Jan. 6, 2005
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - In their first dual of the new year, the Purdue Boilermakers were unable to overcome a fast start by the Pennsylvania Quakers, falling by a 24-16 score. The Boilermakers are now 3-3 on the season, while Penn starts their dual season 1-0.
Purdue entered the dual ranked 19th in the nation, while Penn boasted a No. 14 ranking.
Originally scheduled to be held at Lowell High School in Lowell, Ind., the teams were forced to move the dual to Merrillville High School in Merrillville, Ind., when a severe winter storm forced Lowell H.S. to close early.
The dual started at the heavyweight classification and Penn grabbed a 3-0 lead when Matt Feast, ranked No. 4, bested freshman Jake O'Brien (Indianapolis, Ind.) by a 7-3 decision. O'Brien is ranked 13th in the nation at heavyweight.
A forfeit at 125 pounds by Purdue gave Penn a 9-0 advantage, that grew to 15-0 after a 6-0 decision by Jeff Eveleth over sophomore Sean Schmaltz (Franklin, Ind.) at 133 and a 3-1 overtime decision by No. 8 Doug McGraw over senior Rene Hernandez (Hammond, Ind.) at 141 pounds. McGraw and Hernandez traded escapes to force the extra action, and McGraw scored in the tie-breaker period with a reversal to score the win.
The Boilermakers got on the scoreboard at 149 pounds in a big way as junior Doug Withstandley (Jackson, N.J.) stuck Kyle Berholz in just over one minute. A quick takedown by Withstandley, ranked 20th in the nation, was all that was needed for the pin at 1:09, his third pin of the season.
Freshman Colton Salazar kept the Boilermakers going with an 8-4 win over Zack Shanaman at 157 pounds. Salazar used two first period takedowns and a second stanza reversal to score the win, closing the team gap to 15-9.
Penn, however, would not let Purdue get any closer. Brock Wittmeyer scored a 4-2 win over sophomore John DeCeault (Tinley Park, Ill.) at 165 and Dustin Wiles earned six team points when Purdue junior Barry Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind.) was forced to default from the 174-pound match with a first period shoulder injury.
Purdue made the most of the last two matches of the evening, first with a convincing 16-5 major decision by junior Ben Wissel (Richmond, Ind.) over Dan Gallagher. Wissel, ranked 11th in the nation and coming of knee surgery, made a successful return to the mat by scoring six takedowns en route to the win.
In the final match of the dual, sophomore Nathan Moore (Indianapolis, Ind.) spoiled the homecoming of No. 13 Marcus Schontube with a 6-4 decision at 197 pounds. Moore, ranked 20th, scored a takedown in each the first and third period to post the win before a pro-Schontube crowd. The Penn senior is from Lowell, Ind., just 15 miles from Merrillville.
The Boilermakers have little time to regroup as the team travels to Texas for the Lone Star Duals on Saturday, Jan. 8. The event sends Purdue against Columbia, Cornell and Oklahoma. The Lone Star Duals are held at South Grand Prairie High School in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie.