TULSA, Okla. – Matt Ramos became Purdue Wrestling's 60th All-American after he won his quarterfinal match on Friday morning to move into the semifinals at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. He is the first national placewinner for the program since 2013 and the first under head coach Tony Ersland.
"It's crazy. I'm so proud to be representing that 'P' on my chest and I'm very thankful," Ramos said after the win. "I love the coaches at Purdue, I love my team and I couldn't be anywhere else. That's my family. That's my home. I'm so happy that I could bring home that All-American and I've still got all my goals in front of me."
The sophomore etched his name into program history in dramatic fashion. After barely beating the buzzer to win his second round match, Ramos won it just before the final whistle once again in the quarters. He twice took the lead on West Virginia's Killian Cardinale after coming out on top of scrambles in the first and second periods. Late in the third the Mountaineer secured a takedown to go up one, but Ramos fought his way to a reversal with only two seconds remaining to win 8-7.
Ramos will be the first Boilermaker in 10 years to climb the national podium. Redshirt-senior Ivan Lopouchanski was the last when he finished in seventh at 149 in 2013. Purdue was awarded five All-American honors in 2020 when the tournament was canceled, but Ramos is the first to earn it on the mat in Ersland's tenure at the helm.
The Lockport, Ill., native will wrestle No. 1 Spencer Lee of Iowa in the opening match on Friday night in the semifinals for a spot in the finals on Saturday night. Ramos held an 8-1 lead over Lee in their first meeting earlier this season before the three-time NCAA champion came back and won by fall.
Parker Filius also wrestled in his first career quarterfinal match after winning both his bouts on Thursday. He lost a 7-0 decision to Nebraska's No. 4 Brock Hardy and will wrestle No. 24 Casey Swiderski of Iowa State in the blood-round on Friday night. The winner of that contest will be an All-American and the loser's tournament is over.
Senior Kendall Coleman faced off with No. 11 Chase Saldate of Michigan State in the consolation second round. Coleman held an early lead after a takedown and a reversal gave him a 4-1 advantage in the second period, but Saldate took the match 6-4 to move on and bring Coleman's season to a close.
Session four will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT with Ramos slated to be on the mat immediately. Filius' blood-round match will come later in that same session.
Results
NCAA Wrestling Championships
BOK Center
25th Place – 12.5 pts.
125: #4 Matt Ramos (R-Sophomore)
Champ Round 1: #29 Nico Provo (Stanford) – W, D 3-2
Champ Round 2: #20 Jarrett Trombley (N.C. State) – W, TB2 5-4
Champ Quarters: #28 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) – W, D 8-7
Champ Semis: #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa)
141: #12 Parker Filius (Graduate Student)
Champ Round 1: #21 Cleveland Belton (Oregon State) – W, D 8-3
Champ Round 2: #5 Ryan Jack (N.C. State) – W, D 7-6
Champ Quarters: #4 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) – L, D 7-0
Cons. Round 4: #24 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State)
157: #12 Kendall Coleman (R-Senior)
Champ Round 1: #21 Andrew Clark (Rutgers) – W, D 9-4
Champ Round 2: #5 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) – L, D 3-0
Cons. Round 2: #11 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) – L, D 6-4
285: #30 Hayden Copass (R-Freshman)
Champ Round 1: #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) – L, Fall (0:34)
Cons. Pigtail: #33 Travis Stefanik (Princeton) – W, SV 3-1
Cosn. Round 1: #19 Jonah Nissenbaum (Duke) – L, D 6-0
"It's crazy. I'm so proud to be representing that 'P' on my chest and I'm very thankful," Ramos said after the win. "I love the coaches at Purdue, I love my team and I couldn't be anywhere else. That's my family. That's my home. I'm so happy that I could bring home that All-American and I've still got all my goals in front of me."
𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙏 𝙍𝘼𝙈𝙊𝙎 𝙄𝙎 𝘼𝙉 𝘼𝙇𝙇-𝘼𝙈𝙀𝙍𝙄𝘾𝘼𝙉 🏅@Matt_Ramos2 gives us our first man on the national podium since 2013! What a season and what a tournament from this kid! pic.twitter.com/cBBlD3RrCR
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) March 17, 2023
The sophomore etched his name into program history in dramatic fashion. After barely beating the buzzer to win his second round match, Ramos won it just before the final whistle once again in the quarters. He twice took the lead on West Virginia's Killian Cardinale after coming out on top of scrambles in the first and second periods. Late in the third the Mountaineer secured a takedown to go up one, but Ramos fought his way to a reversal with only two seconds remaining to win 8-7.
The All-American moment 😍
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) March 17, 2023
pic.twitter.com/ekcyb2S8Ic
Ramos will be the first Boilermaker in 10 years to climb the national podium. Redshirt-senior Ivan Lopouchanski was the last when he finished in seventh at 149 in 2013. Purdue was awarded five All-American honors in 2020 when the tournament was canceled, but Ramos is the first to earn it on the mat in Ersland's tenure at the helm.
The Lockport, Ill., native will wrestle No. 1 Spencer Lee of Iowa in the opening match on Friday night in the semifinals for a spot in the finals on Saturday night. Ramos held an 8-1 lead over Lee in their first meeting earlier this season before the three-time NCAA champion came back and won by fall.
Parker Filius also wrestled in his first career quarterfinal match after winning both his bouts on Thursday. He lost a 7-0 decision to Nebraska's No. 4 Brock Hardy and will wrestle No. 24 Casey Swiderski of Iowa State in the blood-round on Friday night. The winner of that contest will be an All-American and the loser's tournament is over.
Senior Kendall Coleman faced off with No. 11 Chase Saldate of Michigan State in the consolation second round. Coleman held an early lead after a takedown and a reversal gave him a 4-1 advantage in the second period, but Saldate took the match 6-4 to move on and bring Coleman's season to a close.
Session four will begin at 7:00 p.m. CT with Ramos slated to be on the mat immediately. Filius' blood-round match will come later in that same session.
Results
NCAA Wrestling Championships
BOK Center
25th Place – 12.5 pts.
125: #4 Matt Ramos (R-Sophomore)
Champ Round 1: #29 Nico Provo (Stanford) – W, D 3-2
Champ Round 2: #20 Jarrett Trombley (N.C. State) – W, TB2 5-4
Champ Quarters: #28 Killian Cardinale (West Virginia) – W, D 8-7
Champ Semis: #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa)
141: #12 Parker Filius (Graduate Student)
Champ Round 1: #21 Cleveland Belton (Oregon State) – W, D 8-3
Champ Round 2: #5 Ryan Jack (N.C. State) – W, D 7-6
Champ Quarters: #4 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) – L, D 7-0
Cons. Round 4: #24 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State)
157: #12 Kendall Coleman (R-Senior)
Champ Round 1: #21 Andrew Clark (Rutgers) – W, D 9-4
Champ Round 2: #5 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) – L, D 3-0
Cons. Round 2: #11 Chase Saldate (Michigan State) – L, D 6-4
285: #30 Hayden Copass (R-Freshman)
Champ Round 1: #3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) – L, Fall (0:34)
Cons. Pigtail: #33 Travis Stefanik (Princeton) – W, SV 3-1
Cosn. Round 1: #19 Jonah Nissenbaum (Duke) – L, D 6-0