WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 21st-ranked Purdue wrestling squad opens the 2021-22 season Saturday, traveling east for duals at Drexel University and Rider University. The Boilermakers and Dragons will square off at 1 p.m. ET at Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, live on FloWrestling, while Purdue meets Rider at 8 p.m. at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, live on ESPN+.
PURDUE LINEUP & RANKINGS
The Boilermakers open the season ranked No. 21 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, in addition to top-25 team rankings from FloWrestling and InterMat as well. Purdue has seven individuals holding preseason rankings, marking the fourth consecutive year with at least six nationally ranked wrestlers in the polls to start the season. Four Boilermakers have top-15 marks at their respective weights, headlined by Kendall Coleman, who ranks in the top-10 in all four polls.
* - rankings listed are at 165 pounds
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue wrapped up the 2021 NCAA Championships tied for 26th place, seeing each of their eight national qualifiers score team points and amassing 15.5 points on the board. Devin Schroder and Thomas Penola advanced to the blood round, while Max Lyon, Parker Filius and Gerrit Nijenhuis each posted a pair of wins. The Boilermakers finished 4-5 in a Big Ten only dual schedule in 2021, marking the first back-to-back seasons with at least four conference wins since 1992 and 1993.
PURDUE NOTES
• The Boilermakers have made the doubleheader trek to Drexel and Rider before, competing at both schools on the same date in 2008.
• Purdue is 3-0 all-time against Drexel, last facing the Dragons at the 2018 Journeymen Duals in Troy, New York, where the Boilermakers earned a 25-14 win.
• Two of the three all-time meetings between Purdue and Drexel have come in Philadelphia: a 29-9 win in 2003 and a 35-6 win in 2008.
• Purdue is 1-1 in its all-time meetings with Rider, posting a 24-18 win over the Broncs at Alumni Gymnasium in 2008, and falling by a score of 25-10 at the Old Dominion Duals in 2010.
• Head coach Tony Ersland is in his eighth season at Purdue and is 60-50 in dual competition with the Boilermakers.
• Ersland wrestled for the University of Iowa from 1992-97, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament at 177, and competing on the highest scoring team at the NCAA Championships in history (170).
• The Boilermakers won their last two duals of 2021, earning a 21-12 win at Michigan State and posting a 38-3 win over Indiana, and carry that streak into this year's dual season.
• Devin Schroder and Max Lyon capitalized on the NCAA's COVID extension waiver, returning for an extra year of eligibility in 2021-22.
• Schroder enters the season ranked second in program history in back points, collecting 432 to date, and ranked 20th all-time at Purdue with a .731 win percentage (77-31).
• 40 of Schroder's 77 career wins have come with bonus points, including 21 technical falls, while 31 of his career victories are shutouts.
• Matt Ramos won the 2018 Cadet Freestyle World Championship for the U.S., capturing the 51 kg title in Zagreb, Croatia.
• Parker Filius took fifth at the 2021 Big Ten Championships as the No. 9 seed, including an 11-7 win over All-American Dylan Duncan.
• Kendall Coleman has racked up 142 takedowns in 53 career matches at Purdue, good for 2.7 per match, and has averaged 7.2 points per match through two seasons.
• Emil Soehnlen and Gerrit Nijenhuis will flip weights to start the 2021 season, with Soehnlen returning to 165 pounds and Nijenhuis bumping up from 165.
• Nijenhuis was 11-7 as a true freshman in 2021, and finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships, the best individual finish by a Purdue freshman since 1987.
• Thomas Penola was 13-6 last season at 197 pounds, including a 7-2 mark in Big Ten Duals, finishing second on the team with 42 takedowns, and scoring a team-most 126 points on the year.
• Michael Woulfe will start his first career dual for the Boilermakers and compete in his first collegiate match since 2016, after serving in the United States Navy for the last five years.
OPPONENTS
Drexel
125: Antonio Mininno (Sr.)
or Kyle Waterman (So.)
133: Jaxon Maroney (So.)
or Deon Pleasant (Fr.)
141: Tyler Williams (Jr.)
149: Luke Nichter (So.)
157: No. 29 Parker Kropman (Gr.)
or Connor Trowbridge (R-So.)
165: Evan Barczak (Gr.)
174: No. 16 Mickey O'Malley (R-Jr.)
184: No. 29 Bryan McLaughlin (R-Sr.)
or Josh Stillings (R-Jr.)
197: Sean O'Malley (R-Sr.)
285: Eli Anthony (Fr.)
Rider
125: Tyler Klinsky (So.)
133: No. 24 Richie Koehler (R-Jr.)
141: No. 22 Quinn Kinner (R-So.)
149: Cole McComas (So.)
157: No. 31 Jake Silverstein (R-Jr.)
165: Joe Casey (R-Jr.)
or Michael Wilson (Jr.)
174: Shane Reitsma (So.)
184: George Walton (R-Sr.)
197: No. 26 Matt Correnti (Gr.)
or Evan Vazquez (Jr.)
285: David Szuba (Fr.)
