WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Wrestling closed its regular season with a 35-6 loss to No. 5 Nebraska on Sunday night in Holloway Gymnasium.
The Boilermakers (10-6, 3-5 B1G) earned two match victories in the team loss to the Cornhuskers (11-3, 6-2 B1G).
Seniors Matt Ramos and Christian White were honored in a ceremony before the dual in recognition of Senior Night.
Ramos, the undefeated consensus No. 1 wrestler in the country at 125 pounds, did not compete as he has his sights set ahead to the postseason in March.
Orlando Cruz and Hayden Filipovich were victorious in their bouts, picking up three-point decisions over the Huskers.
Cruz topped Ethan DeLeon in the 184-pound match via 4-2 decision. Trailing 1-0 after two periods, the redshirt freshman got busy in the third.
After escaping six seconds into the frame, a clutch takedown with 30 seconds to go put Cruz over the top for good.
It was his fifth dual win of the year, wrestling up from his original starting weight of 174 in place of injured James Rowley.
Filipovich, facing off against his team-high 13th ranked opponent of the season, at last secured a gritty upset win over No. 21 Harley Andrews.
The Indianapolis heavyweight put Andrews on his heels with a four-point near-fall to take a 4-0 lead into the third.
A hectic final two minutes that featured three reversals and a two-point near-fall ultimately ended in Filipovich's favor. The redshirt junior turned in a 9-4 decision for his first ranked win since Dec. 29, 2023, when he wrestled at 184 pounds in the Midlands Championships.
Also notably, a top-10 challenge got the night started as No. 7 Joey Blaze battled with No. 4 Antrell Taylor in the 157-pound match.
Each wrestler had their moments when it looked as if they were seconds away from scoring a match-altering takedown. But it was the fourth-ranked Taylor who landed the winning score with nine seconds remaining, taking down Blaze and handing him his first Big Ten dual loss of the year.
The sophomore from Ohio will heal up and turn his attention to the Big Ten Championships in less than two weeks, coming off an impressive 15-4 second season with a 5-1 B1G dual record. UP NEXT The Boilermakers shift gears to postseason with the Big Ten Championships looming on March 8-9.
Purdue will send 10 wrestlers to compete on the B1G stage, hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois, at Welsh-Ryan Arena this year.
Pre-seeds for the conference tournament will be released in the coming days.
No. 1 Ramos and No. 7 Blaze figure to lead the squad, each with the goal of becoming Purdue's first Big Ten champion since 2004.
RESULTS 157 | #4 Antrell Taylor (NEB) over #7 Joey Blaze (PUR) – D 4-1 | NEB 3-0
NEB team point deduction – inconsistent uniforms | NEB 2-0
165 | #8 Christopher Minto (NEB) over Stoney Buell (PUR) – TF 17-1 (5:43) | NEB 7-0
174 | #10 Lenny Pinto (NEB) over #25 Brody Baumann (PUR) – TF 21-6 (6:44) | NEB 12-0
184 | Orlando Cruz (PUR) over Ethan DeLeon (NEB) – D 4-2 | NEB 12-3
197 | #20 Camden McDanel (NEB) over #27 Ben Vanadia (PUR) – TF 22-6 (6:35) | NEB 17-3
285 | Hayden Filipovich (PUR) over #21 Harley Andrews (NEB) – D 9-4 | NEB 17-6
125 | #7 Caleb Smith (NEB) over Ashton Jackson (PUR) – TF 21-5 (6:20) | NEB 22-6
133 | #16 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) over Dustin Norris (PUR) – MD 11-1 | NEB 26-6
141 | #6 Brock Hardy (NEB) over #27 Greyson Clark (PUR) – MD 15-4 | NEB 30-6
149 | #4 Ridge Lovett (NEB) over Isaac Ruble (PUR) – TF 21-5 (2:55) | Final: NEB 35-6
The Boilermakers (10-6, 3-5 B1G) earned two match victories in the team loss to the Cornhuskers (11-3, 6-2 B1G).
Seniors Matt Ramos and Christian White were honored in a ceremony before the dual in recognition of Senior Night.
