WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. β An eventful summer of freestyle wrestling rolled on this week with five freshmen Boilermakers showing out at Fargo Junior Nationals. Additionally, Joey Blaze was announced as a competitor in the upcoming USA vs. Russia dual in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, July 21.
THE FARGO FIVE
Purdue had five incoming freshmen make the trip to Fargo, North Dakota, this week for the annual U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals competition inside the Fargodome. Aidan Costello, Ty Henderson, Adrian Pellot, Isaiah Schaefer and Noah Weaver all represented Team Indiana on the freestyle circuit.
Hailing from state wrestling powerhouse Evansville Mater Dei, Schaefer placed seventh to cement himself as a Junior All-American. He will join Purdue this fall as a projected 133-to-141-pounder after finishing as the No. 160 overall recruit in the country on the 2025 MatScouts Big Board.
Weaver (Rossville) had a dominant showing himself, winning his first four matches with three technical falls and one pin. He came up just short of Junior All-America status but now comes to West Lafayette as the top-ranked recruit in the Boilermakersβ class (No. 60 overall). Weaver was recently named the Journal & Courier Student-Athlete of the Year.
His father, Matt Weaver, was a Purdue wrestler in the late 1990s.
Big day for our Class of 2025. π¨
β Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling) July 1, 2025
Congrats to incoming freshman Noah Weaver on being named the @jconline Male Student-Athlete of the Year!
πβ€΅οΈ story below https://t.co/C6nrCxczw9 pic.twitter.com/vMlfFjNXXP
Pellot, a 165-pound grappler from Merrillville, took four wins in Fargo by a combined score of 44-10. Costello and Henderson each nabbed three wins apiece before bowing out of the double-elimination tournament.
It was a strong collective showing by the latest talent to join head coach Tony Ersland's squad. With the signing of Tyson Russell earlier this month, Purdueβs Class of 2025 leads the Big Ten Conference with seven top-250 signees on the MatScouts Big Board.
BUDAPEST BLAZE
The year of Joey Blaze continues. Purdueβs star junior was announced as Team USAβs representative at 74 kg in an upcoming international freestyle dual against rival Russia.
The Professional Wrestling League competition billed as PWL 9 will feature a card of 10 matches in the senior international wrestling weight classes. It will be held at Kozma Istvan Magyar Birkozo Akademia Alapitvany in Budapest, Hungary on Monday, July 21 at 1 p.m. ET.
Slated as the fifth match on the card, Blaze will face Magoma Dibirgadzhiev, a 28-year-old who won the silver medal at this yearβs Russian national championships.
The event will be broadcast live on the international streaming platforms WRESTLINGTV.RU / SPORTRUSSIA.TV.
USA-RUSSIA MATCH CARD
| USA | WEIGHT (kg) | RUSSIA |
| Luke Lilledahl | 57 | Musa Mekhtikhanov |
| Seth Gross | 61 | Muslim Mekhtikhanov |
| CJ Composto | 65 | Abasgadzhi Magomedov |
| Bryce Andonian | 70 | Saiyn Kazyryk |
| Joey Blaze | 74 | Magoma Dibirgadzhiev |
| Dean Hamiti | 79 | Mokhmad Nasirkhaev |
| Marcus Coleman | 86 | Amanula Rasulov |
| Mike Macchiavello | 92 | Amanula Gadzhimagomedov |
| Jay Aiello | 97 | Konstantin Pshenichnikov |
| Trent Hillger | 125 | Zelimkhan Khizriev |
FARGO RESULTS
126 lbs | Ty Henderson β 3-2
Round of 128: vs. Cameron Baker β L, D 14-7
Cons. Sub-Round of 64: vs. Alex Giglietti β W, Fall 2:16
Cons. Round of 64: vs. Blake Getz β W, TF 13-1 (3:26)
Cons. Sub-Round of 32: vs. Brennan Sprague β W, D 9-8
Cons. Round of 32: vs. Jake Knight β L, TF 11-0 (1:49)
138 lbs | Isaiah Schaefer β 7TH PLACE
Round of 128: vs. Chase Creque β W, TF 10-0 (1:04)
Round of 64: vs. Tavarre Lee β W, TF 12-2 (3:17)
Round of 32: vs. Chris Lalonde β W, TF 10-0 (0:29)
Round of 16: vs. Maximus Brady β L, D 8-5
Cons. Round of 16: vs. Lincoln Kelley β W, TF 10-0 (1:34)
Cons. Sub-Quarters: vs. Cayden Rios β W, D 13-8
Cons. Quarters: vs. Dean Anderson β W, D 4-2
Cons. Sub-Semis: vs. Sam Herring β L, D 8-0
7th Place Match: vs. Valentine Popadiuc β W, FF
165 lbs | Adrian Pellot β 4-2
Round of 128: vs. Evan MacCuish β W, TF 11-1 (4:02)
Round of 64: vs. Maximus Dhabolt β L, TF 10-0 (4:52)
Cons. Round of 64: vs. Noah Holman β W, D 12-4
Cons. Sub-Round of 32: vs. Alex Marx-Beierly β W, TF 11-0 (2:30)
Cons. Round of 32: vs. Jozeph Valenzuela Smith β W, D 10-5
Cons. Sub-Round of 16: vs. Titus Norman β L, D 3-3 (criteria)
175 lbs | Aidan Costello β 3-2
Round of 128: vs. Cameron Halverson β W, TF 10-0 (3:55)
Round of 64: vs. Leif Larwin β W, Fall 1:33
Round of 32: vs. Ladd Holman β L, TF 11-1 (3:19)
Cons. Round of 32: vs. Charlie Herting β W, D 17-8
Cons. Sub-Round of 16: vs. Jackson Angelo β L, TF 12-2 (4:09)
215 lbs | Noah Weaver β 4-2
Round of 128: vs. Matthew Harold β W, TF 12-1 (2:04)
Round of 64: vs. Gavin Gaylor β W, TF 10-0 (2:00)
Round of 32: vs. Evan McGuire β W, Fall 5:57
Round of 16: vs. Leimana Fager β W, TF 10-0 (2:26)
Quarters: vs. Levi Bussey β L, D 3-3 (criteria)
Cons. Quarters: vs. Josh Hoffer β L, D 8-7