Purdue Wrestling Season Preview: 125-285

[TomM]

Purdue Wrestling Season Preview: 125-141
www.PurdueSports.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team is less than two weeks from the start of their 2019-20 competition schedule, opening Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Michigan State Open. The Boilermakers' lower weights will see a little bit of consistency from 2018-19, but a lot of change and new faces as they open the season.
125 POUNDS
The Boilermakers return a welcome and familiar face at the bottom of the lineup in junior Devin Schroder. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has won 40 matches over his first two seasons, including a 21-13 mark as Purdue's starter last year. He placed eighth at the 2019 Big Ten Championships, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, and had three other placewinning performances at tournaments during the season, including the Princeton Open and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Schroder's top-game continues to be his strength on the mat, racking up 100+ back points in each of his first two seasons, and already ranking eighth all-time at Purdue on the list. He's earned several preseason rankings across the country to open up this year, including a No. 8 nod from WIN Magazine and No. 10 overall from TrackWrestling.
Schroder will get ample support from sophomore Marshall Craig and freshman Nate Cummings. Craig had three wins in his first season of varsity action, and appeared in a quartet of duals in relief of Schroder, while Cummings appeared in several tournaments in redshirt action, placing at Loras and Indianapolis.
Purdue will see a pair of new faces at 125 in Michael Leveille and Kooper Loehr, with both expected to redshirt their inaugural seasons. Both are Illinois natives with Leveille placing at the 3A state championships twice and Loehr getting on the 2A state podium on two occasions as well.
133 POUNDS
The graduation of multi-year starter Ben Thornton leaves a new opportunity in the Boilermaker lineup and a few fresh faces ready to embrace the challenge. The front-runners for the gig are sophomore Jack Cheney and true freshman Travis Ford-Melton, both ready for the 2019-20 varsity spot.
Cheney was 13-4 in his first varsity season, all coming in tournament appearances. He took home the Indianapolis Greyhound Open title, took second at the Maryville Kaufman/Brand Open and was third in the frosh/soph division at Michigan State. He also appeared at the 2018 Midlands Championships, where he scored a fall in his first match, one-of-seven for the California native in his freshman campaign.
Purdue head coach Tony Ersland has not been afraid to put true freshmen into the varsity lineup in his five years in West Lafayette, and Ford-Melton could be the next one in that line in 2019-20. Regarded as one of the nation's top freshman prospects at 133 by FloWrestling, he is a four-time Illinois state placewinner and finished near the top of the podium at several top amateur tournaments in his high school career. He racked up 154 wins in high school and looks to pick up where he left off as he puts on the Old Gold & Black.
Sophomore Bjorn Schroeder is another face Purdue could see at 133 pounds this season, but there's potential for him to bump to 141 pounds as well. Schroeder has eight victories in his varsity career, and has competed in four dual meets, including two Big Ten battles.
141 POUNDS
The third spot in the Boilermakers' varsity lineup brings in an interesting mix of familiar faces with new opportunities. Senior Nate Limmex is a two-time NCAA Championship qualifier at the weight, and is eligible to wrestle at 141 pounds again for Ersland, but will start the year at 149 pounds, leaving the door open for some young blood.
Sophomores Parker Filius and Alec White will scrap for the starting spot to open the year, both very capable of making an impact for the Boilermakers. Filius drops down from 149 pounds, where he had a tough freshman year, while White returns to 141 for the second straight season. Filius had several solid performances in his redshirt season at 141 pounds, including the Eastern Michigan Open Frosh/Soph title and runner-up finishes at Michigan State and Northern Iowa.
Limmex owns preseason rankings from nearly every outlet to start the season at 141, including a No. 16 nod from WIN Magazine and No. 25 via FloWrestling.

[TomM]

