March 17, 2001
The Purdue wrestling team is in 25th place at the NCAA Championships, tied with EWL power Pittsburgh and Big Ten foe Penn State, with a team score of 15.50 points.
Purdue's hopes to move up in the final rankings rest on the shoulders of heavyweight Jake Vercelli, who is on the eve of officially claiming All-America status, the first Purdue wrestler to do so since Jason Silverstein placed eighth at 125 two years ago. Vercelli awaits a seventh-place match against Michigan's Matt Brink, the third seed at heavyweight. He will attain All-America status with a loss, finishing in the top eighth, but Vercelli would like to earn his honor with another victory.
In today's consolation bracket, Vercelli picked up three tough victories to put himself in position for a seventh-place finish. After losing to Illinois' John Quirk in overtime yesterday, Vercelli began day two with a victory over Wisconsin's Justin Staebler, his second over Staebler this season. He then pulled a mild upset, knocking off third-seeded Antonio Garay of Boston College, 3-1. His win over Garay turns out to be his clinching win. Following a loss to Fresno State's Billy Blunt, the seventh-seed, Vercelli enters the seventh-place match against Michigan's Matt Brink. Vercelli lost a 3-1 decision to Brink earlier at the Big Ten Championships.
Today marked the final match in the career of Evan Robinson. Robinson's first match of the consolation round was against Cleveland State's Nick Boucher, with Boucher pinning Robinson at 3:38. Robinson concludes his senior season with a record of 24-9, a career mark of 79-35.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Lange concluded his outstanding first year as well. After losing to third-seeded Maurice Worthy of Army, who has advanced to the championship match, Lange battled back in his consolation bracket with a victory over Millersville's Alan Grosso, a 3-1 win over ninth-seeded Perry Parks of Iowa State before losing to Ohio's Luke Moore, 4-3. Lange's two losses at the NCAA Championships were both by one point. Lange concludes his first year with an overall record of 31-11.
Jon Bush, competing at 197, picked up a pinfall victory over Penn State's Pete Mielnik at the 5:58 mark, before dropping an 11-8 decision to Michigan State's Nik Fekete. Bush concludes his sophomore season with a 20-9 overall record, and tied for the team lead with eight pinfalls.
Vercelli will wrestle Brink tomorrow, the final Boilermaker to compete. He looks to become the sixth Boilermaker in school history to attain All-American status. The last person to do it was Tony Vaughn in 1996, who placed third. Other former heavyweight All-Americans include Matt Lindley (1991-sixth), Bob Hopp (1964-fourth), Ray Gunkel (1947-second) and Frank Ruggieri (1942-third).