WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The seedings and brackets for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships were announced Wednesday, unveiling the seeds and first-round matchups for Purdue's eight national qualifiers who are bound for the Enterprise Center in St. Louis next week. A pair of Boilermakers earned top-10 seeds at their respective weights and action is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 18, airing live on the ESPN family of networks.
Senior Devin Schroder and sophomore Kendall Coleman were both named No. 9 seeds at 125 and 157 pounds, drawing into the No. 24 seeds at their respective weights. Schroder will face Fabian Gutierrez of Chattanooga, who enters nationals at 14-3 overall and finished third at the Southern Conference Tournament. Coleman matches up with Sacred Heart's Nicholas Palumbo, who finished second at the EIWA Championships and posted a 5-3 record on the year.
Senior Griffin Parriott earned the No. 15 seed at 149 pounds, where he'll face Iowa State's No. 18 seed Jarrett Degan in the opening round. Degan is 6-3 on the season and finished fourth at the Big 12 Championships last weekend. Fellow Boilermaker senior Max Lyon earned the No. 16 seed at 184 pounds and will face a familiar foe in No. 17 seed Owen Webster of Minnesota. Webster earned a win over Lyon in the 2021 dual between the Boilermakers and Golden Gophers, but Lyon avenged the loss with a 3-1 decision in the seventh-place match at Big Ten Championships on Sunday.
Junior Parker Filius was named the No. 18 seed at 141 pounds, where he'll battled 15th-seeded Clay Carlson of South Dakota State in the first round. Carlson put together a 16-6 record in 2021 and placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships. Junior Thomas Penola and freshman Gerrit Nijenhuis both earned No. 19 seeds at 197 and 165 pounds, pitting Penola against No. 14 seed Greg Bulsak of Clarion and matching Nijenhuis with another Big Ten Championship rematch in 14th-seeded Peyton Robb of Nebraska. Bulsak was 11-1 for Clarion and finished as the runner-up in the MAC, while Robb finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships, topping Nijenhuis in the consolation semifinals.
Freshman Jacob Rundell is seeded 25th at 133 pounds for the Boilermakers and draws into Big Ten opponent Chris Cannon of Northwestern in the first round. Cannon is the No. 8 seed at the weight, posting an 8-2 record and finishing fourth at the conference tournament last weekend, but he and Rundell didn't meet in the two teams' 2021 dual.
Purdue's eight national qualifiers matches the program record for the third straight season and fourth time in seven years under head coach Tony Ersland. The Boilermakers will have a virtual NCAA media day on Monday via Zoom, and Ersland will record and NCAA Championship edition of the Always Aggressive Podcast on Monday as well, both will be shared on PurdueSports.com.
Senior Devin Schroder and sophomore Kendall Coleman were both named No. 9 seeds at 125 and 157 pounds, drawing into the No. 24 seeds at their respective weights. Schroder will face Fabian Gutierrez of Chattanooga, who enters nationals at 14-3 overall and finished third at the Southern Conference Tournament. Coleman matches up with Sacred Heart's Nicholas Palumbo, who finished second at the EIWA Championships and posted a 5-3 record on the year.
Senior Griffin Parriott earned the No. 15 seed at 149 pounds, where he'll face Iowa State's No. 18 seed Jarrett Degan in the opening round. Degan is 6-3 on the season and finished fourth at the Big 12 Championships last weekend. Fellow Boilermaker senior Max Lyon earned the No. 16 seed at 184 pounds and will face a familiar foe in No. 17 seed Owen Webster of Minnesota. Webster earned a win over Lyon in the 2021 dual between the Boilermakers and Golden Gophers, but Lyon avenged the loss with a 3-1 decision in the seventh-place match at Big Ten Championships on Sunday.
Junior Parker Filius was named the No. 18 seed at 141 pounds, where he'll battled 15th-seeded Clay Carlson of South Dakota State in the first round. Carlson put together a 16-6 record in 2021 and placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships. Junior Thomas Penola and freshman Gerrit Nijenhuis both earned No. 19 seeds at 197 and 165 pounds, pitting Penola against No. 14 seed Greg Bulsak of Clarion and matching Nijenhuis with another Big Ten Championship rematch in 14th-seeded Peyton Robb of Nebraska. Bulsak was 11-1 for Clarion and finished as the runner-up in the MAC, while Robb finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships, topping Nijenhuis in the consolation semifinals.
Freshman Jacob Rundell is seeded 25th at 133 pounds for the Boilermakers and draws into Big Ten opponent Chris Cannon of Northwestern in the first round. Cannon is the No. 8 seed at the weight, posting an 8-2 record and finishing fourth at the conference tournament last weekend, but he and Rundell didn't meet in the two teams' 2021 dual.
Purdue's eight national qualifiers matches the program record for the third straight season and fourth time in seven years under head coach Tony Ersland. The Boilermakers will have a virtual NCAA media day on Monday via Zoom, and Ersland will record and NCAA Championship edition of the Always Aggressive Podcast on Monday as well, both will be shared on PurdueSports.com.