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Purdue All-Quarter Century Wrestling Team: 165 lbsPurdue All-Quarter Century Wrestling Team: 165 lbs

Purdue All-Quarter Century Wrestling Team: 165 lbs

Coach Ersland and his staff unveil Purdue's top wrestlers of the 21st century.

by Brook Weber

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — To commemorate the past 25 years, head coach Tony Ersland and his staff are unveiling Purdue’s All-Quarter Century Team featuring some of the greatest Boilermaker wrestlers since the turn of the 21st century.

Recognizing wrestlers who competed for Purdue between 2000-2025, the list is being revealed in 10 separate releases leading up to the 2025-26 season, one for each weight class, continuing on Monday with 165 pounds.

The selection criteria for any All-Quarter Century Team is unavoidably subjective, but former All-Americans, multiple-time NCAA qualifiers, Big Ten placewinners and others with outstanding career accomplishments were among the key points of consideration.

Some of the wrestlers on the All-Quarter Century Team excelled at multiple weights while donning the Old Gold & Black. Most of the honorees will be presented among the weight classes in which they finished their careers, though some liberties were taken for the sake of keeping the number of wrestlers relatively even at each weight.

Below is a look at the release schedule leading into the first week of the season.

Monday, Aug. 18 ... 125 lbs
Monday, Aug. 25 ... 133 lbs
Monday, Sept. 1 ... 141 lbs
Monday, Sept. 8 ... 149 lbs
Monday, Sept. 15 ... 157 lbs
Monday, Sept. 22 ... 165 lbs
Monday, Sept. 29 ... 174 lbs
Monday, Oct. 6 ... 184 lbs
Monday, Oct. 13 ... 197 lbs
Monday, Oct. 20 ... Heavyweight

Without further ado...

LUKE MANUEL (2007-11)

Luke Manuel from Nevada City, Calif., finished with a 118-40 (.747) record in his four-year career. One of the most accomplished Boilermakers in school history, he ranks fourth all-time on Purdue’s win leaderboard.

As a redshirt freshman in 2007-08, Manuel posted the best win percentage on the team, going 29-9 overall. That was a precursor for his career as a whole.

In 2009-10, Manuel tallied the most wins ever recorded by a Boilermaker in one season when he went 41-6, earning his third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. After all was said and done, he ended up a four-time NCAA qualifier and four-time Big Ten placewinner under former head coach Scott Hinkel.

“Mentally and physically, Big Ten wrestling is the toughest thing I’ve ever gone through,” Luke once said. “No other conference has that schedule. You’re facing a top-12 guy every week.” 

Manuel totaled nine wins in the national tournament, a feat only 12 other Boilermakers have accomplished. He and his younger brother, Matt Manuel, also a former Boilermaker wrestler, joined their family wine business after college. Read more about their story here.

OSCAR SANTIAGO (1999-2003)

Oscar_Santiago

Oscar Santiago twice climbed the conference podium during his Boilermaker career, taking fourth in 2002 and fifth in 2003.

The early-2000s grappler totaled three wins in two trips to the national tournament, going 1-2 as a redshirt junior in 2002 and 2-2 as a redshirt senior in 2003.

Santiago amassed 243 takedowns in four years at Purdue, which still stands at 19th place in the school record book.

JACOB MORRISSEY (2014-18)

Jacob Morrissey, a Law & Society major, was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. He twice qualified for the NCAA Championships, first at 174 lbs in 2017 and then at 165 in 2018.

The Oconto Falls, Wis., native was one of the scrappiest wrestlers to compete at Purdue this century. He was dangerous both on top and bottom, where he registered 36 reversals and 272 back points. Both of those marks rank seventh on Purdue’s all-time charts.