Feb. 1, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Purdue wrestling team, ranked 18th in the country, traveled to Minneapolis and took down one of the giants in NCAA wrestling, defeating the No.11 Minnesota Golden Gophers, 18-15, in front of a crowd of approximately 1,000 in Williams Arena.
The win for the Boilermakers snaps a seven-match losing streak to Minnesota and ups their season record to 16-4, 2-2 in the Big Ten. The 16 wins equals a program record established in 1996-97 and equalled the following season. Minnesota drops to 7-6 and 1-3.
"This is a great win for this team and the Purdue program as a whole," head coach Jessie Reyes said. "To come into a place like Minnesota, forfeit a weight, and leave with a win speaks highly of the effort our guys made. This puts us back on track and gives us momentum heading into the final four duals on the year."
With the dual opening at 157 pounds, senior Brad Harper (Mishawaka, Ind.) upset No.15 Matt Nagel with a 6-4 decision in overtime. With the score knotted at 4-4 heading into the extra period, Harper pulled Nagel down to the mat and recorded the winning takedown just 18-seconds into the overtime for the win and a 3-0 Purdue lead.
Minnesota responded with a win at 165 to even the dual, but senior Ryan Lange (Northfield, Ohio) got the team its three points back with a 2-1 decision over Jon Dumcombe at 174 pounds. The win gives Lange 121 career victories, just six behind all-time Purdue win leader Scott Hinkel (127).
Sophomore Ben Wissel (Richmond, Ind.) extended Purdue's lead with a 3-1 decision over Josh McLay at 184. A takedown in the final 50 seconds of the match gave Wissel the two-point advantage and the win. Minnesota won the last match before the intermission with a 5-1 decision at 197 pounds, closing Purdue's advantage to 9-6 entering the break.
Purdue furthered their advantage after the return to the mat as senior heavyweight Israel Blevins (Sullivan, Ind.), ranked No.11 in the nation, upset sixth-ranked Cole Konrad in overtime, 7-5. Blevins tied the match at 5-5 with an escape in the third period and posted a takedown in 40-seconds into the overtime period to defeat the Golden Gopher heavyweight.
A forfeit by Purdue at 125 tied the team score at 12-12, but junior Rene Hernandez (Hammond, Ind.) pushed the Boilermakers back into the lead with an 11-6 decision at 133 pounds. Five back points in the second and two more in the third gave the Purdue grappler the victory.
The see-saw battle continued as Minnesota won a 10-8 decision at 141 pounds to even the team score at 15-15 heading into the dual's final match.
At 149 pounds, senior Dan Jankowski (Evansville, Ind.) scored one takedown in each period and defeated Thomas McAlpine by 8-3 decision, giving the Boilermakers the win. Leading 5-2 in the third period, Jankowski iced the win and brought his teammates to their feet with a takedown with just 32 seconds remaining on the clock.
The last Purdue win over a Golden Gopher team was a 21-16 victory on Feb. 23, 1992, in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers had lost five consecutive duals in Minneapolis, last winning in the Gophers' arena in 1987.
The Boilermakers return home to the IAF on Friday, Feb. 6, for a Big Ten dual against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers defeated Purdue twice at the Virginia Duals, finishing third in the tournament while the Boilermakers finished fourth.
DUAL MATCH-BY-MATCH BREAKDOWN
#18 Purdue Boilermakers (15-4, 1-2) vs. #11 Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-5, 1-2)=====================================================================================157 - Brad Harper (PUR) def. #11 Matt Nagel (MIN) .......... (sv) DEC 6-4 (3-0)165 - Casey Falherty (MIN) def. Bryce Markley ................... DEC 5-0 (3-3)174 - #4 Ryan Lange (PUR) def. #17 Jon Duncombe (MIN) ........... DEC 2-1 (6-3)184 - #11 Ben Wissel (PUR) def. #26 Josh McLay (MIN) ............ DEC 3-1 (9-3)197 - #30 Nathan Moore (PUR) def. #1 Damion Hahn (MIN) .......... DEC 5-1 (9-6)285 - #11 Israel Blevins (PUR) def. #6 Cole Konrad (MIN) ... (sv) DEC 7-5 (12-6)125 - Andrew Dominguez (MIN) .................................... FORFEIT (12-12)133 - #16 Rene Hernandez (PUR) def. #27 Quincy Osborn (MIN) ..... DEC 11-6 (15-12)141 - #16 Tommy Own (MIN) def. #24 Doug Withstandley (PUR ) ..... DEC 10-8 (15-15)149 - #18 Dan Jankowski (PUR) def. Thomas McAlpine (MIN) ........ DEC 8-3 (18-15)
INDIVIDUAL SCORING VS. MINNESOTA
157 - Brad Harper (PUR) vs. #11 Matt Nagel (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Nagel takedown 2:12 (0-2); Harper reversal 2:54 (2-2).2nd - Nagel Defer/Harper Down; Harper escape 4:39 (3-2).3rd - Nagel Down; Nagel escape 5:02 (3-3); Harper penalty point [stall] 6:09 (4-3); Nagel riding time [2:17] (4-4).OT1 - Harper takedown 7:18 (6-4).
