Nov. 11, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Purdue wrestling team sent a limited roster to compete at Sunday's Michigan State Open, hosted by the Spartans at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich., and received limited results in return.
Of the six Boilermaker grapplers competing, sophomore Jason Martin saw the most success, posting a 4-1 mark on the day before forfeiting due to injury in the consolation semifinals. Despite the forfeit, Martin still claimed sixth place in the 165-pound bracket. His wins came over Ryan Williams of Cal Poly, Frank Battaglia of Northwestern, Jarrod King of Edinboro and No. 17 Keegan Mueller of North Carolina. Martin's only loss came at the hands off fourth-ranked Matt Coughlin of Indiana.
Purdue junior Nick Spohn was dealt a tough draw in the 157-pound bracket, facing top-ranked defending national champion Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro in the first round. Despite the loss, he rebounded to nab a 5-4 win over Ohio State's Sean Nemec, and finished 1-2 on the day.
Junior Aaron Goebel and freshmen Kevin Lipp, Kevin Clem and Roger Vukobratovich all finished 0-2 on the day for the Boilermakers.
The Old Gold and Black returns to action on Saturday with a trio of duals at the second annual ACC/Big Ten Clash in Chapel Hill, N.C.