WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Big Ten Conference announced the preseeds for the 2020 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Monday, revealing the projected seeds for the 10 Boilermakers headed to Piscataway, New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday. Purdue has six individuals ranked in the top-eight at their respective weights, including four in the top-four and the Boilermakers' highest seeded individual since 2013.
"We're just ready to get out there and wrestle," said head coach Tony Ersland. "It's nice to see some of our guys being recognized for the hard work they've put in all season, but that all starts over come Saturday. We have to show up, perform and earn spots on the podium."
For the first time in conference tournament history the Big Ten coaches were asked to seed all 14 spots, resulting in predetermined byes and brackets for all 10 weights. The top-two seeds at each weight will get a bye, with the top-and-bottom seeds being pitted against each other across the board (3 vs 14, 4 vs 13, etc.).
Junior Devin Schroder secured the No. 2 seed for the Boilermakers after a 24-4 regular-season record at 125 pounds, becoming the highest-seeded Purdue wrestler at the conference tournament since Ivan Lopouchanski was the No. 2 seed at 149 in 2013. Schroder is ranked sixth in the country at the weight by the majority of national publications and the NCAA Coaches Poll, and finished the season with an RPI of No. 4.
Senior Dylan Lydy and freshman Kendall Coleman were named the No. 3 seeds at 174 and 157 pounds, respectively, with Lydy receiving a first-round bye due to one team forfeiting the weight, and Coleman scheduled to match up with the No. 14 seed. Lydy is the consensus No. 4 wrestler in the country at 174 and was No. 2 in the RPI, while Coleman owns a consensus ranking of No. 7 in the nation with an RPI of No.6.
Senior Christian Brunner is the final Boilermaker with a top-four seed, securing the No. 4 spot at 197 pounds. Ranked between fourth and eighth in the nation at the weight, Brunner was ranked No. 6 by the NCAA Coaches Poll and fourth in the final RPI of the season.
Sophomore Parker Filius and freshman Thomas Penola came in at the No. 8 seed at 141 and 285 pounds, respectively, both qualifying their weight classes for the Big Ten. Filius is 17-7 on the season and has a top-25 ranking from FloWrestling, while Penola is marked as high as No. 23 in the country from FloWrestling and has a stellar RPI of 17.
All seeds will not be finalized until the Big Ten Coaches meeting on Friday afternoon, at which time the preliminary brackets will be drawn. The opening round of the 2020 Big Ten Championships will begin at 10 a.m. ET at the Rutgers Athletics Center and will be streamed live on BTN+ and FloWrestling. For more information, visit the official host championship page.
2020 Big Ten Championship Preseeds
125 lbs.
1. Spencer Lee, IOWA
2. Devin Schroder, PUR
3. Patrick McKee, MINN
4. Justin Cardani, ILL
5. Jack Medley, MICH
6. Michael DeAugustino, NU
7. Liam Cronin, IND
8. Nicolas Aguilar, RU
9. Eric Barnett, WIS
10. Alex Thomsen, NEB
11. Malik Heinselman, OSU
12. Logan Griffin, MSU
13. Brandon Cray, MD
14. Brandon Meredith, PSU
133 lbs.
1. Seth Gross, WIS
2. Roman Bravo-Young, PSU
3. Austin DeSanto, IOWA
4. Travis Piotrowski, ILL
5. Sebastian Rivera, NU
6. Ridge Lovett, NEB
7. Sammy Alvarez, RU
8. Joey Silva, MICH
9. Cayden Rooks, IND
10. Garrett Pepple, MSU
11. Boo Dryden, MINN
12. Travis Ford-Melton, PUR
13. King Sandoval, MD
14. Jordan Decatur, OSU
141 lbs.
1. Nick Lee, PSU
2. Luke Pletcher, OSU
3. Max Murin, IOWA
4. Chad Red, NEB
5. Tristan Moran, WIS
6. Mitch McKee, MINN
7. Dylan Duncan, ILL
8. Parker Filius, PUR
9. Cole Mattin, MICH
10. Alec McKenna, NU
11. JoJo Aragona, RU
12. Matt Santos, MSU
13. Eddie Bolivar, IND
14. Hunter Baxter, MD
149 lbs.
1. Sammy Sasso, OSU
2. Pat Lugo, IOWA
3. Brayton Lee, MINN
4. Kanen Storr, MICH
5. Graham Rooks, IND
6. Cole Martin, WIS
7. Collin Purinton, NEB
8. Jarod Verkleeren, PSU
9. Yahya Thomas, NU
10. Griffin Parriott, PUR
11. Gerard Angelo, RU
12. Alex Hrisopoulos, MSU
13. Mousa Jodeh, ILL
14. Ryan Garlitz, MD
157 lbs.
1. Ryan Deakin, NU
2. Kaleb Young, IOWA
3. Kendall Coleman, PUR
4. Will Lewan, MICH
5. Ryan Thomas, MINN
6. Jake Tucker, MSU
7. Peyton Robb, NEB
8. Eric Barone, ILL
9. Michael VanBrill, RU
10. Jahi Jones, MD
11. Elijah Cleary, OSU
12. Garrett Model, WIS
13. Bo Pipher, PSU
14. Fernie Silva, IND
165 lbs.
