WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The final installment of the 2021 Purdue wrestling season preview addresses the Boilermakers' three upper weights, where head coach Tony Ersland will see a wealth of familiar faces, with a few new guys sprinkled in. The group features a pair of NCAA qualifiers, both preseason top-25 ranked individuals, and a few Boilermakers aiming for a breakout campaign in 2021.
184 POUNDS
While the 2020 offseason has been uncharted territory for most, if not all, wrestlers across the country, some of the Boilermakers' biggest gains were made at 184 pounds, where rising senior Max Lyon picked up where he left off at the 2020 Big Ten Championships. Lyon outwrestled his seed higher than any other individual at the conference championships, taking sixth place as the No. 11 seed at 184 pounds and locking up an automatic bid to NCAA's. He finished 19-15 on the season, including six major decisions, and had notable wins over Illinois' 13th-ranked Zac Braunagel in the season finale and Rutgers' No. 16 Billy Janzer at Big Ten's.
Lyon made the most of his single opportunity to compete since the end of the 2020 season, posting a second-place finish at 86 kg at the USA Wrestling U23 National Freestyle Championships. Lyon took out NWCA All-American Cam Caffey of Michigan State in the semifinals before falling to 2020 No. 1 seed Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa in the finals.
Freshmen Macartney Parkinson and Mitch Hutmacher add depth at 184, with Parkinson coming from Indiana high school power Mater Dei in Evansville, and Hutmacher comes across the border from Illinois, where he was a two-time state placewinner.
197 POUNDS
Purdue will start 2021 in the same place it did last season at 197 pounds with sophomore Thomas Penola ready to take the mat. The Zionsville, Indiana native opened 2019-20 as the starter at the weight with Christian Brunner prepared to redshirt the season, posting an 8-2 record with a pair of falls. Brunner pulled his redshirt prior to the 2019 Boilermaker Duals, Penola shoved up to heavyweight, and the rest, as they say, is history. Penola built his body up to handle 285 pounds and eventually climbed into the national rankings at heavyweight, finishing 21-14 on the year and qualifying for the national championships. He went 5-4 in Big Ten duals and took seventh at the conference championships, finishing with two major decisions and four falls on the season.
Like Lyon, Penola had a standout performance at the U23 national freestyle championships, taking fourth place at 92 kg and earning significant wins over 2020 All-Americans Nathan Traxler of Stanford and Jay Aiello of Virginia.
Senior Trevor Blue offers the Boilermakers depth at 197 pounds after several open tournament appearances in 2019-20.
285 POUNDS
With Penola dropping back to his natural weight the Boilermakers were going to need a new face at heavyweight and have several candidates for the job. A familiar face comes in the form of junior Jared Florell, who has ditched the weight cut for a larger, stronger frame. He gave the Boilermakers much needed depth at 184 and 197 last season, filling in for Christian Brunner after his knee injury at Rutgers. He's 14-9 over the last two seasons and aims to earn the full time job this year. Another strong candidate for the starting job is Oregon State transfer Jamarcus Grant. The Portland, Oregon native was 32-32 in two seasons with the Beavers, where he was a fixture of the varsity lineup.
Other faces for the Boilermakers at heavyweight include senior Jairus Perry and freshmen Dorian Keys. Perry competed in several open tournaments for Purdue in 2019-20, placing at the Indianapolis Greyhound Open, while Keys boasts a solid high school career in Indiana that included a state title in 2019.
184 POUNDS
While the 2020 offseason has been uncharted territory for most, if not all, wrestlers across the country, some of the Boilermakers' biggest gains were made at 184 pounds, where rising senior Max Lyon picked up where he left off at the 2020 Big Ten Championships. Lyon outwrestled his seed higher than any other individual at the conference championships, taking sixth place as the No. 11 seed at 184 pounds and locking up an automatic bid to NCAA's. He finished 19-15 on the season, including six major decisions, and had notable wins over Illinois' 13th-ranked Zac Braunagel in the season finale and Rutgers' No. 16 Billy Janzer at Big Ten's.
Lyon made the most of his single opportunity to compete since the end of the 2020 season, posting a second-place finish at 86 kg at the USA Wrestling U23 National Freestyle Championships. Lyon took out NWCA All-American Cam Caffey of Michigan State in the semifinals before falling to 2020 No. 1 seed Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa in the finals.
Freshmen Macartney Parkinson and Mitch Hutmacher add depth at 184, with Parkinson coming from Indiana high school power Mater Dei in Evansville, and Hutmacher comes across the border from Illinois, where he was a two-time state placewinner.
197 POUNDS
Purdue will start 2021 in the same place it did last season at 197 pounds with sophomore Thomas Penola ready to take the mat. The Zionsville, Indiana native opened 2019-20 as the starter at the weight with Christian Brunner prepared to redshirt the season, posting an 8-2 record with a pair of falls. Brunner pulled his redshirt prior to the 2019 Boilermaker Duals, Penola shoved up to heavyweight, and the rest, as they say, is history. Penola built his body up to handle 285 pounds and eventually climbed into the national rankings at heavyweight, finishing 21-14 on the year and qualifying for the national championships. He went 5-4 in Big Ten duals and took seventh at the conference championships, finishing with two major decisions and four falls on the season.
Like Lyon, Penola had a standout performance at the U23 national freestyle championships, taking fourth place at 92 kg and earning significant wins over 2020 All-Americans Nathan Traxler of Stanford and Jay Aiello of Virginia.
Senior Trevor Blue offers the Boilermakers depth at 197 pounds after several open tournament appearances in 2019-20.
285 POUNDS
With Penola dropping back to his natural weight the Boilermakers were going to need a new face at heavyweight and have several candidates for the job. A familiar face comes in the form of junior Jared Florell, who has ditched the weight cut for a larger, stronger frame. He gave the Boilermakers much needed depth at 184 and 197 last season, filling in for Christian Brunner after his knee injury at Rutgers. He's 14-9 over the last two seasons and aims to earn the full time job this year. Another strong candidate for the starting job is Oregon State transfer Jamarcus Grant. The Portland, Oregon native was 32-32 in two seasons with the Beavers, where he was a fixture of the varsity lineup.
Other faces for the Boilermakers at heavyweight include senior Jairus Perry and freshmen Dorian Keys. Perry competed in several open tournaments for Purdue in 2019-20, placing at the Indianapolis Greyhound Open, while Keys boasts a solid high school career in Indiana that included a state title in 2019.