A Boilermaker through and through. 👏
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) February 23, 2025
Congrats on a great collegiate career, @christian_w03! pic.twitter.com/XPyR4kHaOY
The man. The myth.@Matt_Ramos2 will leave Purdue as one of the greatest wrestlers in school history. pic.twitter.com/FgMyYnmpqH
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) February 23, 2025
Ramos, the undefeated consensus No. 1 wrestler in the country at 125 pounds, did not compete as he has his sights set ahead to the postseason in March.
Orlando Cruz and Hayden Filipovich were victorious in their bouts, picking up three-point decisions over the Huskers.
Cruz topped Ethan DeLeon in the 184-pound match via 4-2 decision. Trailing 1-0 after two periods, the redshirt freshman got busy in the third.
After escaping six seconds into the frame, a clutch takedown with 30 seconds to go put Cruz over the top for good.
It was his fifth dual win of the year, wrestling up from his original starting weight of 174 in place of injured James Rowley.
Filipovich, facing off against his team-high 13th ranked opponent of the season, at last secured a gritty upset win over No. 21 Harley Andrews.
The Indianapolis heavyweight put Andrews on his heels with a four-point near-fall to take a 4-0 lead into the third.
A hectic final two minutes that featured three reversals and a two-point near-fall ultimately ended in Filipovich's favor. The redshirt junior turned in a 9-4 decision for his first ranked win since Dec. 29, 2023, when he wrestled at 184 pounds in the Midlands Championships.
Also notably, a top-10 challenge got the night started as No. 7 Joey Blaze battled with No. 4 Antrell Taylor in the 157-pound match.
Each wrestler had their moments when it looked as if they were seconds away from scoring a match-altering takedown. But it was the fourth-ranked Taylor who landed the winning score with nine seconds remaining, taking down Blaze and handing him his first Big Ten dual loss of the year.
The sophomore from Ohio will heal up and turn his attention to the Big Ten Championships in less than two weeks, coming off an impressive 15-4 second season with a 5-1 B1G dual record. UP NEXT The Boilermakers shift gears to postseason with the Big Ten Championships looming on March 8-9.
Purdue will send 10 wrestlers to compete on the B1G stage, hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois, at Welsh-Ryan Arena this year.
Pre-seeds for the conference tournament will be released in the coming days.
No. 1 Ramos and No. 7 Blaze figure to lead the squad, each with the goal of becoming Purdue's first Big Ten champion since 2004.
Senior Night in West Lafayette 🖤#B1GWrestling x @PurdueWrestling pic.twitter.com/VBzi6YIUxl
— Big Ten Wrestling (@B1GWrestling) February 24, 2025
RESULTS 157 | #4 Antrell Taylor (NEB) over #7 Joey Blaze (PUR) – D 4-1 | NEB 3-0
NEB team point deduction – inconsistent uniforms | NEB 2-0
165 | #8 Christopher Minto (NEB) over Stoney Buell (PUR) – TF 17-1 (5:43) | NEB 7-0
174 | #10 Lenny Pinto (NEB) over #25 Brody Baumann (PUR) – TF 21-6 (6:44) | NEB 12-0
184 | Orlando Cruz (PUR) over Ethan DeLeon (NEB) – D 4-2 | NEB 12-3
197 | #20 Camden McDanel (NEB) over #27 Ben Vanadia (PUR) – TF 22-6 (6:35) | NEB 17-3
285 | Hayden Filipovich (PUR) over #21 Harley Andrews (NEB) – D 9-4 | NEB 17-6
125 | #7 Caleb Smith (NEB) over Ashton Jackson (PUR) – TF 21-5 (6:20) | NEB 22-6
133 | #16 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) over Dustin Norris (PUR) – MD 11-1 | NEB 26-6
141 | #6 Brock Hardy (NEB) over #27 Greyson Clark (PUR) – MD 15-4 | NEB 30-6
149 | #4 Ridge Lovett (NEB) over Isaac Ruble (PUR) – TF 21-5 (2:55) | Final: NEB 35-6