March 10, 2002
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team finished seventh at the Big Ten Championships hosted by Illinois with 55.5 points. Minnesota won the event with 174 points, Iowa was second with 129 and Michigan was third with 121.5 points.
Freshman Chris Fleeger, who was ranked second in the 125-pound weight class, finished third for the Boilermakers. Fleeger dropped his first match to Iowa's Luke Eustice (2-1) but then won his next four matches. Fleeger earned a major decision over Wisconsin's Tony Black (15-4) and then defeated Indiana's Greg Schaefer (9-2). In the third session, Fleeger defeated Twan Pham of Illinois, 4-3, and then earned his second major decision of the event with an 11-2 win over Michigan's A.J. Grant.
In the 133-pound class, freshman Rene Hernandez dropped a pair of major decisions and went 0-2 on the weekend. Sophomore Ryan Pursley wrestled in the 141-pound class and dropped a 12-4 match in the first round. He then lost a 6-3 decision to Michigan State's Charlie Sageman.
Sophomore Dan Jankowski, who wrestled in the 149-pound division, lost a 7-3 first round match to Penn State's Nate Wachter. Jankowksi then rebounded with an 11-3 win over Indiana's Steve Amy. Jankowski lost his final match, a 10-7 decision, to Illinois' Ryan Berger.
Sophomore Brad Harper competed as the eighth-ranked individual in the 157-pound class. After a first-round bye, Harper lost a 13-5 major decision to top-seeded Luke Becker of Minnesota. Harper then bounced back with a 3-1 decision over Indiana's Rocky Mantella. The Mishawaka native then dropped his second-round match in the consolation round, but defeated Wisconsin's Adam Turner (4-1) to take eighth place in the class.
One of the Boilermakers' more experienced wrestlers, Oscar Santiago competed in the 165-pound class. Entering the event as the fifth seed, Santiago defeated Northwestern's Ryan Kane 8-2 in the second round of the first session. Santiago then dropped a 10-2 major decision to top-seeded Matt Lackey of Illinois. In the third session, Santiago downed Michigan's Charles Martelli 7-6. In the third-place match, Santiago dropped a 9-4 decision to Penn State's Doc Vecchio and finished in fourth place in the class.
Sophomore Ryan Lange entered the 174-pound class with the fourth seed. After a first-round bye, Lange defeated Michigan State's 3-2. In the second session, Lange dropped a hard-fought 2-1 match to top-seeded Otto Olson of Michigan. Lange dropped a 6-4 match to Minnesota's Jacob Volkmann before pinning Wisconsin's Brady Reinke at the 1:41 mark to earn a fifth-place finish.
Senior Jon Fitch nearly pulled off an upset in the first round of the 184-pound class, dropping a 6-4 decision in overtime to second-seeded Viktor Sveda of Indiana. Fitch went 0-2 on the weekend.
In the 197-pound division, freshman Bryan Kapp went 0-2 on the weekend. Kapp lost matches to Penn State's Pete Mielnik (6:42) and Illinois' Tyrone Byrd (4-0).
Senior Jake Vercelli claimed the fourth seed in the heavyweight class. Vercelli earned a first-round bye, and then dropped a 3-2 decision to Illinois' John Lockhart. In the second round of the second session Vercelli defeated Wisconsin's Justin Staebler 6-3 and then dropped a 3-1 match to Minnesota's Garrett Lowney, who was seeded third. Vercelli took home fifth-place honors by defeating Lockhart, who took a medical forfeit.
Complete results can be found at the Big Ten Conference website at www.bigten.org
Place Team Point Total1st Minnesota 174.02nd Iowa 129.03rd Michigan 121.54th Ohio State 115.05th Illinois 91.56th Penn State 66.57th Purdue 55.58th Michigan State 54.59th Wisconsin 50.010th Indiana 48.011th Northwestern 13.0