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Wrestling Season Preview: Lower WeightsWrestling Season Preview: Lower Weights
Luke Fulkerson/Purdue Athletics

Wrestling Season Preview: Lower Weights

Previewing the 125-, 133- and 141-pound weight classes

by Brook Weber

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue is set to open its 107th season of wrestling when it hosts Kent State for a dual on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Holloway Gymnasium.

Amazingly, it will be the wrestling team’s first regular season opener at home since Dec. 3, 1960.

Head coach Tony Ersland enters his 13th season with 99 career wins and has the chance to secure his 100th in front of Purdue’s home crowd on Sunday. He announced a reshuffling of his staff last month after the departure of longtime head assistant coach Leroy Vega.

Jake Sueflohn, entering his 11th season with the Boilermakers, was elevated to the head assistant role. Collin Purinton was hired from North Dakota State to be an assistant coach, and Brian Anderson and Matt Ramos swapped job titles. Anderson is now an assistant coach alongside Purinton while Ramos takes on the role of director of player personnel.

The Purdue wrestling roster is the youngest it has been since the 2006-07 season, with 19 of the 30 wrestlers entering just their first or second seasons of college wrestling. Only two Boilermakers are entering their final seasons of eligibility: Brody Baumann (174 pounds) and Gavin Brown (149).

The program did away with redshirt designations this season for the sake of simplifying due to the NCAA’s new five-for-five rules. Going forward, all college student-athletes receive five years of eligibility whether or not they compete in a full varsity season. If a wrestler was a redshirt sophomore last year, they are listed as a senior this season since it is their fourth year. The designations are as such: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Fifth Year (or Graduate Student).

This is Part 1 of a three-part roster preview, taking a look at the lower weights (125 to 141 pounds). Part 2 (149-165) will release Tuesday and Part 3 (174-285) will release Wednesday.

125 LBS

Ashton Jackson

Ashton Jackson

125
5-6
Ty Henderson

Ty Henderson

125
5-5
Isaiah Quintero

Isaiah Quintero

125
5-6
Nathan Rioux

Nathan Rioux

125
5-6

After the departure of Matt Ramos, the two-time All-American who graduated in 2025, this weight was wide open for the taking heading into last season. Jacob Macatangay, who wrestled his final season last year, opened the year as the starter but Ashton Jackson ended up competing in the most duals down the stretch. Isaiah Quintero also figured into the mix and had some promising showings.

Jackson finished 7-14 and won his first Big Ten dual at Maryland. He won the Wabash Open title, placed fourth at the Tiger Style Invite and represented Purdue as the No. 13 seed at the Big Ten Championships. The La Porte, Indiana, native will aim to become more of a threat in the lineup this season after defeating Quintero in an 8-0 major decision at Wrestle-Offs on Oct. 17.

Quintero finished 9-9 last season including a 3-2 mark in duals. He picked up wins against Buffalo and American in the Boilermaker Duals, and notched a 9-0 major decision at Davidson. He will seek more consistency this season, but the former California state champion finished 2025-26 strong with a second-place effort at the Greyhound Open.

Wrestling Black and Gold ScrimmageJackson defeated Quintero, 8-0 major decision, in the 125-pound Wrestle-Offs on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Ty Henderson is entering his sophomore season after a 13-4 season competing in non-varsity events. He led all Purdue wrestlers with five pins and nine shutouts, placing first at the Purple Raider Open, second at the Bobby Kauffmann Open and Wabash Open, and fifth at the Michigan State Open. Additionally, the Evansville, Indiana, native competed in the U.S. Open and went 2-2 in U20 Freestyle.

Nathan Rioux is the only newcomer at 125 this season. A freshman from Avon, Indiana, he became the first seven-time Fargo All-American in Indiana history after placing third in junior boys freestyle in 2026. He was a two-time state champion and a two-time state runner-up throughout his four years of high school, and was the No. 129 overall recruit on the MatScouts Big Board.

133 LBS

Vincent Paino

Vincent Paino

133
5-7
Camden Baum

Camden Baum

133
5-5

A new starter will emerge for the 133-pounders this season to fill the hole left by Blake Boarman, who qualified for the 2026 NCAA Championships in his lone season as a Boilermaker.

Vincent Paino is the clear favorite to do so after a great first season in which he posted the best win percentage among Purdue freshmen (.833), going 15-3 at both 133 and 141. He started three duals for Purdue, all wrestling up at 141, and went 2-1. Paino defeated Zach Stewart, 8-1 decision, at Wrestle-Offs to hold down the 133 spot.

Purdue Wrestling Black and Gold ScrimmagePaino defeated Stewart, a 141-pounder, 8-1 decision in the 133 Wrestle-Offs.

The only other true 133-pounder on the roster is freshman Camden Baum, who is one of Purdue’s highest-rated prospects in recent history. He finished as the No. 46 overall recruit on the MatScouts Big Board and was ranked No. 44 in the country by FloWrestling. Baum was the 2026 Pennsylvania state champion at 139 lbs and a two-time state runner-up, finishing with a high school record of 132-10 in perhaps the most cutthroat state there is for high school wrestling.

141 LBS

Isaiah Schaefer

Isaiah Schaefer

141
5-5
Zach Stewart

Zach Stewart

141
5-5
Tylin Thrine

Tylin Thrine

141
5-6

Isaiah Schaefer is the obvious leader in the clubhouse at 141. He debuted at No. 23 in the nation in the InterMat preseason rankings after a stellar first year when he earned Purdue’s first-ever Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award. In his first collegiate match, he upset No. 25 Kade Moore via 12-3 major decision in the Tiger Style Invite and ended up placing second that day. Another native of Evansville, Schaefer finished 13-3 last season competing at both 133 and 141 and has tremendous potential after earning U20 All-America honors with an eighth-place podium finish at the U.S. Open last April. He was named Purdue's 2025-26 freshman of the year.

Stewart, hailing from Aurora, Illinois, is another highly-touted freshman that was part of Purdue’s No. 13-ranked class of 2026. The two-time Illinois state champion was the No. 53 overall recruit on the MatScouts Big Board and earned a high school record of 194-27.

Tylin Thrine gave Schaefer a great battle in the 141-pound wrestle-off when he dropped a close 4-2 decision. Thrine will be a name to watch with his fun and fast-paced style; he attempted a cartwheeling takedown to win in the final seconds but didn’t quite pull it off. Thrine is a former Indiana state champ and the No. 228 recruit on the Big Board.