WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue wrestling will kick-off its season this Sunday at the Clarion Open and will take 22 wrestlers for varsity competition. This young team has a lot of new faces who will be contributing early and often this season that Boilermakers fans will want to get to know.
Head coach Tony Ersland brings back four NCAA qualifiers from last year's squad that went 10-5 in dual action, highlighted by wins over a then-ranked No. 9 Nebraska and No. 16 Minnesota. The team has another 15 duals on the schedule this season in addition to five tournament trips.
This young group for Purdue will have plenty of competition up and down the roster, so let's take a look at who is expected to see some action this season.
Previews: 125-157 | 165-285
125
Following the departure of program great Devin Schroder, who graduated after last season with 96 career wins, redshirt sophomore Matt Ramos steps in and will look to build upon an outstanding debut season that saw him finish just one round short of All-American status during the 2021 NCAA Champions at 133 pounds.
The 2022 U.S. Open Champion at 57 kg may be moving down in weight class, but has high expectations. He enters the year ranked as the consensus No. 10 with a 21-10 collegiate record, highlighted by a 12-3 dual record and nine ranked wins.
Redshirt junior Kooper Loehr slides in behind Ramos and holds the second highest win percentage on the team with a .700 clip.
133
Sophomore Dustin Norris is expected to step up behind Ramos in the 133-pound spot. He will be making his varsity debut for the Boilermakers this weekend in Clarion, but impressed in his action unattached last year. Norris posted an 11-3 record as he competed in four open tournaments, placing in three of the four. He took first at both the Jim Koch Wisconsin Open and the Indianapolis Greyhound Open while finishing in third at the Cleveland State Open.
Depth behind Norris will come in the form of freshman Jacob Macatangay. Macatangay claimed the 2021 Illinois state title with a pin in the finals to cap a 34-0 season.
141
The old-head of the group, three-time NCAA qualifier Parker Filius is a rock for the Boilermakers in the 141-pound slot. The sixth-year wrestler finished his fifth campaign with a 22-13 record on the back of podium finishes at the Big Ten Championships (8th), the Cliff Keen Invitational (6th) and the Matmen Open (5th).
The 22 wins represented a career high for Filius, who also set a career high by climbing as high as No. 13 in last year's rankings. He's broken that mark already this season by coming into the year as the No. 12 141-pounder in the country. His 59 career wins, 111 career matches and 56 dual bouts all pace the active roster. He also leads the team in career pins with six.
A host of Boilermakers will do work at 141-pounds behind Filius, including redshirt junior Michael Leveille, sophomore Christian White, and freshmen Brac Hooper, Isaac Ruble, and Sean Pitts.
149
Coach Ersland has a number of promising options for the 149-pound weight class. The most experienced man in the room is junior Trey Kruse, who has 20 varsity matches under his belt and who looked impressive in Friday's wrestle-offs in winning both of his matches, one with bonus points.
Pushing him for the spot will be sophomore Jaden Reynolds and junior Christian Navida. Reynolds went 15-7 unattached last season, claiming the title at the Jim Koch Wisconsin Open and finishing second at the Mount Union Purple Raider Open. The California-native Navida went 3-2 in limited action last year as he battled an injury, but will look to reassert himself this season.
157
Year four of the Kendall Coleman experience is loading in as the preseason consensus No. 14 157-pounder in the country looks to take the next step along his wrestling journey. The redshirt-senior is a three-time NCAA qualifier, earning the No. 6 and No. 9 seeds in 2020 and 2021 respectively. He earned automatic qualification to the national tournament on all three occasions. He has been ranked inside the top-10 at his weight class in each of the last three years.
Currently holding a 56-22 record for his career, Coleman sits in a tie for 18th all-time at Purdue with a career win percentage of .718, which leads the team. He has racked up 214 takedowns in his career, which means he is just 10 shy of racking the all-time top-20 list for the program. He also leads the active roster with 12 major decision wins in his career.
