WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team is set for its 67th appearance at the NCAA Championships, taking eight individual qualifiers to the Enterprise Center in St. Louis for the 2021 national tournament. Tournament action is set to begin Thursday, March 18, at 11 a.m. ET, kicking off the first of seven sessions, which will all air live on the ESPN family of networks.
SCHEDULE (all times ET)
NCAA HISTORY
The Boilermakers have now advanced a wrestler to 67 NCAA Championship events, winning four individual titles, and earning 53 All-America awards and nine top-10 team finishes. Purdue saw five individuals receive All-America recognition in 2020, last putting a Boilermaker on the podium in 2013 and last finishing in the top-25 in 2009. The Boilermakers last had multiple All-America performances in 2006, when Ben Wissel and Chris Fleeger climbed the podium, and last had at least three All-Americans in 1991, when Dave Walter, Charles Jones and Matt Lindley placed. Jones is Purdue's last national champion, winning the 167-pound title in 1992, and is joined in the Boilermakers' record book by Arnold Plaza and Joe Patacsil. Plaza won the national crown at 121 pounds in 1948 and 1949, while Patacsil won the 128-pound title in 1950.
NCAA QUALIFIERS
Purdue earned qualifying spots at eight weights for the national tournament, securing seven automatic bids at the 2021 Big Ten Championships and adding an at-large bid Tuesday. The group pushes the Boilermakers' all-time national qualifier total to 267, including 45 under seventh-year head coach Tony Ersland. Purdue's eight qualifiers ties the program record for the third straight season, marks the sixth time in Purdue history they've hit the mark and the fourth time in seven seasons under Ersland.
QUALIFIER NOTES
MATCHUPS
125: #9 Devin Schrdoer (R-Senior)
First Round: #24 Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga)
14-3 * SoCon (3rd) * At-Large
133: #25 Jacob Rundell (Freshman)
First Round: #8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern)
8-2 * Big Ten (4th) * Auto
141: #18 Parker Filius (R-Junior)
First Round: #15 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State)
16-6 * Big 12 (4th) * Auto
149: #15 Griffin Parriott (R-Senior)
First Round: #18 Jarrett Degan (Iowa State)
6-3 * Big 12 (4th) * Auto
157: #9 Kendall Coleman (R-Sophomore)
First Round: #24 Nicholas Palumbo (Sacred Heart)
5-3 * EIWA (2nd) * Auto
165: #19 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Freshman)
First Round: #14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska)
9-5 * Big Ten (4th) * Auto
184: #16 Max Lyon (Senior)
First Round: #17 Owen Webster (Minnesota)
7-5 * Big Ten (8th) * Auto
197: #19 Thomas Penola (R-Sophomore)
First Round: Greg Bulsak (Clarion)
11-1 * MAC (2nd) * Auto
SCHEDULE (all times ET)
| Session 1A | First Rd.: 125-157 | Thursday, March 18 | 11 a.m. | ESPNU |
| Session 1B | First Rd.: 165-285 | Thursday, March 18 | 2 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Session 2A | Second Rd./Conso. First Rd.: 125-157 | Thursday, March 18 | 6 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Session 2B | Second Rd./Conso. First Rd.: 165-285 | Thursday, March 18 | 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Session 3 | Quarterfinals/Conso. Second-Third Rd.: 125-157 | Friday, March 19 | 11 a.m. | ESPNU |
| Session 4 | Quarterfinals/Conso. Second-Third Rd.: 165-285 | Friday, March 19 | 3 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Session 5 | Semifinals/Rd. of 12-Conso. Quarterfinals | Friday, March 19 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| Session 6 | Conso. Semifinals/Medal Rounds | Saturday, March 20 | 11 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| Session 7 | Finals | Saturday, March 20 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
NCAA HISTORY
The Boilermakers have now advanced a wrestler to 67 NCAA Championship events, winning four individual titles, and earning 53 All-America awards and nine top-10 team finishes. Purdue saw five individuals receive All-America recognition in 2020, last putting a Boilermaker on the podium in 2013 and last finishing in the top-25 in 2009. The Boilermakers last had multiple All-America performances in 2006, when Ben Wissel and Chris Fleeger climbed the podium, and last had at least three All-Americans in 1991, when Dave Walter, Charles Jones and Matt Lindley placed. Jones is Purdue's last national champion, winning the 167-pound title in 1992, and is joined in the Boilermakers' record book by Arnold Plaza and Joe Patacsil. Plaza won the national crown at 121 pounds in 1948 and 1949, while Patacsil won the 128-pound title in 1950.
