DeKALB, Ill. – No. 25 Purdue Wrestling beat Northern Illinois 29-8 in the final non-conference dual of the season on Sunday afternoon at NIU Convocation Center.
With three of the team's seven ranked wrestlers out of the lineup, the Boilermakers (8-1, 1-0 B1G) prevailed with four bonus point victories.
At 8-1, Purdue is off to its best start since the 2019-20 season.
Orlando Cruz put forth his strongest showing yet, defeating Jake Evans 21-5 (6:45) for a technical fall. His explosion for 21 points tied the highest mark by any Boilermaker all season, which No. 26 Brody Baumann first reached at Kent State on Jan. 3.
Filling in at 157 lbs in place of No. 20 James Rowley, Cruz has shined in his redshirt-freshman season. He's earned three straight dual victories including back-to-back tech falls.
In the only ranked bout of the afternoon, No. 1 Matt Ramos was challenged by No. 21 Blake West, earning a 5-4 decision in his closest match of the season. Ultimately, he improved to 6-0 in ranked matchups on the year.
The top-ranked star built up a 5-1 lead entering the final frame, but West wouldn't relent until the final buzzer.
Going on the attack, West benefited from a stalling penalty and a riding time point, but Ramos' defense was too stingy to overcome.
The Lockport, Illinois, powerhouse has still not given up a takedown or a single back point all season.
Along with Cruz, the trio of Baumann, Isaac Ruble and Ben Vanadia also added bonus points with major decisions.
Entering the meet as perhaps the team's hottest wrestler in recent weeks, Baumann continued to move with a purpose and racked up 19 points in a 10-point major. It was the fourth time he reached that mark in his last six matches.
After falling behind 3-0 and needing a spark, Ruble went on to score 14 unanswered points to bounce back with four team points.
He escaped eight seconds after Tommy Curran's initial takedown and never looked back, logging two takedowns, a four-point near-fall, an escape, earning 2:09 of riding time and a penalty point for stalling.
Vanadia jumped out to an 11-point lead before his 197-pound opponent Sean Carroll answered with an escape and a takedown to try and erase the bonus points.
Vanadia's 2:27 riding time advantage put him over the edge, however, winning 12-4 for the major.
Also notably, No. 33 Stoney Buell responded from his loss against Northwestern with a never-in-doubt 6-0 decision over Brett Smith.
Buell notched the seventh shutout of his career in his 75th collegiate match.
Hayden Filipovich wrapped things up in the heavyweight bout with a 7-2 decision over Jacob Christensen.
He added two back points as well as a takedown, an escape and 1:09 of riding time to go 2-0 on the weekend. UP NEXT The Old Gold & Black will return to West Lafayette for a big showdown against Indiana inside Mackey Arena on Friday night.
The Purdue-IU dual tabbed as "Mackey Mania" is set for 7 p.m. ET and admission will be free to all fans.
Fans at home can watch the live broadcast on B1G+. RESULTS 125 | #1 Matt Ramos (PUR) over #21 Blake West (NIU) – Dec 5-4 | PUR 3-0
133 | Dustin Norris (PUR) over Markel Baker (NIU) – Dec 9-5 | PUR 6-0
141 | Jacob Brya (NIU) over Cole Solomey (PUR) – Dec 6-1 | PUR 6-3
149 | Isaac Ruble (PUR) over Tommy Curran (NIU) – MD 14-3 | PUR 10-3
157 | Landen Johnson (NIU) over Kade Law (PUR) – TF 18-1 (6:49) | PUR 10-8
165 | #33 Stoney Buell (PUR) over Brett Smith (NIU) – Dec 6-0 | PUR 13-8
174 | #26 Brody Baumann (PUR) over Tommy Bennett (NIU) – MD 19-9 | PUR 17-8
184 | Orlando Cruz (PUR) over Jake Evans (NIU) – TF 21-5 (6:45) | PUR 22-8
197 | #30 Ben Vanadia (PUR) over Sean Carroll (NIU) – MD 12-4 | PUR 26-8
285 | Hayden Filipovich (PUR) over Jacob Christensen (NIU) – Dec 7-2 | PUR 29-8
Cover photo courtesy of Beth Krejsa.