1. Vincenzo Joseph, PSU
2. Alex Marinelli, IOWA
3. Evan Wick, WIS
4. Isaiah White, NEB
5. Ethan Smith, OSU
6. Shayne Oster, NU
7. Danny Braunagel, ILL
8. Bailee O'Reilly, MINN
9. Drew Hughes, MSU
10. Kyle Cochran, MD
11. Brett Donner, RU
12. Tyler Meisinger, MICH
13. Tanner Webster, PUR
14. Diego Lemley, IND
174 lbs.
1. Michael Kemerer, IOWA
2. Mark Hall, PSU
3. Dylan Lydy, PUR
4. Devin Skatzka, MINN
5. Mikey Labriola, NEB
6. Kaleb Romero, OSU
7. Joey Gunther, ILL
8. Layne Malczewski, MSU
9. Tyler Morland, NU
10. Willie Scott , RU
11. Jared Krattiger, WIS
12. Philip Spadafora, MD
13. Max Maylor, MICH
14. NO ENTRY, IND
184 lbs.
1. Aaron Brooks, PSU
2. Cameron Caffey, MSU
3. Abe Assad, IOWA
4. Taylor Venz, NEB
5. Billy Janzer, RU
6. Rocky Jordan, OSU
7. Zac Braunagel, ILL
8. Owen Webster, MINN
9. Johnny Sebastian, WIS
10. Jelani Embree, MICH
11. Max Lyon, PUR
12. Jack Jessen, NU
13. Jake Hinz, IND
14. Kyle Jasenski, MD
197 lbs.
1. Kollin Moore, OSU
2. Eric Schultz, NEB
3. Jacob Warner, IOWA
4. Christian Brunner, PUR
5. Lucas Davison, NU
6. Shakur Rasheed, PSU
7. Jordan Pagano, RU
8. Jackson Striggow, MICH
9. Jaron Smith, MD
10. Hunter Ritter, MINN
11. Matt Wroblewski, ILL
12. Nick May, MSU
13. Taylor Watkins, WIS
14. Nick Willham, IND
285 lbs.
1. Mason Parris, MICH
2. Gable Steveson, MINN
3. Tony Cassioppi, IOWA
4. Trent Hillger, WIS
5. David Jensen, NEB
6. Gary Traub, OSU
7. Seth Nevillis, PSU
8. Thomas Penola, PUR
9. Luke Luffman, ILL
10. Alex Esposito, RU
11. Christian Rebottaro, MSU
12. Jake Kleimola, IND
13. Jack Heyob, NU
14. Parker Robinson, MD
"We're just ready to get out there and wrestle," said head coach Tony Ersland. "It's nice to see some of our guys being recognized for the hard work they've put in all season, but that all starts over come Saturday. We have to show up, perform and earn spots on the podium."
For the first time in conference tournament history the Big Ten coaches were asked to seed all 14 spots, resulting in predetermined byes and brackets for all 10 weights. The top-two seeds at each weight will get a bye, with the top-and-bottom seeds being pitted against each other across the board (3 vs 14, 4 vs 13, etc.).
Junior Devin Schroder secured the No. 2 seed for the Boilermakers after a 24-4 regular-season record at 125 pounds, becoming the highest-seeded Purdue wrestler at the conference tournament since Ivan Lopouchanski was the No. 2 seed at 149 in 2013. Schroder is ranked sixth in the country at the weight by the majority of national publications and the NCAA Coaches Poll, and finished the season with an RPI of No. 4.
Senior Dylan Lydy and freshman Kendall Coleman were named the No. 3 seeds at 174 and 157 pounds, respectively, with Lydy receiving a first-round bye due to one team forfeiting the weight, and Coleman scheduled to match up with the No. 14 seed. Lydy is the consensus No. 4 wrestler in the country at 174 and was No. 2 in the RPI, while Coleman owns a consensus ranking of No. 7 in the nation with an RPI of No.6.
Senior Christian Brunner is the final Boilermaker with a top-four seed, securing the No. 4 spot at 197 pounds. Ranked between fourth and eighth in the nation at the weight, Brunner was ranked No. 6 by the NCAA Coaches Poll and fourth in the final RPI of the season.
Sophomore Parker Filius and freshman Thomas Penola came in at the No. 8 seed at 141 and 285 pounds, respectively, both qualifying their weight classes for the Big Ten. Filius is 17-7 on the season and has a top-25 ranking from FloWrestling, while Penola is marked as high as No. 23 in the country from FloWrestling and has a stellar RPI of 17.
All seeds will not be finalized until the Big Ten Coaches meeting on Friday afternoon, at which time the preliminary brackets will be drawn. The opening round of the 2020 Big Ten Championships will begin at 10 a.m. ET at the Rutgers Athletics Center and will be streamed live on BTN+ and FloWrestling. For more information, visit the official host championship page.
2020 Big Ten Championship Preseeds
125 lbs.
