WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team heads to Detroit this week for the 2022 NCAA Championships, hosted at Little Caesars Arena beginning Thursday. The Boilermakers qualified seven individuals for the national tournament, earning four automatic bids at the Big Ten Championships and three more at-large bids last Tuesday.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
• Purdue is making its 92nd appearance at the NCAA Championships.
• The Boilermakers' seven national qualifiers marks their fifth straight season with at least seven, Purdue's longest stretch in program history. The previous mark was back-to-back seasons in 2003-04.
• Tony Ersland has taken at least seven wrestlers to NCAA's in six of his eight seasons as Purdue's head coach.
• The program now has 274 all-time national qualifiers and 58 All-Americans.
• Purdue has crowned four NCAA Champions in program history with Charles Jones last climbing to the top of the podium at 167 pounds in 1992.
• With the No. 9 seed at 125 pounds, Devin Schroder is the fourth wrestler in program history to earn three national top-10 seeds. He joins Bob Marshall (1960-62), Ryan Lange (2002-04) and Chris Fleeger (2002-03, 2006).
PURDUE LINEUP & RANKINGS
Purdue wrapped up the season at No. 16 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, and were a consensus top-20 dual team across all ranking services. The Boilermakers made huge jumps in the final tournament rankings of the season, climbing to No. 25 via InterMat and No. 26 on FloWrestling. All seven national qualifiers earned individual rankings, including Schroder at No. 6 at 125 pounds and junior Thomas Penola earning a top-10 mark from FloWrestling at 197 pounds.
PURDUE NOTES
• Head coach Tony Ersland is in his eighth season at Purdue and is 70-55 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).
• Purdue's season-opening win at Drexel marks eight straight seasons that the Boilermakers have won their first dual of the year under Ersland.
• Purdue opened dual competition 6-0 for the first time since 2008-09.
• The Boilermakers' win at No. 9 Nebraska marked the program's first top-10 ranked victory since 2004 (a 21-20 win on criteria over Arizona State), and the first top-10 career dual victory for Ersland as a head coach.
• Purdue held its annual "Hammer Down Cancer" event on January 21 vs. Illinois, and auctioned off its special edition singlets, donated by Rudis, to raise over $4,600 for the Purdue Center for Cancer Research.
• The Boilermakers' win over then 14th-ranked Minnesota on February 6 snapped a streak of 12 straight losses to the Golden Gophers, dating to 2004. Purdue won 6-of-10 weights, including wins over higher-ranked opponents at 125, 133, 165 and 184.
• Devin Schroder and Max Lyon capitalized on the NCAA's COVID extension waiver, returning for an extra year of eligibility in 2021-22.
• Schroder is tied for fourth in the nation in Division I with six technical falls on the season
• Schroder ranks second in program history in back points, with 522 in 131 career matches, is 15th all-time at Purdue with a .733 win percentage (96-35), and is 19th in program history for career wins.
• 49 of Schroder's 96 career wins have come via bonus points (.510), including 27 technical falls, while 43 of his career victories are shutouts (.448).
• Matt Ramos won the 2018 Cadet Freestyle World Championship for the U.S., capturing the 51 kg title in Zagreb, Croatia.
• Ramos's two wins to open the season were his first official folkstyle matches since his senior year of high school at Lockport HS (Illinois) in 2019, winning by technical fall and fall in the two bouts.
• Parker Filius leads the team with 32 matches and 21 victories on the season, including an 12-3 dual record and seven bonus-point wins.
• Kendall Coleman surpassed the 60-career match at CKLV, and earned a spot on Purdue's career win- percentage record list, coming in at No. 14 (.737, 56-20).
• Coleman surpassed the 200 career takedown mark at Big Ten Championships, amassing 213 in 76 career matches, including 71 this season.
• Gerrit Nijenhuis has the highest-ranked win of any Boilermaker this season, topping No. 3 Mikey Labriola at Nebraska on Jan. 7. Thirteen of his 26 matches this season have come against ranked opponents, earning wins against six of them.
• Max Lyon has cracked the top-20 for career takedowns at Purdue, scoring 227 to date in his career.