With three of the team's seven ranked wrestlers out of the lineup, the Boilermakers (8-1, 1-0 B1G) prevailed with four bonus point victories.
At 8-1, Purdue is off to its best start since the 2019-20 season.
Orlando Cruz put forth his strongest showing yet, defeating Jake Evans 21-5 (6:45) for a technical fall. His explosion for 21 points tied the highest mark by any Boilermaker all season, which No. 26 Brody Baumann first reached at Kent State on Jan. 3.
Filling in at 157 lbs in place of No. 20 James Rowley, Cruz has shined in his redshirt-freshman season. He's earned three straight dual victories including back-to-back tech falls.
In the only ranked bout of the afternoon, No. 1 Matt Ramos was challenged by No. 21 Blake West, earning a 5-4 decision in his closest match of the season. Ultimately, he improved to 6-0 in ranked matchups on the year.
The top-ranked star built up a 5-1 lead entering the final frame, but West wouldn't relent until the final buzzer.
Going on the attack, West benefited from a stalling penalty and a riding time point, but Ramos' defense was too stingy to overcome.
The Lockport, Illinois, powerhouse has still not given up a takedown or a single back point all season.
Along with Cruz, the trio of Baumann, Isaac Ruble and Ben Vanadia also added bonus points with major decisions.
Entering the meet as perhaps the team's hottest wrestler in recent weeks, Baumann continued to move with a purpose and racked up 19 points in a 10-point major. It was the fourth time he reached that mark in his last six matches.
After falling behind 3-0 and needing a spark, Ruble went on to score 14 unanswered points to bounce back with four team points.
He escaped eight seconds after Tommy Curran's initial takedown and never looked back, logging two takedowns, a four-point near-fall, an escape, earning 2:09 of riding time and a penalty point for stalling.
Vanadia jumped out to an 11-point lead before his 197-pound opponent Sean Carroll answered with an escape and a takedown to try and erase the bonus points.
Vanadia's 2:27 riding time advantage put him over the edge, however, winning 12-4 for the major.
Also notably, No. 33 Stoney Buell responded from his loss against Northwestern with a never-in-doubt 6-0 decision over Brett Smith.
Buell notched the seventh shutout of his career in his 75th collegiate match.
Hayden Filipovich wrapped things up in the heavyweight bout with a 7-2 decision over Jacob Christensen.
He added two back points as well as a takedown, an escape and 1:09 of riding time to go 2-0 on the weekend. UP NEXT The Old Gold & Black will return to West Lafayette for a big showdown against Indiana inside Mackey Arena on Friday night.
The Purdue-IU dual tabbed as "Mackey Mania" is set for 7 p.m. ET and admission will be free to all fans.
Fans at home can watch the live broadcast on B1G+. RESULTS 125 | #1 Matt Ramos (PUR) over #21 Blake West (NIU) – Dec 5-4 | PUR 3-0
133 | Dustin Norris (PUR) over Markel Baker (NIU) – Dec 9-5 | PUR 6-0
141 | Jacob Brya (NIU) over Cole Solomey (PUR) – Dec 6-1 | PUR 6-3
149 | Isaac Ruble (PUR) over Tommy Curran (NIU) – MD 14-3 | PUR 10-3
157 | Landen Johnson (NIU) over Kade Law (PUR) – TF 18-1 (6:49) | PUR 10-8
165 | #33 Stoney Buell (PUR) over Brett Smith (NIU) – Dec 6-0 | PUR 13-8
174 | #26 Brody Baumann (PUR) over Tommy Bennett (NIU) – MD 19-9 | PUR 17-8
184 | Orlando Cruz (PUR) over Jake Evans (NIU) – TF 21-5 (6:45) | PUR 22-8
197 | #30 Ben Vanadia (PUR) over Sean Carroll (NIU) – MD 12-4 | PUR 26-8
285 | Hayden Filipovich (PUR) over Jacob Christensen (NIU) – Dec 7-2 | PUR 29-8
Cover photo courtesy of Beth Krejsa.