DUAL INFORMATION
Purdue (4-2, 0-1 B1G) at SIU Edwardsville (0-4, 0-0 SoCon)*
Monday, Dec. 19 / 8 p.m. ET
Vadalabene Center / Edwardsville, Illinois
*SIU Edwardsville wrestles Appalachian State on Sunday
Purdue Notes / Live Video / Live Results
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team will hit the road for their only dual in the month of December, taking on SIU Edwardsville on Monday. The final non-conference dual is set for an 8 p.m. ET start from the Vadalabene Center.
The Boilermakers have been inactive since Ben Thornton and Kyle Ayersman placed seventh at 125 and 141 pounds, respectively, at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Wrestling Invitational on Dec. 3. In comparison, SIU Edwardsville has wrestled four duals, all of which were during the week of Dec. 4. Three of the Cougars' four dual losses have come at the hands of a Big Ten Conference team, falling to Indiana (21-16; 12/4), Illinois (30-10; 12/7) and Northwestern (33-10; 12/10).
As Purdue is en route Sunday, SIU Edwardsville will be prepping to take to the mat in its Southern Conference opener against Appalachian State at 6 p.m.
The Boilermakers are eyeing their 10th straight win in the series, which they lead 9-4, and their third straight as the visitors. Four pins powered Purdue to a 30-15 victory in its last visit to the Vadalabene Center on Nov. 24, 2013.
| PURDUE PROBABLE LINEUP | ||||
| WEIGHT | NAME | YEAR | RECORD | HOMETOWN |
| 125 | Ben Thornton | RS So. | 17-6 | Stoddard, Wis. |
| 133 | Luke Welch | RS Jr. | 11-5 | Newburgh, Ind. |
| Cody Pae | RS Jr. | 5-3 | Fulton, Mo. | |
| 141 | Kyle Ayersman | RS Sr. | 12-6 | Dyer, Ind. |
| 149 | Jeremy Golding | RS Sr. | 9-4 | Spokane, Wash. |
| 157 | Alex Griffin | RS Sr. | 15-6 | Lafayette, Ind. |
| Cole Wysocki | RS Fr. | 3-2 | Edwardsville, Ill. | |
| 165 | Dylan Lydy | RS Fr. | 10-9 | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| 174 | Jacob Morrissey | RS Jr. | 4-4 | Oconto Falls, Wis. |
| 184 | Tanner Lynde | RS Sr. | 9-6 | Delphi, Ind. |
| 197 | Christian Brunner | Fr. | 14-7 | East Dundee, Ill. |
| 285 | Tyler Kral | RS Sr. | 15-6 | Crown Point, Ind. |
| Jacob Aven | RS So. | 7-4 | Zionsville, Ind. | |
Head Coach / Tony Ersland
Head Assistant Coach / Tyrel Todd
Assistant Coach / Kendric Maple
Volunteer Assistant Coach / Jake Sueflohn
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BOILERMAKERS
- Purdue is 4-1 in non-conference duals this season ... head coach Tony Ersland sports a 17-5 record in non-conference duals during his tenure.
- TheOpenMat.com included Alex Griffin in its top-20 ranking of 157-pounders on Tuesday ... it's the second time this season Griffin has been ranked by TheOpenMat.com ... he checked in at No. 18 on Nov. 29.
- Tyler Kral is looking to make his ninth straight start dating to last season, which is the most consecutive starts among the Boilermakers' listed probables ... it would be his 85th career match.
- Redshirt junior Jacob Morrissey is expected to make his first dual start of the season ... in Las Vegas he returned to the mat for the first time in nearly a month after suffering an arm injury at the season-opening Eastern Michigan Open ... it will be Morrissey's first time in the lineup since sustaining a season-ending injury at Indiana on Feb. 7, 2016.
- Kral is making the most of his final season ... he has already won a career-best 15 matches with five shutouts ... his five shutouts are tied for most on the team ... the most wins Kral previously had in a season was nine ... additionally he has set new career marks in bonus point wins, shutouts, back points and total points.
- Ben Thornton has scored first in a team-high 17 of his 23 matches (.739) ... he ranks second with 66 points in the first period and has outscored his opponents by 15 in the first.
- Alex Griffin's seven technical falls are the most in a season since Jake Patacsil had a dozen in 2009 ... they are also a career best for the redshirt senior ... four of his techs have been shutouts ... Griffin has 17 tech falls in his career.
- Griffin also leads the way with points scored in the first period with 85 ... his +62 scoring advantage in the first is also tops on the team ... overall he is +137 in scoring on his opponents (193-56) ... Griffin is averaging 9.2 points per match, which is listed second on the team, and has racked up a team-high 193 total points.
- True freshman Christian Brunner ranks second in point differential at +68 (131-63) ... his seven bonus point wins are second most on the team behind Griffin, who has 10 ... Brunner has posted four major decisions and pinned three opponents.
- Takedown leader Luke Welch has 55 to his credit through 16 matches and averages a team-high 9.9 points per match ... in last season's 31 matches, Welch had 46 takedowns and totaled 169 points ... he has already surpassed the takedown total for a career high and is nearing the point total too with 158.
- Welch's next win will be the 40th of his career.