Rankings listed InterMat
PURDUE LINEUP & RANKINGS
The Boilermakers open the season ranked No. 21 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, in addition to top-25 team rankings from FloWrestling and InterMat as well. Purdue has seven individuals holding preseason rankings, marking the fourth consecutive year with at least six nationally ranked wrestlers in the polls to start the season. Four Boilermakers have top-15 marks at their respective weights, headlined by Kendall Coleman, who ranks in the top-10 in all four polls.
| Wt. | Wrestler | Record | FloWrestling | InterMat | TheOpenMat | WIN |
| 125 | Devin Schroder (R-Sr.) | 0-0 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Nate Cummings (R-Jr.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 133 | Matt Ramos (R-Fr.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 141 | Parker Filius (R-Sr.) | 0-0 | 13 | 21 | 16 | 17 |
| Michael Leveille (R-So.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 149 | Alec White (R-Jr.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Trey Kruse (So.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 157 | Kendall Coleman (R-Jr.) | 0-0 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| 165 | Emil Soehnlen (R-So.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Hayden Lohrey (R-So.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 174 | Gerrit Nijenhuis (So.)* | 0-0 | 16 | 19 | 19 | -- |
| 184 | Max Lyon (R-Sr.) | 0-0 | 16 | 20 | 18 | NR |
| Macartney Parkinson (So.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 197 | Thomas Penola (R-Jr.) | 0-0 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| 285 | Michael Woulfe (R-Sr.) | 0-0 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
LAST TIME OUT
Purdue wrapped up the 2021 NCAA Championships tied for 26th place, seeing each of their eight national qualifiers score team points and amassing 15.5 points on the board. Devin Schroder and Thomas Penola advanced to the blood round, while Max Lyon, Parker Filius and Gerrit Nijenhuis each posted a pair of wins. The Boilermakers finished 4-5 in a Big Ten only dual schedule in 2021, marking the first back-to-back seasons with at least four conference wins since 1992 and 1993.
PURDUE NOTES
• The Boilermakers have made the doubleheader trek to Drexel and Rider before, competing at both schools on the same date in 2008.
• Purdue is 3-0 all-time against Drexel, last facing the Dragons at the 2018 Journeymen Duals in Troy, New York, where the Boilermakers earned a 25-14 win.
• Two of the three all-time meetings between Purdue and Drexel have come in Philadelphia: a 29-9 win in 2003 and a 35-6 win in 2008.
• Purdue is 1-1 in its all-time meetings with Rider, posting a 24-18 win over the Broncs at Alumni Gymnasium in 2008, and falling by a score of 25-10 at the Old Dominion Duals in 2010.
• Head coach Tony Ersland is in his eighth season at Purdue and is 60-50 in dual competition with the Boilermakers.
• Ersland wrestled for the University of Iowa from 1992-97, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament at 177, and competing on the highest scoring team at the NCAA Championships in history (170).
• The Boilermakers won their last two duals of 2021, earning a 21-12 win at Michigan State and posting a 38-3 win over Indiana, and carry that streak into this year's dual season.
• Devin Schroder and Max Lyon capitalized on the NCAA's COVID extension waiver, returning for an extra year of eligibility in 2021-22.
• Schroder enters the season ranked second in program history in back points, collecting 432 to date, and ranked 20th all-time at Purdue with a .731 win percentage (77-31).
• 40 of Schroder's 77 career wins have come with bonus points, including 21 technical falls, while 31 of his career victories are shutouts.
• Matt Ramos won the 2018 Cadet Freestyle World Championship for the U.S., capturing the 51 kg title in Zagreb, Croatia.
• Parker Filius took fifth at the 2021 Big Ten Championships as the No. 9 seed, including an 11-7 win over All-American Dylan Duncan.
• Kendall Coleman has racked up 142 takedowns in 53 career matches at Purdue, good for 2.7 per match, and has averaged 7.2 points per match through two seasons.
• Emil Soehnlen and Gerrit Nijenhuis will flip weights to start the 2021 season, with Soehnlen returning to 165 pounds and Nijenhuis bumping up from 165.
• Nijenhuis was 11-7 as a true freshman in 2021, and finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships, the best individual finish by a Purdue freshman since 1987.
• Thomas Penola was 13-6 last season at 197 pounds, including a 7-2 mark in Big Ten Duals, finishing second on the team with 42 takedowns, and scoring a team-most 126 points on the year.
• Michael Woulfe will start his first career dual for the Boilermakers and compete in his first collegiate match since 2016, after serving in the United States Navy for the last five years.
OPPONENTS
Drexel
125: Antonio Mininno (Sr.)
or Kyle Waterman (So.)
133: Jaxon Maroney (So.)
or Deon Pleasant (Fr.)
141: Tyler Williams (Jr.)
149: Luke Nichter (So.)
157: No. 29 Parker Kropman (Gr.)
or Connor Trowbridge (R-So.)
165: Evan Barczak (Gr.)
174: No. 16 Mickey O'Malley (R-Jr.)
184: No. 29 Bryan McLaughlin (R-Sr.)
or Josh Stillings (R-Jr.)
197: Sean O'Malley (R-Sr.)
285: Eli Anthony (Fr.)
Rider
125: Tyler Klinsky (So.)
133: No. 24 Richie Koehler (R-Jr.)
141: No. 22 Quinn Kinner (R-So.)
149: Cole McComas (So.)
157: No. 31 Jake Silverstein (R-Jr.)
165: Joe Casey (R-Jr.)
or Michael Wilson (Jr.)
174: Shane Reitsma (So.)
184: George Walton (R-Sr.)
197: No. 26 Matt Correnti (Gr.)
or Evan Vazquez (Jr.)
285: David Szuba (Fr.)
Rankings listed InterMat