1. Spencer Lee, IOWA
2. Devin Schroder, PUR
3. Patrick McKee, MINN
4. Justin Cardani, ILL
5. Jack Medley, MICH
6. Michael DeAugustino, NU
7. Liam Cronin, IND
8. Nicolas Aguilar, RU
9. Eric Barnett, WIS
10. Alex Thomsen, NEB
11. Malik Heinselman, OSU
12. Logan Griffin, MSU
13. Brandon Cray, MD
14. Brandon Meredith, PSU
133 lbs.
1. Seth Gross, WIS
2. Roman Bravo-Young, PSU
3. Austin DeSanto, IOWA
4. Travis Piotrowski, ILL
5. Sebastian Rivera, NU
6. Ridge Lovett, NEB
7. Sammy Alvarez, RU
8. Joey Silva, MICH
9. Cayden Rooks, IND
10. Garrett Pepple, MSU
11. Boo Dryden, MINN
12. Travis Ford-Melton, PUR
13. King Sandoval, MD
14. Jordan Decatur, OSU
141 lbs.
1. Nick Lee, PSU
2. Luke Pletcher, OSU
3. Max Murin, IOWA
4. Chad Red, NEB
5. Tristan Moran, WIS
6. Mitch McKee, MINN
7. Dylan Duncan, ILL
8. Parker Filius, PUR
9. Cole Mattin, MICH
10. Alec McKenna, NU
11. JoJo Aragona, RU
12. Matt Santos, MSU
13. Eddie Bolivar, IND
14. Hunter Baxter, MD
149 lbs.
1. Sammy Sasso, OSU
2. Pat Lugo, IOWA
3. Brayton Lee, MINN
4. Kanen Storr, MICH
5. Graham Rooks, IND
6. Cole Martin, WIS
7. Collin Purinton, NEB
8. Jarod Verkleeren, PSU
9. Yahya Thomas, NU
10. Griffin Parriott, PUR
11. Gerard Angelo, RU
12. Alex Hrisopoulos, MSU
13. Mousa Jodeh, ILL
14. Ryan Garlitz, MD
157 lbs.
1. Ryan Deakin, NU
2. Kaleb Young, IOWA
3. Kendall Coleman, PUR
4. Will Lewan, MICH
5. Ryan Thomas, MINN
6. Jake Tucker, MSU
7. Peyton Robb, NEB
8. Eric Barone, ILL
9. Michael VanBrill, RU
10. Jahi Jones, MD
11. Elijah Cleary, OSU
12. Garrett Model, WIS
13. Bo Pipher, PSU
14. Fernie Silva, IND
165 lbs.
1. Vincenzo Joseph, PSU
2. Alex Marinelli, IOWA
3. Evan Wick, WIS
4. Isaiah White, NEB
5. Ethan Smith, OSU
6. Shayne Oster, NU
7. Danny Braunagel, ILL
8. Bailee O'Reilly, MINN
9. Drew Hughes, MSU
10. Kyle Cochran, MD
11. Brett Donner, RU
12. Tyler Meisinger, MICH
13. Tanner Webster, PUR
14. Diego Lemley, IND
174 lbs.
1. Michael Kemerer, IOWA
2. Mark Hall, PSU
3. Dylan Lydy, PUR
4. Devin Skatzka, MINN
5. Mikey Labriola, NEB
6. Kaleb Romero, OSU
7. Joey Gunther, ILL
8. Layne Malczewski, MSU
9. Tyler Morland, NU
10. Willie Scott , RU
11. Jared Krattiger, WIS
12. Philip Spadafora, MD
13. Max Maylor, MICH
14. NO ENTRY, IND
184 lbs.
1. Aaron Brooks, PSU
2. Cameron Caffey, MSU
3. Abe Assad, IOWA
4. Taylor Venz, NEB
5. Billy Janzer, RU
6. Rocky Jordan, OSU
7. Zac Braunagel, ILL
8. Owen Webster, MINN
9. Johnny Sebastian, WIS
10. Jelani Embree, MICH
11. Max Lyon, PUR
12. Jack Jessen, NU
13. Jake Hinz, IND
14. Kyle Jasenski, MD
197 lbs.
1. Kollin Moore, OSU
2. Eric Schultz, NEB
3. Jacob Warner, IOWA
4. Christian Brunner, PUR
5. Lucas Davison, NU
6. Shakur Rasheed, PSU
7. Jordan Pagano, RU
8. Jackson Striggow, MICH
9. Jaron Smith, MD
10. Hunter Ritter, MINN
11. Matt Wroblewski, ILL
12. Nick May, MSU
13. Taylor Watkins, WIS
14. Nick Willham, IND
285 lbs.
1. Mason Parris, MICH
2. Gable Steveson, MINN
3. Tony Cassioppi, IOWA
4. Trent Hillger, WIS
5. David Jensen, NEB
6. Gary Traub, OSU
7. Seth Nevillis, PSU
8. Thomas Penola, PUR
9. Luke Luffman, ILL
10. Alex Esposito, RU
11. Christian Rebottaro, MSU
12. Jake Kleimola, IND
13. Jack Heyob, NU
14. Parker Robinson, MD