank Edwards. Crane lost to top-seeded Pryor, but was still able to capture sixth place.
"Oscar looked really impressive. I'm proud of how things worked out for him. He works hard for us, and I was glad to see his hard work pay off," Reyes added. "He beat a really tough kid from North Carolina State. Clovis did good as well. He wasn't even seeded, yet he beat a couple of highly-regarded wrestlers."
At 165, sophomore Kirk Moore placed second. Moore was originally the seventh seed, but came away with a couple of impressive wins to place second. Moore picked up a 2-1 win over Virginia Tech's Jeff Cieo, then a 4-2 win over N.C. State's Scott Garren, the second seed at 165. Moore then advanced with a 4-2 win over third-seeded Brad Lauer of Rutgers, before losing to top-seeded Chris Martin of Virginia Tech in the championship round.
Ryan Lange and Jon Fitch represented the Boilers at 174. Lange defeated Navy's Luke Lazzo 21-7, but lost to fifth-seeded Dustin Kawa of N.C. State. Langes finished strong in the consolation round, and was able to capture third place, picking up four wins, including a win over Fitch.
Jon Bush placed fifth at 197. Bush upset third-seeded Michael Bigrigg of Navy, 6-5, in his first match. He lost his second round match, but picked up a win in the consolation round, putting him in fifth place.
At heavyweight, Jake Vercelli and Israel Blevins both placed. Vercelli, seeded first, pinned James Madison's Anthony LiVecchi, then pinned Navy's Stephen Kovach, before falling to second-seeded Ryan Kehler of West Virginia. Blevins picked up three wins in the consolation round, including an 11-8 win over fifth-seeded Ben Fisher of Virginia Tech.
"All in all, it was a good, solid tournament," Reyes added. "We didn't have anyone compete at 125 or 184, we moved Jason and Evan up one weight class, and we still finished in second place," Reyes said. "I was pleased with how everyone competed. Everyone really stepped it up this weekend. This gives us a nice warmup heading into the Mat Town Invitational next weekend."
The Boilermakers continue their season next weekend, travelling to Lock Haven, Pa., on Nov. 25 to compete in the Mat Town Invitational.