Dec. 12, 2004
Loras Dual - Complete Results
Northern Illinois Dual - Complete Results
LaGRANGE, Ill. - The Purdue wrestling team faced off against the Loras College Duhawks and the Northern Illinois Huskies on Sunday afternoon at the NIU Duals and finished the day with a 1-1 record at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Ill.
The Boilermakers opened the afternoon with a 23-13 victory against the Duhawks, but fell in a disappointing 29-9 showing vs. the Huskies. The day's split puts Purdue's dual record at 1-2 for the season.
"We just wrestled flat today and didn't command the mat," head coach Jessie Reyes said. "No matter who you wrestler, you have to come out and control the action. When you face a hungry team like Northern Illinois, you can't allow yourself to be complacent. We didn't push the action and the result shows that."
The day started well for the Boilermakers as freshman Brandon Tucker (Broken Arrow, Okla.) easily handled Terry Morgan in a 125-pound match, 12-3. Tucker countered an early throw attempt by Morgan for a takedown and never trailed en route to the major decision.
Purdue would build a 10-0 team advantage with decisions at 133 and 141 pounds. Sophomore Sean Schmaltz (Franklin, Ind.) posted a 4-0 victory at 133 over Brandon Young and was followed by an 11-6 win by senior Ben Sprunger (Bluffton, Ind.) against Mike Ressler.
Junior Doug Withstandley (Jackson, N.J.) continued the early Purdue dominance at 149 pounds with 10-0 major decision. Withstandley scored the match's first takedown midway thruugh the first period and would dominate the action for the remainder of the bout, building nearly five minutes of riding time.
Purdue suffered it's first setback of the day at 157 pounds when freshman Dan Bedoy (Hammond, Ind.) was pinned by Andrew Sloan at the 3:59 mark.
The Boilermakers would respond with a hard-fought 4-3 decision win by sophomore John DeCeault (Tinley Park, Ill.) at 165 pounds. Wrestling just 20 miles from home, DeCeault scored a takedown just six seconds into the match and rode that two-point score to victory, upping Purdue's team lead to 17-6.
Loras would not lie down, claiming wins at 174 and 184 pounds. Ryan Hagerty defeated junior Barry Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.) at 174 by a score of 3-0, and freshman Manvel Biggs (West Lafayette, Ind.), filling in for injured Ben Wissel (Richmond, Ind.), ended on the short end of a 12-1 major decision to Tom Andrews.
With the dual score at 17-13 Purdue, the Boilermakers would ice the win with wins at 197 and heavyweight.
Sophomore Nathan Moore (Indianapolis, Ind.) used a four-point third period to shutout Mitch Hager 4-0 at 197 pounds. Freshman Jake O'Brien (Indianapolis, Ind.) followed with an 8-3 decision over Tim Andrews in the heavyweight match-up. O'Brien was taken down in the first period to find himself down 2-0, but battled back to score a takedown in each the second and third periods to earn the victory.
The team's success would be short lived as the afternoon's second dual would be started impressively by Northern Illinois, building a 14-0 advantage after three matches.
Chad Vandiver scored a 9-3 decision over Tucker at 125 pounds and was followed by an 18-2 technical fall by Sam Hiatt, ranked 13th in the nation, over Schmaltz. The quick NIU start continued when Josh Wooton was able to pin sophomore Jason Cook (Valparaiso, Ind.) at 141 pounds.
Withstandley stepped up for the Boilermakers and got Purdue on the scoreboard with a 5-0 decision over Mike Grimes. A first period takedown gave Withstandley the early lead, a lead he would never relinquish as he posted his second shutout of the day.
Freshman Colton Salazar (Midway, Utah) was inserted into the Purdue lineup at 157 pounds and fought his way to a 6-2 sudden-victory decision over Joe Henning. Salazar scored a second period takedown after Henning broke a scoreless tie with a period-opening escape, but was unable to gain the regulation win as Henning used 1:31 of riding time to score the extra point and force overtime. The Purdue freshman scored a takedown 38 second into the first extra period and scored two back points to claim the win.
An altered lineup for Purdue was unable to score in the next three matches, allowing NIU to build to 26-6 advantage.
With the absence of Wissel at 184 pounds, three Boilermakers bumped up a weight class to fill the hole and all three were unsuccessful. Bedoy, normally a 157-pounder, was pinned at 165 by 20th-ranked Johnny Galloway. DeCeault, wrestling up from 165 to 174, fell 9-4 to Danny Burk, and Jackson, the normal 174-pounder for Purdue, lost a 7-1 decision at 184 to Tyler Bruesewitz.
The day didn't get better at 197 pounds as Moore, ranked No. 20 in the nation, ended up on the lesser half of a 10-5 decision with Derek Hunsinger. The Huskies' 197-pounder scored a first period takedown and three back points to gain an early five-point advantage, an advantage that would not be overcome.
At heavyweight, O'Brien continued his early season success for the Boilermakers with a 12-7 decision over Joe Sapp, but the win was far too little far too late for Purdue.
Purdue will return to the mat on Sunday, Dec. 19, as the team makes it's home opening in the Purdue Duals against Wabash College and Indianapolis. Action begins at 10 a.m. in the IAF on the Purdue campus.