• Lyon has wrestled 40 of his last 53 matches against ranked opponents.
• Thomas Penola leads the team in takedowns (78) and total points (227), and nearly half of his scoring this season has come in the third-period, where he's outscoring opponents 100-47.
• Penola has faced a team-high 20 ranked opponents in 29 matches this season, including a team-most 13 wins against ranked foes.
Event Schedule
Thursday, March 17
12 p.m.: Session 1 (Pigtails, Round of 32)
7 p.m.: Session 2 (Second Round, Consolation Pigtails and First Round)
Friday, March 18
11 a.m.: Session 3 (Quarterfinals, Consolation Second and Third Round)
8 p.m.: Session 4 (Semifinals, Round of 12, Consolation Quarterfinals)
Saturday, March 19
11 a.m.: Session 5 (Consolation Semifinals, Third, Fifth and Seventh-Place Matches)
7 p.m.: Session 6 (Finals)
2022 NCAA Championships
Detroit, Michigan * Little Caesars Arena
125: #9 Devin Schroder (R-Senior)
First Round: #24 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech)
133: #26 Matt Ramos (R-Freshman)
First Round: #7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
141: #20 Parker Filius (R-Senior)
First Round: #13 Ian Parker (Iowa State)
157: #19 Kendall Coleman (R-Junior)
First Round: #14 Jake Keating (Virginia)
174: #25 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Sophomore)
First Round: #8 Michael O'Malley (Drexel)
184: #30 Max Lyon (R-Senior)
First Round: #3 Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State)
197: #11 Thomas Penola (R-Junior)
First Round: #22 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State)
Numbers represent national seeds
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
• Purdue is making its 92nd appearance at the NCAA Championships.
• The Boilermakers' seven national qualifiers marks their fifth straight season with at least seven, Purdue's longest stretch in program history. The previous mark was back-to-back seasons in 2003-04.
• Tony Ersland has taken at least seven wrestlers to NCAA's in six of his eight seasons as Purdue's head coach.
• The program now has 274 all-time national qualifiers and 58 All-Americans.
• Purdue has crowned four NCAA Champions in program history with Charles Jones last climbing to the top of the podium at 167 pounds in 1992.
• With the No. 9 seed at 125 pounds, Devin Schroder is the fourth wrestler in program history to earn three national top-10 seeds. He joins Bob Marshall (1960-62), Ryan Lange (2002-04) and Chris Fleeger (2002-03, 2006).
PURDUE LINEUP & RANKINGS
Purdue wrapped up the season at No. 16 in the NWCA Coaches Poll, and were a consensus top-20 dual team across all ranking services. The Boilermakers made huge jumps in the final tournament rankings of the season, climbing to No. 25 via InterMat and No. 26 on FloWrestling. All seven national qualifiers earned individual rankings, including Schroder at No. 6 at 125 pounds and junior Thomas Penola earning a top-10 mark from FloWrestling at 197 pounds.
| Wt. | NCAA Seed | Wrestler | Record | FloWrestling | InterMat | TheOpenMat | WIN | NCAA | RPI |
| 125 | 9 | Devin Schroder (R-Sr.) | 19-4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| 133 | 26 | Matt Ramos (R-Fr.) | 18-8 | 17 | 19 | -- | -- | 25 | 27 |
| 141 | 20 | Parker Filius (R-Sr.) | 21-11 | 18 | 19 | -- | -- | 25 | 21 |
| 157 | 19 | Kendall Coleman (R-Jr.) | 15-8 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 20 |
| 174 | 25 | Gerrit Nijenhuis (So.) | 17-13 | 22 | 21 | 18 | -- | 27 | 29 |
| 184 | 30 | Max Lyon (R-Sr.) | 12-13 | HM | 28 | -- | -- | 26 | 26 |
| 197 | 11 | Thomas Penola (R-Jr.) | 22-7 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 14 |
PURDUE NOTES
• Head coach Tony Ersland is in his eighth season at Purdue and is 70-55 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).
