Purdue’s ascent to No. 15 in this week’s NWCA Coaches Poll is the squad’s highest national ranking since 2004, when the Old Gold and Black climbed to the same spot in the poll after an 18-15 win at Minnesota on Feb. 1. The Boilermakers’ are excited about the show of national respect, but they’re far from satisfied. “It’s outstanding to be recognized among the nation’s elite, but it’s much more important that we keep going out and proving we belong there,” said Purdue head coach Scott Hinkel. “We took a great step against Missouri last weekend; we need to take another one this Sunday.”
The Boilermakers head into the weekend trailing the all-time series, 29-51-2, including a 13-28-1 mark at Illinois. Last season’s 25-11 win for Purdue snapped a string of 11 consecutive losses to the Fighting Illini, and gave the Old Gold and Black its fourth straight winning dual season. Purdue and Illinois have not wrestled consecutive matches in Champaign since a three-meet series from 1984 to 1986, when the Boilermakers took two of three contests.
Bouncing back from a down year in 2009-10, Illinois has restocked its lineup, currently featuring six nationally-ranked grapplers, including three in the top-10 of their respective weight classes. Two-time All-American Jimmy Kennedy anchors the Fighting Illini lineup at 141 pounds, where he carries a 6-1 record and No. 3 national ranking into Sunday. Kennedy climbed the national podium at 133 pounds in 2008 and 2009, before taking a redshirt in 2010 and moving up a weight this season. Sophomore B.J. Futrell and junior Jordan Blanton also hold high rankings as Futrell is fifth at 133 pounds with a record of 10-2, while Blanton is eighth at 174 pounds, holding a 6-2 mark. Illinois features additional ranked individuals at 149, 184 and 197 pounds in the forms of junior Eric Terrazas and freshmen Tony Dallago and Mario Gonzalez. Terrazas is 13th at 149 pounds, Dallago is 15th at 184 and Gonzalez is 20th at 197, and all three placed at the 2010 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, helping the Fighting Illini to a fifth-place team finish.
The Boilermakers’ continue to be led by their quartet of nationally ranked grapplers in seniors Colton Salazar, Luke Manuel and Logan Brown, and junior A.J. Kissel. Salazar, Kissel and Brown keyed the squad’s win over Missouri, scoring much needed bonus points, while Manuel was victorious in the headline bout of the meet as he scored a 2-1 decision over No. 17 Dorian Henderson. This week’s contest will need a similar theme as Salazar, Brown and Kissel head into their respective matches as the favorite, while Manuel will have another dogfight on his hands with Blanton. Manuel and Blanton have previous met three times with Manuel holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. Manuel won at the 2009 Midlands Championships, 5-4, and again in the 2010 dual, 5-3, while Blanton scored a 10-1 major decision at the 2010 Big Ten Tournament and went on to earn All-America honors at the national championships.
Other potential for swing matches come at 149 and 165 pounds, where Purdue goes in as underdogs, but could have shots at an upset. At 149, Terrazas is off to a great start with a 6-2 mark, including his fifth-place effort in Las Vegas, while Purdue senior Sam Patacsil has been up-and-down with a 7-6 season record. Patacsil has wins over Terrazas in freestyle competition, and Hinkel believes that Patacsil’s best wrestling is yet to come. At 165 pounds the fans will see a rematch from the tournament in Las Vegas as Boilermaker freshman Kyle Mosier looks to avenge a 7-4 loss to Illinois sophomore Conrad Polz. Polz used a pair of early takedowns to ride out his decision over Mosier, giving him one of his two victories on the season, but Mosier managed a third-period takedown in the bout, which could give him some confidence heading into the rematch.
The Fighting Illini are set to stage a charity drive for the Eastern Illinois Foodbank at Sunday’s dual, collecting food or funds to assist the foodbank in serving the hungry in 14 counties in Eastern Illinois. Donations will be collected throughout the match at the marketing table at the south end of Huff Hall and admission to the match is free for all fans.
“Our staff decided to do this based on associate head coach (Carl) Perry’s personal endeavor during the holiday season,” head coach Jim Heffernan said. “Carl and his family work along with the assistance and contributions of a lot of other people to sponsor 15 local families every year at this time, in order to make sure these disadvantaged families’ needs are met in time for Christmas. Our idea to hold a food drive for Sunday’s dual meet with Purdue is a reflection of that. Plus, Jim Hires, the executive director of the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, has been a very loyal fan of our team for the past several years and we hope to be able to assist with his cause during the holidays.”
Sunday’s meet will air live via Fighting Illini All-Access (http://www.fightingillini.com/allaccess/), while live stats will be available from the match via the NWCA Scorebook (http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcaonline/results/ColScorebook/CompetitionResult.aspx?ID=747772&ID2=30053&ResultID=-1&Mode=Live). In addition, visit The Official Purdue Wrestling Twitter Page (http://www.twitter.com/PurdueWrestling) for live updates.
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