Redshirt senior Brennan Doyle and freshman Nate Camiscioli also plan to slot in at 157-pounds this season.
Head coach Tony Ersland brings back four NCAA qualifiers from last year's squad that went 10-5 in dual action, highlighted by wins over a then-ranked No. 9 Nebraska and No. 16 Minnesota. The team has another 15 duals on the schedule this season in addition to five tournament trips.
This young group for Purdue will have plenty of competition up and down the roster, so let's take a look at who is expected to see some action this season.
Previews: 125-157 | 165-285
125
Following the departure of program great Devin Schroder, who graduated after last season with 96 career wins, redshirt sophomore Matt Ramos steps in and will look to build upon an outstanding debut season that saw him finish just one round short of All-American status during the 2021 NCAA Champions at 133 pounds.
The 2022 U.S. Open Champion at 57 kg may be moving down in weight class, but has high expectations. He enters the year ranked as the consensus No. 10 with a 21-10 collegiate record, highlighted by a 12-3 dual record and nine ranked wins.
Redshirt junior Kooper Loehr slides in behind Ramos and holds the second highest win percentage on the team with a .700 clip.
133
Sophomore Dustin Norris is expected to step up behind Ramos in the 133-pound spot. He will be making his varsity debut for the Boilermakers this weekend in Clarion, but impressed in his action unattached last year. Norris posted an 11-3 record as he competed in four open tournaments, placing in three of the four. He took first at both the Jim Koch Wisconsin Open and the Indianapolis Greyhound Open while finishing in third at the Cleveland State Open.
Depth behind Norris will come in the form of freshman Jacob Macatangay. Macatangay claimed the 2021 Illinois state title with a pin in the finals to cap a 34-0 season.
141
The old-head of the group, three-time NCAA qualifier Parker Filius is a rock for the Boilermakers in the 141-pound slot. The sixth-year wrestler finished his fifth campaign with a 22-13 record on the back of podium finishes at the Big Ten Championships (8th), the Cliff Keen Invitational (6th) and the Matmen Open (5th).
The 22 wins represented a career high for Filius, who also set a career high by climbing as high as No. 13 in last year's rankings. He's broken that mark already this season by coming into the year as the No. 12 141-pounder in the country. His 59 career wins, 111 career matches and 56 dual bouts all pace the active roster. He also leads the team in career pins with six.
A host of Boilermakers will do work at 141-pounds behind Filius, including redshirt junior Michael Leveille, sophomore Christian White, and freshmen Brac Hooper, Isaac Ruble, and Sean Pitts.
149
Coach Ersland has a number of promising options for the 149-pound weight class. The most experienced man in the room is junior Trey Kruse, who has 20 varsity matches under his belt and who looked impressive in Friday's wrestle-offs in winning both of his matches, one with bonus points.
Pushing him for the spot will be sophomore Jaden Reynolds and junior Christian Navida. Reynolds went 15-7 unattached last season, claiming the title at the Jim Koch Wisconsin Open and finishing second at the Mount Union Purple Raider Open. The California-native Navida went 3-2 in limited action last year as he battled an injury, but will look to reassert himself this season.
157
Year four of the Kendall Coleman experience is loading in as the preseason consensus No. 14 157-pounder in the country looks to take the next step along his wrestling journey. The redshirt-senior is a three-time NCAA qualifier, earning the No. 6 and No. 9 seeds in 2020 and 2021 respectively. He earned automatic qualification to the national tournament on all three occasions. He has been ranked inside the top-10 at his weight class in each of the last three years.
Currently holding a 56-22 record for his career, Coleman sits in a tie for 18th all-time at Purdue with a career win percentage of .718, which leads the team. He has racked up 214 takedowns in his career, which means he is just 10 shy of racking the all-time top-20 list for the program. He also leads the active roster with 12 major decision wins in his career.
Redshirt senior Brennan Doyle and freshman Nate Camiscioli also plan to slot in at 157-pounds this season.