Ben Thornton 125 and Jacob Morrissey 174 in Purdue wrestle offs

[TomM]

Ben Thornton 125 and Jacob Morrissey 174 in Purdue wrestle offs
10 Bouts on Wrestle-Offs Docket
Intrasquad action starts at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday
http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/102816aab.html

[TomM]

Wrestle-Offs Tightly Contested
Jacob Morrissey picked up a 59-second fall at 174 pounds

http://www.purduesports.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/103016aag.html

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Tightly contested matches were the storyline of Purdue's Wrestle-Offs on Sunday inside Holloway Gymnasium with five of the nine bouts decided by one point or were pushed into sudden victory. On the other end, there was one pin and a major decision issued by a true freshman.

"You expect tight matches with teammates that know each other so well," Purdue head wrestling coach Tony Ersland said. "However, I'm not happy with tight matches when we have the guys that can score points and I want to see them open up to their wrestling potential."

Cody Pae and Nate Limmex each registered 7-6 decisions at 133 and 149 pounds, respectively. Pae's four-point third period lifted him past Luke Welch. Limmex built a 6-3 lead through 5:00 of action on his way to the win over redshirt senior Jeremy Golding. At 165 pounds, 1:11 worth of riding time against Peter Andreotti gave redshirt freshman Dylan Lydy a 3-2 decision.

Sudden victory was needed between NCAA qualifier Alex Griffin and Griffin Parriott at 157 pounds. Both wrestlers had an escape to their credit, but it was a takedown by Griffin with six seconds left in sudden victory that secured a 3-1 decision. The scenario was the same at 285 between Tyler Kral and Jacob Aven. Kral got the match-winning takedown with 16 ticks left on the clock.

Wrestle-Offs also marked the return to competition redshirt junior Jacob Morrissey. Morrissey, who had a season-ending injury in early February, needed just 59 seconds to pin freshman Mark Gentile at 174 pounds.

"We are super excited to have Jacob [Morrissey] back and training hard with no signs from the injury that kept him out at the end of last season," Ersland said. "He was a bright spot for us today; he dominated. He, along with Nate Limmex, who was also setback with an injury last season, are responding well to the training and are making good progress."

Another strong performance at Wrestle-Offs came at 197 pounds. True freshman Christian Brunner posted an 8-0 major decision against sophomore Jon Morales.

"Christian has a ton of potential," Ersland said. "As he continues to grow and develop like we know he will, he's a kid that can do well for us right away."

Redshirt seniors Kyle Ayersman (141) and Tanner Lynde (184) also controlled their matches, winning 6-0 and 7-1, respectively.

The season opener is just six days away for the Boilermakers. They'll head to Ypsilanti, Michigan, for the Eastern Michigan Open on Saturday.

Results: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pur/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/2016-17/box_score/stats_20161030aaa.pdf