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Purdue All-Quarter Century Wrestling Team: 197 lbsPurdue All-Quarter Century Wrestling Team: 197 lbs

Purdue All-Quarter Century Wrestling Team: 197 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 197 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...

CHRISTIAN BRUNNER (2016-20)

Yet another example of a star Boilermaker on the loaded 2019-20 team, Christian Brunner was dominant at 197 lbs as a senior and unfortunately missed out on a chance at the canceled 2020 NCAA Championships.

He was a 2020 NWCA First Team All-American after earning the No. 6 seed in the national tournament. He reached as high as No. 2 in the country at 197, going 25-6 as a senior.

Brunner was a four-time NCAA qualifier, the 12th four-timer in Purdue history. He was also a four-time Big Ten placewinner, a Team USA U23 Freestyle World Team member, the 2019 Midlands champion, and 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational runner-up.

In the school record book, he ranks 19th in wins (98) and 10th in back points (220).

LOGAN BROWN (2007-11)

A native of Covington, Ohio, Logan Brown was a walk-on who won 109 matches as a Boilermaker, good for 13th-most in program history. He is one of the top walk-ons to ever wear a Purdue singlet and earned his keep on the mat.

Brown was a four-time NCAA qualifier, earning a career-best No. 10 seed as a redshirt senior in 2011. His high school, Covington High, detailed an extensive history of their former state champion.

The former Boiler also ranks seventh in Purdue history with 335 takedowns.

Brown was the 16th Boilermaker to join the 100-win club. Despite a frustrating end to his career at the 2011 NCAA Championships, he was grateful to wrestle at the highest level.

“That’s why you compete, to wrestle the best,” Brown said shortly after his college career ended. “Not too many guys can say they competed at this level. Obviously, my goal was to be an All-American. But one day, I guess I’ll look back on everything I accomplished and feel pretty good about it.”

If that day hasn’t already come, we hope today is that day.

NATHAN MOORE (2002-06)

A three-time NCAA Championships qualifier from Indianapolis, Nathan Moore competed on multiple talented Boilermaker squads in the heyday of the head coach Jessie Reyes era.

He totaled four wins in the NCAA tournament throughout his three appearances, including a career-best mark of 3-2 in 2006 as a redshirt junior.

Moore finished his final season with a 34-16 mark, including 5-3 in Big Ten duals. He won the title at the Eastern Michigan Open, placed third at the Body Bar Invitational, sixth at Midlands, and eighth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

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Moore finished with 111 career wins, tied for ninth-most in program history. He’s also tied for 11th in pins (23) and ranks 14th in reversals (33).

Moore later made a career in MMA, competing for an organization called Strikeforce from 2006-13. He went 8-4 as a pro fighter with four wins via knockout.

THOMAS PENOLA (2018-23)

Thomas Penola got better every year at Purdue and ultimately won the Big Ten’s 2022-23 Wayne Duke Award, which included a $10,000 scholarship, becoming just the third Boilermaker from any sport and the only male to win since its inception in 2008.

A three-time NCAA qualifier and Big Ten placewinner, he was named the team's Most Outstanding Wrestler for 2021-22, Most Dedicated Wrestler and Most Improved Wrestler for 2020-21 and Outstanding Freshman in 2018-19.

Penola was a standout in the classroom as a three-time NWCA Scholar All-American, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a 2022 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.

In 2021-22 as a redshirt junior, he climbed as high as No. 6 in the country at 197 and earned 15 of his 24 wins over ranked opponents, including a trio of top-10 wins.