165 - Bryce Markley (PUR) vs. Casey Falherty (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Falherty takedown 1:52 (0-2); Flaherty nearfall-2 2:36 (0-4).1nd - Markley Defer/Flaherty Down; Flaherty escape 4:59 (0-5).3rd - Neutral.
174 - #4 Ryan Lange (PUR) vs. #17 Jon Duncombe (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - -X-2nd - Duncombe Defer/Lange Down; Lange escape 3:02 (1-0); Lange penalty point [stall] 4:37 (2-0).3rd - Duncombe Down; Duncombe escape 5:06 (2-1).
184 - #11 Ben Wissel (PUR) vs. #26 Josh McLay (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - -X-2nd - Wissel Defer/McLay Down; McLay escape 3:15 (0-1).3rd - Wissel Down; Wissel escape 5:08 (1-1); Wissel takedown 6:11 (3-1).
197 - #30 Nathan Moore (PUR) vs. #1 Damion Hahn (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Hahn takedown 0:55 (0-2); Moore escape 1:48 (1-2).2nd - Hahn Defer/Moore Down.3rd - Hahn Down; Hahn reversal 5:37 (1-4); Hahn riding time [3:39] (1-5).
285 - #11 Israel Blevins (PUR) vs. #6 Cole Konrad (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Konrad takedown 0:38 (0-2); Blevins escape 1:13 (1-2); Konrad takedown 1:37 (1-4); Blevins escape 1:48 (2-4); Blevins takedown 2:38 (4-4).2nd - Blevins Defer; Konrad Down; Konrad escape 3:36 (4-5).3rd - Blevins Down; Blevins escape 5:15 (5-5).OT1 - Blevins takedown 7:40 (7-5).
125 - Andrew Dominguez (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Dominguez wins by forfeit.
133 - #16 Rene Hernandez (PUR) vs. #27 Quincy Osborn (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Hernandez takedown 1:11 (2-0); Osborn escape 1:47 (2-1); Osborn takedown 2:44 (2-3).2nd - Hernandez Defer/Osborn Down; Hernandez nearfall-2 3:11 (4-3); Hernandez nearfall-3 3:58 (7-3); Osborn escape 4:18 (7-4).3rd - Hernandez Top; Hernandez nearfall-2 5:27 (9-4); Osborn reversal 5:28 (9-6); Hernandez escape 5:42 (10-6); Hernandez riding time [1:57] (11-6).
141 - #24 Doug Withstandley (PUR) vs. #16 Tommy Owen (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Owen takedown 0:16 (0-2); Withstandley escape 0:20 (1-2); Owen takedown 2:37 (1-4); Withstandley escape 2:46 (2-4).2nd - Owen Defer/Withstandley Down; Withstandley escape 4:00 (3-4); Owen takedown 4:28 (3-6).3rd - Neutral; Owen takedown 5:26 (3-8); Withstandley escape 5:37 (4-8); Withstandley takedown 5:55 (6-8); Owen escape 6:16 (6-9); Withstandley takedown 6:48 (8-9); Owen riding time [1:23] (8-10).
149 - #18 Dan Jankowski (PUR) vs. Thomas McAlpine (MIN)=====================================================================================1st - Jankowski takedown 0:11 (2-0); McAlpine escape 0:23 (2-1).2nd - Jankowski Defer/McAlpine Down; McAlpine escape 3:13 (2-2); Jankowski takedown 3:34 (4-2).3rd - Jankowski Down; Jankowski escape 5:47 (5-2); Jankowski takedown 6:28 (7-2); McAlpine escape 6:50 (7-3); Jankowski riding time [1:29] (8-3).