WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Wrestling is headed back out to Las Vegas for the annual U.S. Open Championships with four student-athletes set to compete in the U20 Nationals tournament. Matches in the South Point Hotel & Casino will start on Friday at 1:00 p.m. ET with medal matches coming on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Coverage for the tournament will be provided by FloWrestling.
The Boilermakers send a quartet of freshmen to the tournament as Ashton Jackson (57 kg), Cole Solomey (65 kg), Isaac Ruble (70 kg), and Joey Blaze (74 kg) look to earn a spot at the U20 World Team Trials upcoming in late May. A top-seven finish in Las Vegas will be required to punch their ticket to the trials with the winners of each bracket automatically earning a spot in the finals. Fellow freshmen Orlando Cruz and James Rowley have already qualified.
Blaze is coming off a fantastic debut campaign that saw him take sixth at the Big Ten tournament and qualify for the NCAA Championships as the No. 23 seed as a true freshman. He is the first true freshman under head coach Tony Ersland to earn three top-five upsets in his first season and he finished the season tied for the most dual wins of anyone in his class in the Big Ten.
The Decatur, Ind., native Ruble took advantage of his opportunities throughout the season, racking up a 13-4 record and going 3-0 in dual competition for the Boilermakers. He also finished the year with the largest riding time advantage on the team with a +23:25 margin. His last match of the year was the highlight as five points in the third gave him a comeback win over Illinois' Logan Swaw.
Jackson and Solomey competed mostly unattached in their first seasons with the program, but showed plenty of promise of what could be to come. Jackson earned podium finishes the Purple Raider Open (5th) and Greyhound Open (3rd) with an impressive bonus points tally. Six pins on the year gave him the most on the team. In high school while wrestling for LaPorte, he won the ISWA Freestyle State Finals in the Junior USA 1 division.
Solomey took second at the Purple Raider Open in his most recent action, going 3-1 with a pin and a major. He also got experience with Las Vegas wrestling early in the season when he competed in the Cliff Keen Invitational.
The Boilermakers send a quartet of freshmen to the tournament as Ashton Jackson (57 kg), Cole Solomey (65 kg), Isaac Ruble (70 kg), and Joey Blaze (74 kg) look to earn a spot at the U20 World Team Trials upcoming in late May. A top-seven finish in Las Vegas will be required to punch their ticket to the trials with the winners of each bracket automatically earning a spot in the finals. Fellow freshmen Orlando Cruz and James Rowley have already qualified.
Blaze is coming off a fantastic debut campaign that saw him take sixth at the Big Ten tournament and qualify for the NCAA Championships as the No. 23 seed as a true freshman. He is the first true freshman under head coach Tony Ersland to earn three top-five upsets in his first season and he finished the season tied for the most dual wins of anyone in his class in the Big Ten.
The Decatur, Ind., native Ruble took advantage of his opportunities throughout the season, racking up a 13-4 record and going 3-0 in dual competition for the Boilermakers. He also finished the year with the largest riding time advantage on the team with a +23:25 margin. His last match of the year was the highlight as five points in the third gave him a comeback win over Illinois' Logan Swaw.
Jackson and Solomey competed mostly unattached in their first seasons with the program, but showed plenty of promise of what could be to come. Jackson earned podium finishes the Purple Raider Open (5th) and Greyhound Open (3rd) with an impressive bonus points tally. Six pins on the year gave him the most on the team. In high school while wrestling for LaPorte, he won the ISWA Freestyle State Finals in the Junior USA 1 division.
Solomey took second at the Purple Raider Open in his most recent action, going 3-1 with a pin and a major. He also got experience with Las Vegas wrestling early in the season when he competed in the Cliff Keen Invitational.