GENEVA, Ohio – Brody Baumann led the way for Purdue Wrestling at the 2023 U23 Nationals tournament as the rising redshirt-freshman fought his way to a fifth-place finish at SPIRE Academy on Sunday afternoon.
The young Boilermaker went 5-2 on the weekend on his way to the podium in the 79 kg division, taking four of his five wins by tech fall and outscoring his opponents 59-33 across all seven matches. Fifth is the best U23 Nationals finish by one of Tony Ersland's crew since Thomas Penola took third in 2021.
Four straight wins, all via tech, to open the tournament put the Evansville, Ind., standout in the championship semifinals. Three of the four matches would not even reach the second period, highlighted by a 10-0 handling of Illinois' Danny Braunagel in just 12 seconds. Back-to-back loses saw Buamann drop into the fifth-place match, where he got back on track for a 9-4 victory over Hayden Pummel to take his place on the podium.
Ben Vanadia was the only other Boilermaker of the four to be competing on day two of the tournament. After dropping his opening match, he bounced back with two straight commanding wins over Joseph Swanson 10-0 (0:48) and Dominic Murphy 12-4. He lost his lone bout on Sunday to Tyler Kocak to end his tournament run.
Freshmen Kade Law and Isaac Ruble made the trip as well and wrestled in the 70 kg bracket. Law went 2-2, picking up a 7-6 win over Craig Cook and a 4-1 victory over Gabriel Onorato. Ruble opened with an impressive 10-0 (3:34) shutout of Michael Merritt and earned two more wins on Saturday. Both wrestlers were handed their second loss in the consolation round of 32.
The event was the Boilermakers' final freestyle competition of the summer and the squad will turn its attention to preparations for the 2023-24 Purdue Wrestling season.
Results
2023 U23 Nationals
SPIRE Academy
70 kg: Kade Law
Round of 128: Easton Larson (Viking Wrestling Club) – L, 9-7
Cons. Round of 64 #2: Craig Cook (New Jersey) – W, 7-6
Cons. Round of 32 #1: Gabriel Onorato (Pennsylvania RTC) – W, 4-1
Cons. Round of 32 #2: Cole Handlovic (Spartan Combat RTC) – L, 10-0 (1:21)
70 kg: Isaac Ruble
Round of 128: Michael Merritt (Michigan) – W, 10-0 (3:34)
Round of 64: Blake Saito (Brown RTC) – L, 11-4
Cons. Round of 64 #2: Anthony Conetta (Boone RTC) – W, 14-8
Cons. Round of 32 #1: Brock Rogers (Central Valley RTC) – W, 7-6
Cons. Round of 32 #2: Kyle Schickel (Clarion RTC) – L, 12-1 (1:52)
79 kg: Brody Baumann – FIFTH PLACE
Round of 64: Joey Arnold (Edinboro RTC) – W, 13-2 (1:47)
Round of 32: Brody Oleksak (Spartan Combat RTC) – W, 13-3 (1:50)
Round of 16: Brock Del Signore (Wolfpack Wrestling Club) – W, 11-1 (5:12)
Quarterfinals: Danny Braunagel (Illinois RTC) – W, 10-0 (0:12)
Semifinals: Carson Kharchla (Ohio) – L, 10-0 (1:25)
Cons. Semifinals: Nick Incontrera (Pennsylvania RTC) – L, 13-3 (5:22)
5th Place: Hayden Pummel (Northern Illinois RTC) – W, 9-4
92 kg: Ben Vanadia
Round of 32: Owen Braungardt (Viking Wrestling Club) – L, 8-6
Cons. Round of 32 #2: Joseph Swanson (Illinois) – W, 10-0 (0:48)
Cons. Round of 16 #1: Dominic Murphy (Region Wrestling Academy) – W, 12-4
Cons. Round of 16 #2: Tyler Kocak (George Mason) – L, 10-0 (3:24)
The young Boilermaker went 5-2 on the weekend on his way to the podium in the 79 kg division, taking four of his five wins by tech fall and outscoring his opponents 59-33 across all seven matches. Fifth is the best U23 Nationals finish by one of Tony Ersland's crew since Thomas Penola took third in 2021.
Four straight wins, all via tech, to open the tournament put the Evansville, Ind., standout in the championship semifinals. Three of the four matches would not even reach the second period, highlighted by a 10-0 handling of Illinois' Danny Braunagel in just 12 seconds. Back-to-back loses saw Buamann drop into the fifth-place match, where he got back on track for a 9-4 victory over Hayden Pummel to take his place on the podium.
Ben Vanadia was the only other Boilermaker of the four to be competing on day two of the tournament. After dropping his opening match, he bounced back with two straight commanding wins over Joseph Swanson 10-0 (0:48) and Dominic Murphy 12-4. He lost his lone bout on Sunday to Tyler Kocak to end his tournament run.
Freshmen Kade Law and Isaac Ruble made the trip as well and wrestled in the 70 kg bracket. Law went 2-2, picking up a 7-6 win over Craig Cook and a 4-1 victory over Gabriel Onorato. Ruble opened with an impressive 10-0 (3:34) shutout of Michael Merritt and earned two more wins on Saturday. Both wrestlers were handed their second loss in the consolation round of 32.
The event was the Boilermakers' final freestyle competition of the summer and the squad will turn its attention to preparations for the 2023-24 Purdue Wrestling season.
Results
2023 U23 Nationals
SPIRE Academy
70 kg: Kade Law
Round of 128: Easton Larson (Viking Wrestling Club) – L, 9-7
Cons. Round of 64 #2: Craig Cook (New Jersey) – W, 7-6
Cons. Round of 32 #1: Gabriel Onorato (Pennsylvania RTC) – W, 4-1
Cons. Round of 32 #2: Cole Handlovic (Spartan Combat RTC) – L, 10-0 (1:21)
70 kg: Isaac Ruble
Round of 128: Michael Merritt (Michigan) – W, 10-0 (3:34)
Round of 64: Blake Saito (Brown RTC) – L, 11-4
Cons. Round of 64 #2: Anthony Conetta (Boone RTC) – W, 14-8
Cons. Round of 32 #1: Brock Rogers (Central Valley RTC) – W, 7-6
Cons. Round of 32 #2: Kyle Schickel (Clarion RTC) – L, 12-1 (1:52)
79 kg: Brody Baumann – FIFTH PLACE
Round of 64: Joey Arnold (Edinboro RTC) – W, 13-2 (1:47)
Round of 32: Brody Oleksak (Spartan Combat RTC) – W, 13-3 (1:50)
Round of 16: Brock Del Signore (Wolfpack Wrestling Club) – W, 11-1 (5:12)
Quarterfinals: Danny Braunagel (Illinois RTC) – W, 10-0 (0:12)
Semifinals: Carson Kharchla (Ohio) – L, 10-0 (1:25)
Cons. Semifinals: Nick Incontrera (Pennsylvania RTC) – L, 13-3 (5:22)
5th Place: Hayden Pummel (Northern Illinois RTC) – W, 9-4
92 kg: Ben Vanadia
Round of 32: Owen Braungardt (Viking Wrestling Club) – L, 8-6
Cons. Round of 32 #2: Joseph Swanson (Illinois) – W, 10-0 (0:48)
Cons. Round of 16 #1: Dominic Murphy (Region Wrestling Academy) – W, 12-4
Cons. Round of 16 #2: Tyler Kocak (George Mason) – L, 10-0 (3:24)