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Boilers Ready for Throwdown on the YorktownBoilers Ready for Throwdown on the Yorktown

Boilers Ready for Throwdown on the Yorktown

Purdue is set to wrestle on the top deck of the USS Yorktown (CV-10) aircraft carrier.

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by Brook Weber

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In the wrestling team’s first road trip of the season, Purdue will compete at one of the most unique settings in the world of sports this Saturday.

The Boilermakers (1-0, 0-0 B1G) are traveling to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, to wrestle in the third annual event dubbed “Throwdown on the Yorktown.” On the top deck of the USS Yorktown (CV-10) aircraft carrier, Purdue will face Air Force and The Citadel in a pair of non-conference duals Saturday afternoon.

The event will be streamed live on FloWrestling.

SCHEDULE

Purdue vs. Air Force – 2:30 p.m. ET

Purdue vs. The Citadel – 5 p.m. ET

Schedule.jpg

“It’s going to be a lot of fun to wrestle at such a unique venue, something we’ve never done before. It would be an honor to wrestle on the Yorktown on any date against any opponent, but to celebrate America’s 250th birthday and to compete against two military schools makes it extra special for our program.”

Tony ErslandPurdue Wrestling Head Coach

WEATHER FORECAST

As of this writing on Thursday afternoon, the forecast for Mount Pleasant on Saturday calls for mostly sunny conditions and a high of 75 degrees (via AccuWeather). Since wrestling is an indoor sport, conditions will need to remain pristine for the event to take place as regularly scheduled. As the sun goes down later in the day, the chance for condensation on the mats increases.

Sunday, Nov. 8, is reserved as a makeup date in case any matches on Saturday cannot be completed. Fans should be on the lookout for potential delays, which would be first announced on the Throwdown on the Yorktown Facebook page. Purdue Wrestling will also communicate updates from its channels as the team becomes aware.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

100

Head coach Tony Ersland secured his 100th career victory on Sunday in the season opener against Kent State.

101

Coach Ersland’s next dual victory will break his tie with Claude Reeck (1937-69) for the second-most wins in program history.

4

Purdue secured four bonus point victories in the team win against Kent State. No. 3 Joey Blaze and No. 22 Brody Baumann earned technical falls as No. 24 Isaiah Schaefer and Vincent Paino picked up major decisions.

PREVIEWING THE MATCHUPS

The Boilermakers will be facing Air Force (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12) for the third time after having won the first two meetings. Purdue beat the Falcons on Jan. 2, 1999, in Laie, Hawai’i, 37-6, and again in West Lafayette on Jan. 18, 2008, by a score of 35-6.

Air Force has two wrestlers ranked by InterMat: Carter Nogle (No. 4 at 141 pounds) and Karson Tompkins (No. 25 at 197). Purdue’s Isaiah Schaefer (No. 24 at 141) may have a chance to make a significant statement if he gets to battle Nogle in what would be the only ranked matchup of the day. Sophomore Noah Weaver may also get a big opportunity against Tompkins after looking impressive in an 18-12 decision against Kent State last weekend.

Purdue will then face The Citadel (0-0, 0-0 SoCon) for just the second time. The Citadel, based in Charleston, is the official host of the Yorktown event. The Boilers defeated the Bulldogs in the programs’ only other meeting, 25-13, On Jan. 10, 2004, in Hampton, Virginia. The Citadel placed 51st at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships after sending Thomas Snipes to the national tournament as the No. 30 seed at 165 lbs, where he picked up two wins. Snipes is no longer on the roster.

The Bulldogs are entering their first season under new head coach Tim McCall, a former two-time NCAA qualifier at Wisconsin who comes to The Citadel after two years as the head assistant at Utah Valley.

The Falcons are led by another first-year head coach in Joe Johnston, who was elevated after spending the past seven years as an assistant coach for Air Force. He had previously served 11 seasons as an assistant at Missouri before coming to the Academy in Colorado Springs.

ABOUT THE USS YORKTOWN

(Info from PatriotsPoint.org)

Now harbored along the coast of Charleston, the USS Yorktown was the 10th aircraft carrier to ever serve in the United States Navy. While under construction as Bon Homme Richard, the Essex-class carrier was renamed in honor of the USS Yorktown (CV-5) that was sunk at the epic Battle of Midway in June 1942. Built in a record 16 ½ months at Newport News, Virginia, the USS Yorktown was commissioned on April 15, 1943. World War II’s famous “Fighting Lady” would participate significantly in the Pacific offensive that began in late 1943 and ended with the defeat of Japan in 1945. The USS Yorktown received the Presidential Unit Citation and earned 11 battle stars for service in World War II.

In the 1950s, the Yorktown was modernized to operate jet aircraft as an attack carrier (CVA). In 1957, she was re-designated as an anti-submarine aircraft carrier (CVS) and would later earn five battle stars for service off Vietnam (1965-68). The ship also notably recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and capsule in December 1968.

The USS Yorktown was decommissioned in 1970 and placed in reserve. In 1975, the historic ship was towed from Bayonne, New Jersey, to Charleston to become the centerpiece of Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum.

The ship operates year-round as a public museum but has been temporarily transformed into a wrestling venue each of the past two years and also previously hosted college basketball games. In 2012, the Yorktown was the venue for the Carrier Classic on Veterans Day weekend, hosting the women from Notre Dame and Ohio State and the men from Ohio State and Marquette. The women’s game was completed earlier in the day, but the men’s game was canceled due to condensation on the court.