March 7, 2010
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The Purdue wrestling team matched their best Big Ten Championship team finish of the last 18 years on Sunday, taking sixth place with 76 points at the University of Michigan's Crisler Arena. Seven Boilermakers earned spots on the podium, highlighted by junior Colton Salazar's second-place effort at 157 pounds, and six earned automatic qualifying spots for the 2010 NCAA Championships.
Purdue's finish matches their team showing in 2004, and is one of two sixth-place efforts since 1992. The Boilermakers were just 15 points shy of fifth-place Penn State University, who finished with 91 points, but came away ahead of archrival Indiana University, the University of Illinois, Michigan State University, the host Wolverines of Michigan and Northwestern University. The team point total was the third-highest of the last 20 years and exceeds last year's effort by 24 points.
Salazar gave a solid effort against sixth-ranked No. 2 seed Cyler Sanderson of Penn State, but came up short in an 8-4 loss. Despite getting in on two shots in the first period, Salazar was unable to finish either, while Sanderson hit a pair of takedowns to take a 4-1 lead to the second. Sanderson scrambled away quickly to start the second period, but Salazar then cut into the lead with his first takedown to make it 5-3 in favor of the Nittany Lion senior. Sanderson scored another escape and then pushed the lead to four in the last second of the second with his third takedown. Salazar got out of the bottom position before Sanderson could exceed the 1:00 of riding time to start the third and make it 8-4, and that's where it ended as Salazar's takedown attempts down the stretch came up short.
Archuleta became the sixth Boilermaker to earn an automatic NCAA qualifying spot, rolling out a 15-5 major decision over Penn State's fourth-seeded Adam Lynch in the consolation semifinals. The sixth-seeded Purdue junior scored takedowns at will, posting seven of them in the match en route to the win and extra team bonus point. He advanced to the third-place bout for a rematch with Iowa's fourth-ranked and third-seeded Montell Marion, where he dropped a narrow 5-2 decision to finish fourth overall.
Junior Logan Brown scored his highest career finish at the Big Ten Championships, taking fourth place at 197 pounds . Seeded seventh in the championship and ranked 15th in the country, Brown moved into the third-place match by medical forfeit as fourth-ranked No. 1 seed Chad Beatty of Iowa withdrew from the tournament after weighing-in Sunday morning. He came up just short in the third-place bout with eighth-ranked No. 3 seed Anthony Biondo of Michigan, scoring two third-period takedowns in a 5-4 loss. Biondo drew first blood with a first-period takedown, built up over two minutes of riding time and took a 3-0 lead with an escape in the second. Brown mounted a comeback, tying it at 4-4 in the closing seconds, but the riding time proved the difference as Biondo escaped with the win.
Despite already having locked up a trip to the NCAA Championships, 18th-ranked and fifth-seeded Cashé Quiroga dropped a pair of matches on Sunday at 125 pounds and finished in sixth place. Quiroga lost his consolation semifinal bout on a controversial takedown call in the third period, falling to sixth-ranked and third-seeded Zachary Sanders of Minnesota, 9-7. Sanders took an early 4-2 lead with a takedown in the first and second periods, but Quiroga came storming back in the third, tying the match at 4-4 quickly and appearing to take a 6-5 lead after an escape, but in the scramble the official awarded a takedown to Sanders and immediate escape for Quiroga, before giving the Boilermakers a takedown, leaving Purdue tied 7-7 and trailing by the ride-time point.
Junior Akif Eren took sixth place at 133 pounds as well for the Boilermakers, dropping a consolation semifinal bout to fourth-ranked and third-seeded Franklin Gomez of Michigan State by major decision, 1-11, and suffering a similar fate in the fifth-place contest with a 10-2 loss to Ohio State. Eren finishes one place shy of an automatic qualifying position at 133 pounds, and is eligible for an at-large bid to the national championships.
Fifth-ranked No. 2 seed Luke Manuel finished fifth at 174 pounds , falling to 12th-ranked No. 5 seed Jordan Blanton of Illinois in the consolation semifinals and defeating Michigan State's Ian Hinton in the fifth-place bout, 4-0. Manuel looked out of sorts against Blanton, suffering a very uncharacteristic 10-1 major decision loss, but regained his form in his final bout in the tournament, avenging his opening-round loss with a solid performance against Hinton. Manuel's 39th win of the season leaves him tied for the third most in Purdue's single-season history and one shy of the school record.
Senior Nick Bertucci wrapped up the tournament in eighth-place at 149 pounds, falling in a crazy match with 14th-ranked and sixth-seeded Andrew Nadhir of Northwestern by pin (5:18). Bertucci was in firm control of the match, scoring two first-period takedowns and escaping quickly in the second for a 5-1 lead, but Nadhir got in on a shot and Bertucci found himself on his back trying to defend the takedown for the loss.
The Boilermakers advance six competitors to the 2010 NCAA Championships with automatic qualifiers, set to be held at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., March 18-20, while Eren remains eligible for an at-large qualifier which will be announced later this week. Live results from the national championships will be available throughout the event courtesy of the NWCA Live Scorebook, while the ESPN family of networks will broadcast the second and third days of competition.