NCAA QUALIFIERS
Purdue earned qualifying spots at eight weights for the national tournament, securing seven automatic bids at the 2021 Big Ten Championships and adding an at-large bid Tuesday. The group pushes the Boilermakers' all-time national qualifier total to 267, including 45 under seventh-year head coach Tony Ersland. Purdue's eight qualifiers ties the program record for the third straight season, marks the sixth time in Purdue history they've hit the mark and the fourth time in seven seasons under Ersland.
| Wt. | Qualifier (Yr.) | Seed | 2021 Record |
| 125 | Devin Schroder (R-Sr.) | 9 | 9-4 |
| 133 | Jacob Rundell (Fr.) | 25 | 6-7 |
| 141 | Parker Filius (R-Jr.) | 18 | 7-7 |
| 149 | Griffin Parriott (R-Sr.) | 15 | 7-2 |
| 157 | Kendall Coleman (R-So.) | 9 | 11-3 |
| 165 | Gerrit Nijenhuis (Fr.) | 19 | 9-5 |
| 184 | Max Lyon (Sr.) | 16 | 7-6 |
| 197 | Thomas Penola (R-So.) | 19 | 10-4 |
QUALIFIER NOTES
- Purdue is 1-of-17 schools to qualify at least eight individuals for the NCAA Championships.
- The Boilermakers' eight qualifiers hail from seven different states with Illinois being the only state with two (Coleman, Rundell).
- Schroder and Coleman earned top-10 national seeds for the second straight year, being named the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, respectively, in 2020.
- Schroder, Coleman and Parriott were all named All-Americans in 2020, with Schroder and Coleman earning first-team honors from the NWCA and Parriott securing honorable mention.
- Lyon, Parriott and Schroder are all advancing to NCAA's for the third time in their respective careers, becoming the 31st, 32nd and 33rd wrestlers in program history to earn at least three trips to nationals.
- Rundell and Nijenhuis are the first true freshmen to qualify for NCAA Championships for Purdue since Christian Brunner in 2017, and the first pair of true freshmen to qualify in the same season in program history.
- Only 26 true freshman qualified for NCAA's, and Purdue is one-of-five schools with multiple first-year wrestlers to advance (Iowa State, Missouri, Navy, Oklahoma State).
- Filius, Lyon and Penola all made significant improvements in their national seeding from 2020 to 2021, seeing Filius jump 14 spots (18-32), Lyon move up 14 spots (16-30) and Penola bounce seven spots (19-26).
- Purdue's first-round matchups feature three Big Ten Conference opponents and a pair of Big Ten Championship rematches. Nijenhuis fell to Peyton Robb of Nebraska in the consolation semifinals 6-3, while Lyon defeated Minnesota's Owen Webster in the seventh-place match 3-1.
MATCHUPS
125: #9 Devin Schrdoer (R-Senior)
First Round: #24 Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga)
14-3 * SoCon (3rd) * At-Large
133: #25 Jacob Rundell (Freshman)
First Round: #8 Chris Cannon (Northwestern)
8-2 * Big Ten (4th) * Auto
141: #18 Parker Filius (R-Junior)
First Round: #15 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State)
16-6 * Big 12 (4th) * Auto
149: #15 Griffin Parriott (R-Senior)
First Round: #18 Jarrett Degan (Iowa State)
6-3 * Big 12 (4th) * Auto
157: #9 Kendall Coleman (R-Sophomore)
First Round: #24 Nicholas Palumbo (Sacred Heart)
5-3 * EIWA (2nd) * Auto
165: #19 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Freshman)
First Round: #14 Peyton Robb (Nebraska)
9-5 * Big Ten (4th) * Auto
184: #16 Max Lyon (Senior)
First Round: #17 Owen Webster (Minnesota)
7-5 * Big Ten (8th) * Auto
197: #19 Thomas Penola (R-Sophomore)
First Round: Greg Bulsak (Clarion)
11-1 * MAC (2nd) * Auto