"This means a lot, especially it being my senior year and doing a neat event in Mackey Arena," Kral said. "My match was huge to me because my family was here. Getting the `W' at the end really put a stamp on the team score and helped Purdue get a point towards the Governor's Cup."
Purdue lifted its record to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten Conference duals while taking a 3.5-2.5 lead in the Governor's Cup. The Hoosiers moved to 7-4 and 0-2 in the Big Ten.
"I loved the atmosphere we had for Mackey Mayhem, I thought it was great," Purdue head wrestling coach Tony Ersland said. "Our guys soaked it up. No doubt in my mind we'd love to be back in here and keep building the crowds. It was an awesome event tonight."
The dual was tied 9-9 heading into the 174 pound match. Indiana was building momentum after stringing together three straight wins and had 19th-ranked Devin Skatzka on deck. Morrissey excited the Mackey Arena crowd by exploding for seven points in the second period, nearly pinning Skatzka, on his way to a 10-4 upset.
"Going into every match I know that if I keep wrestling hard and keep the pace up, it'll be in my favor," Morrissey said. "I know I work hard and I know that when I take someone into deep water like that, I can win, I know I'm never out of the match. The guy might look better on paper, but you go out to win."
The 174-pounder took down a ranked opponent for the second time this season and moved to 9-6.
"All the duals are important, but to me, this one was more fun from the atmosphere and crowd turnout," Morrissey said.
Brunner provided the only bonus points of the dual, putting on a show in the third period for a 13-3 major decision over Jake Hinz at 197 pounds. The match was tied 2-2 heading into the final stanza, but it was all Brunner from there on out. The true freshman took the Hoosier down twice and tilted for a pair of two-point nearfalls. The major decision was the fifth of the season for Brunner as he improved to 16-10 and gave Purdue a 16-12 lead heading into the final bout.
Kral scored the winning takedown with seven seconds on the clock to defeat Fletcher Miller 3-1 in sudden victory. Each heavyweight had scored an escape for a 1-1 tie and forcing the winner-take-all 60-second session.
"I didn't get caught up in the moment, I was excited," Kral said. "I looked over and saw my family and saw the guys jump out of their chairs. I was awestruck. I've been in a situation like this wrestling at state in high school. I love it, the atmosphere was great."
The redshirt senior who hails from Crown Point reached the 20-win mark for the first time in his career.
"Twenty wins is cool, but tonight it was about getting back to my style of wrestling," Kral said. "After the minor setback at Northwestern, I wanted to work hard all this week."
The Boilermakers jumped out to a 9-0 lead thanks to decisions from Ben Thornton, Luke Welch and Kyle Ayersman. Riding time was the difference for both Thornton and Ayersman. Thornton defeated Liam Cronin 4-3 at 125 pounds and at 141 pounds, Ayersman edged Cole Weaver 5-4.
An East Coast swing awaits Purdue. The Boilermakers will make their first-ever Big Ten trip to Maryland on Jan. 20 and Rutgers on Jan. 22.
Results:
125 / Ben Thornton (Purdue) dec. Liam Cronin (Indiana) 4-3
133 / Luke Welch (Purdue) dec. Garrett Pepple (Indiana) 9-2
141 / Kyle Ayersman (Purdue) dec. Cole Weaver (Indiana) 5-4
149 / Chris Perez (Indiana) dec. Nate Limmex (Purdue) 7-4
157 / Jake Danishek (Indiana) dec. Alex Griffin (Purdue) 9-3
165 / Bryce Martin (Indiana) dec. Dylan Lydy (Purdue) 5-2
174 / Jacob Morrissey (Purdue) dec. No. 19 Devin Skatzka (Indiana) 10-4
184 / No. 7 Nate Jackson (Indiana) dec. Tanner Lynde (Purdue) 10-3
197 / Christian Brunner (Purdue) major decision Jake Hinz (Indiana) 13-3
285 / Tyler Kral (Purdue) dec. Fletcher Miller (Indiana) 3-1
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now