WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After looking at the Purdue wrestling lower weights on Friday, head coach Tony Ersland pulls back the curtain on the Boilermakers' middle weights and takes a look at 149, 157, 165 and 174 pounds for the 2021 season. Purdue wrestlers have earned preseason rankings at three of the four weights, including a top-five mark for sophomore Kendall Coleman. Both Coleman and senior Griffin Parriott were 2020 NWCA All-America picks, while freshman Emil Soehnlen returns to the lineup after seeing his rookie campaign shortened due to injury.
149 POUNDS
The Boilermakers have a deep lot at 149 pounds, headlined by senior Griffin Parriott, who earned Honorable Mention All-America honors last season. Parriott was 16-11 in 2019-20, including a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and the No. 16 seed at NCAA's. He had a variety of impressive wins and placements, taking fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and earning four wins over top-20 opponents on the year.
Sophomore Alec White make the move up from 141 pounds, aiming to provide depth and competition at the weight. He's been in-and-out of the lineup over his first two varsity seasons, but was sidelined for the second half of 2020 due to injury.
More able bodies come in the forms of sophomore Ethan Smiley and a pair of true freshman in Trey Kruse and Christian Navida. Smiley didn't compete last season, while Kruse won a 2020 Minnesota high school state championship, going 51-1 on the year at 145 pounds and leading Stillwater High School to a state runner-up finish at the 2020 Minnesota 3A state dual championships. Navida advanced to a pair of California state tournaments, qualifying at 138 as a junior and 145 as a senior, and took sixth at the 2019 Reno Tournament of Champions.
157 POUNDS
The Boilermakers featured one of the nation's best freshman in 2019-20 as Kendall Coleman exploded on to the scene at 157 pounds. He wasted no time attracting national attention, taking out four highly ranked and regarded opponents on his way to the Michigan State Open title, and spent the rest of the season ranked in the top-10 in the country. He posted one of the most outstanding freshman seasons in program history, going 29-8 overall, earning the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Championships and being named NWCA First Team All-America
Coleman is the first Purdue freshman to advance to a Big Ten Championship match since 1947, and the first Boilermaker rookie to lead the team in takedowns since 2010, securing 95 on the year. After winning the Michigan State Open he went on to place fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and take fourth at the Midlands Championships, one of two freshman nationally to place at both prominent tournaments.
Junior Elijah Davis provides some depth for the Boilermakers at the weight with 42 career varsity matches, while freshmen Cooper Noehre and Isaac Riddle look to cut their teeth this season as well.
165 POUNDS
True freshman Gerrit Nijenhuis is a strong candidate for the starting nod after being rated one of the nation's top pound-for-pound high school wrestlers last season. He won back-to-back Pennsylvania high school state titles at 170 and 182 pounds in 2019 and 2020, and finished his senior season ranked No. 2 in the nation at 182 pounds. It's possible that Nijenhuis makes the move up to 174 to compete with Soehnlen, but Ersland is going to let the situation play out and see where some bodies land.
Freshman Hayden Lohrey had an injury shortened season in 2019-20, but showed promise in his appearances in open tournaments, winning the amateur division of the Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open. He'll battle for the starting job at 165, but also could show support 174 pounds this season as well.
174 POUNDS
The graduation of All-American Dylan Lydy leaves a substantial hole to fill, but is a challenge that the Boilermakers are anxious to embrace. After a solid start to his freshman season in 2019-20, freshman Emil Soehnlen was forced out of the lineup with a hamstring injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and then received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA. The Canton, Ohio native was 9-6 in early action last year, including a runner-up showing at the Michigan State Open and a quarterfinal appearance at CKLV before his injury. His six losses all came to ranked opponents, including five in the top-10.
Junior Tanner Webster picked up a lot of experience last season for the Boilermakers, filling in at 165 pounds after Soehnlen's injury and will give Purdue veteran depth at the weight.
149 POUNDS
The Boilermakers have a deep lot at 149 pounds, headlined by senior Griffin Parriott, who earned Honorable Mention All-America honors last season. Parriott was 16-11 in 2019-20, including a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and the No. 16 seed at NCAA's. He had a variety of impressive wins and placements, taking fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and earning four wins over top-20 opponents on the year.
Sophomore Alec White make the move up from 141 pounds, aiming to provide depth and competition at the weight. He's been in-and-out of the lineup over his first two varsity seasons, but was sidelined for the second half of 2020 due to injury.
More able bodies come in the forms of sophomore Ethan Smiley and a pair of true freshman in Trey Kruse and Christian Navida. Smiley didn't compete last season, while Kruse won a 2020 Minnesota high school state championship, going 51-1 on the year at 145 pounds and leading Stillwater High School to a state runner-up finish at the 2020 Minnesota 3A state dual championships. Navida advanced to a pair of California state tournaments, qualifying at 138 as a junior and 145 as a senior, and took sixth at the 2019 Reno Tournament of Champions.
157 POUNDS
The Boilermakers featured one of the nation's best freshman in 2019-20 as Kendall Coleman exploded on to the scene at 157 pounds. He wasted no time attracting national attention, taking out four highly ranked and regarded opponents on his way to the Michigan State Open title, and spent the rest of the season ranked in the top-10 in the country. He posted one of the most outstanding freshman seasons in program history, going 29-8 overall, earning the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Championships and being named NWCA First Team All-America
Coleman is the first Purdue freshman to advance to a Big Ten Championship match since 1947, and the first Boilermaker rookie to lead the team in takedowns since 2010, securing 95 on the year. After winning the Michigan State Open he went on to place fourth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and take fourth at the Midlands Championships, one of two freshman nationally to place at both prominent tournaments.
Junior Elijah Davis provides some depth for the Boilermakers at the weight with 42 career varsity matches, while freshmen Cooper Noehre and Isaac Riddle look to cut their teeth this season as well.
165 POUNDS
True freshman Gerrit Nijenhuis is a strong candidate for the starting nod after being rated one of the nation's top pound-for-pound high school wrestlers last season. He won back-to-back Pennsylvania high school state titles at 170 and 182 pounds in 2019 and 2020, and finished his senior season ranked No. 2 in the nation at 182 pounds. It's possible that Nijenhuis makes the move up to 174 to compete with Soehnlen, but Ersland is going to let the situation play out and see where some bodies land.
Freshman Hayden Lohrey had an injury shortened season in 2019-20, but showed promise in his appearances in open tournaments, winning the amateur division of the Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open. He'll battle for the starting job at 165, but also could show support 174 pounds this season as well.
174 POUNDS
The graduation of All-American Dylan Lydy leaves a substantial hole to fill, but is a challenge that the Boilermakers are anxious to embrace. After a solid start to his freshman season in 2019-20, freshman Emil Soehnlen was forced out of the lineup with a hamstring injury at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and then received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA. The Canton, Ohio native was 9-6 in early action last year, including a runner-up showing at the Michigan State Open and a quarterfinal appearance at CKLV before his injury. His six losses all came to ranked opponents, including five in the top-10.
Junior Tanner Webster picked up a lot of experience last season for the Boilermakers, filling in at 165 pounds after Soehnlen's injury and will give Purdue veteran depth at the weight.