• Purdue's season-opening win at Drexel marks eight straight seasons that the Boilermakers have won their first dual of the year under Ersland.
• Purdue opened dual competition 6-0 for the first time since 2008-09.
• The Boilermakers' win at No. 9 Nebraska marked the program's first top-10 ranked victory since 2004 (a 21-20 win on criteria over Arizona State), and the first top-10 career dual victory for Ersland as a head coach.
• Purdue held its annual "Hammer Down Cancer" event on January 21 vs. Illinois, and auctioned off its special edition singlets, donated by Rudis, to raise over $4,600 for the Purdue Center for Cancer Research.
• The Boilermakers' win over then 14th-ranked Minnesota on February 6 snapped a streak of 12 straight losses to the Golden Gophers, dating to 2004. Purdue won 6-of-10 weights, including wins over higher-ranked opponents at 125, 133, 165 and 184.
• Devin Schroder and Max Lyon capitalized on the NCAA's COVID extension waiver, returning for an extra year of eligibility in 2021-22.
• Schroder is tied for fourth in the nation in Division I with six technical falls on the season
• Schroder ranks second in program history in back points, with 522 in 131 career matches, is 15th all-time at Purdue with a .733 win percentage (96-35), and is 19th in program history for career wins.
• 49 of Schroder's 96 career wins have come via bonus points (.510), including 27 technical falls, while 43 of his career victories are shutouts (.448).
• Matt Ramos won the 2018 Cadet Freestyle World Championship for the U.S., capturing the 51 kg title in Zagreb, Croatia.
• Ramos's two wins to open the season were his first official folkstyle matches since his senior year of high school at Lockport HS (Illinois) in 2019, winning by technical fall and fall in the two bouts.
• Parker Filius leads the team with 32 matches and 21 victories on the season, including an 12-3 dual record and seven bonus-point wins.
• Kendall Coleman surpassed the 60-career match at CKLV, and earned a spot on Purdue's career win- percentage record list, coming in at No. 14 (.737, 56-20).
• Coleman surpassed the 200 career takedown mark at Big Ten Championships, amassing 213 in 76 career matches, including 71 this season.
• Gerrit Nijenhuis has the highest-ranked win of any Boilermaker this season, topping No. 3 Mikey Labriola at Nebraska on Jan. 7. Thirteen of his 26 matches this season have come against ranked opponents, earning wins against six of them.
• Max Lyon has cracked the top-20 for career takedowns at Purdue, scoring 227 to date in his career.
• Lyon has wrestled 40 of his last 53 matches against ranked opponents.
• Thomas Penola leads the team in takedowns (78) and total points (227), and nearly half of his scoring this season has come in the third-period, where he's outscoring opponents 100-47.
• Penola has faced a team-high 20 ranked opponents in 29 matches this season, including a team-most 13 wins against ranked foes.
Event Schedule
Thursday, March 17
12 p.m.: Session 1 (Pigtails, Round of 32)
7 p.m.: Session 2 (Second Round, Consolation Pigtails and First Round)
Friday, March 18
11 a.m.: Session 3 (Quarterfinals, Consolation Second and Third Round)
8 p.m.: Session 4 (Semifinals, Round of 12, Consolation Quarterfinals)
Saturday, March 19
11 a.m.: Session 5 (Consolation Semifinals, Third, Fifth and Seventh-Place Matches)
7 p.m.: Session 6 (Finals)
2022 NCAA Championships
Detroit, Michigan * Little Caesars Arena
125: #9 Devin Schroder (R-Senior)
First Round: #24 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech)
133: #26 Matt Ramos (R-Freshman)
First Round: #7 Lucas Byrd (Illinois)
141: #20 Parker Filius (R-Senior)
First Round: #13 Ian Parker (Iowa State)
157: #19 Kendall Coleman (R-Junior)
First Round: #14 Jake Keating (Virginia)
174: #25 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Sophomore)
First Round: #8 Michael O'Malley (Drexel)
184: #30 Max Lyon (R-Senior)
First Round: #3 Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State)
197: #11 Thomas Penola (R-Junior)
First Round: #22 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State)
Numbers represent national seeds