Purdue Wrestling Season Preview: 149-165
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team is ready to launch a new era in its middle weights, featuring a few familiar faces at a new weight and some freshmen eager to launch their varsity careers for the Old Gold & Black.
149 POUNDS
The Boilermakers will open 2019-20 with two NCAA qualifiers vying for time at the same weight. As mentioned in the lower-weight preview, senior Nate Limmex will open the season at 149 pounds, garnering a variety of national rankings in the 141-pound preseason polls. On the other end, junior Griffin Parriott is coming down a weight from 157 pounds, where he advanced to the national tournament in 2018-19.
Limmex has 57 wins under his belt over the last three seasons, including a 19-17 mark last year that featured a second-place effort at the Princeton Open and a runner-up finish at the Journeymen Classic. He earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh, where he went 1-2 with a win in the wrestle backs over Northern Colorado's Christopher Sandoval 7-4.
Parriott finished 17-13 in 2018-19 at 157 pounds and is 33-26 for his career, earning his first NCAA Tournament appearance last year. He made the most of his trip to Pittsburgh, knocking off the No. 13 and No. 14 seeds as he finished 2-2. Parriott also finished second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, knocking off No. 1 seed Tyler Berger of Nebraska on his way to the finals, and won the Loras Open. He's been ranked in the top-20 of every preseason poll released for 2019-20, including the No. 12 spot at 149 from TheOpenMat.com and a No. 14 nod from FloWrestling.
Other names at 149 pounds are sophomore Pat Cody and freshman Aaron Galef, who both will stay ready for opportunities on the year and aim to see action at the season-opening Michigan State Open.
157 POUNDS
Freshman Kendall Coleman aims to be the man at 157 pounds for Purdue head coach Tony Ersland and aims to pick up where he left off on an outstanding summer on the freestyle circuit. The three-time Illinois high school state placewinner took fifth at 70 kg at the U23 Freestyle World Team Trials in June and was seventh at 70 kg at UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships in April.
Sophomore Elijah Davis and freshman Hayden Lohrey bolster the ranks at 157 and are ready to step in as needed. Davis logged 12 matches in his rookie season, including a Big Ten dual appearance against Penn State in 2019, while Lohrey comes to Purdue from nearby Middletown, Indiana, where he won 158 career matches at Shenandoah High School.
165 POUNDS
Another Boilermaker rookie sits ready to start his career at 165 pounds as Emil Soehnlen is primed to take on a varsity schedule. The Canton, Ohio native did enough in his redshirt campaign to earn a pair of preseason rankings, getting the No. 23 spot via FloWrestling and a No. 28 ranking from TrackWrestling. He placed at four different open tournaments in 2018-19, winning the Indianapolis Greyhound Open and Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open Amateur Division, and taking second in the Frosh/Soph Division at Michigan State.
Sophomore Tanner Webster will look to get in the mix as well, going 5-7 in his first varsity season including dual appearances against Missouri and North Carolina State. He also placed third in the Amateur Division at Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open.

[TomM]

Purdue Wrestling Season Preview: 174-285

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The final installation of the Purdue wrestling team's season preview series features a run of successful, familiar faces, and a pair of top-10 preseason ranked wrestlers. The Boilermakers will see a lot of wins from this group and have their sight set on the podium at the NCAA Championships.

174 POUNDS

Senior Dylan Lydy aims to make his final season in West Lafayette one to remember, regarded as one of the top wrestlers in the nation at 174 pounds. He finished seconds shy of an All-America honor in 2019, and looks to correct that in Minneapolis in March. Ranked eighth in the NCAA by TheOpenMat.com and TrackWrestling, No. 9 by Win Magazine and No. 12 by FloWrestling, Lydy has 80 career victories at Purdue, 18 of which came over ranked opponents.

Lydy placed fifth at the 2019 Big Ten Championships and sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational before advancing to the blood round at the NCAA Championships. He came back from a first-round loss in Pittsburgh to win three straight and meet Nebraska's Mikey Labriola in the Round of 12. The pair wrestled a full 11 minutes, finishing tied at 3-3, but granted the nod to the Cornhusker on riding time after the second tiebreaker.

Lydy needs 20 wins in his final season to become just the 17th wrestler in Purdue history to hit the century mark, and the first since Luke Manuel and Logan Brown in 2011. Lydy is also 22 takedowns shy of a spot in Purdue's all-time top-20, entering the season with 194 to his credit.

While previously mentioned at 165 pounds, sophomore Tanner Webster will offer support of Lydy at 174 as well.

184 POUNDS

The Boilermakers field another returning national qualifier at 184 in the form of junior Max Lyon. The Dyersville, Iowa native has racked up 43 victories over the last two seasons, including 24 in 2018-19, and is ranked in the top-20 of every preseason poll published to date. Lyon's top marks came from FloWrestling and WIN Magazine, where he was tabbed the No. 15 wrestler in the country at his weight.

Lyon scored the most points of any Boilermaker on the roster last season, piling up 252 over 38 matches, and logged notable victories over American's Tanner Webster at the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State's Cameron Caffey and Michigan's Jelani Embree at the Big Ten Tournament. He placed at both the Princeton Open, Journeymen Collegiate Classic and Big Ten Championships, in addition to a seventh-place showing at the 2019 U23 Freestyle World Team Trials.

Sophomore Jared Florell offers his skills up at 184 as well, posting a 10-4 mark last season with three tournament placewinning performances. He won the South Beach College Individual title at 184, was second at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic (C-Draw) and third at the Loras Open. In addition, junior Trevor Blue joins the Purdue roster after a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy as a Gunner's Mate.

197 POUNDS

Purdue head coach Tony Ersland is not lacking options at 197, boasting a three-time returning NCAA Qualifier in addition to a rising star and 2019's most outstanding freshman. Christian Brunner owns at 73-39 career record at 197 pounds, falling just shy of All-America honors in 2019 with a Round of 12 loss to Fresno State's Josh Hokit. A second-round upset win over Iowa State's Willie Miklus made Brunner Purdue's first NCAA Quarterfinalist since 2010. Brunner has been in the Boilermakers' starting lineup since he stepped on campus, leaving him eligible for a redshirt season. While he's yet to announce his intentions, he remains near the top of the 197-pound national rankings, including No.8 marks from TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine and the No. 10 spot from TheOpenMat.com.

Anxious to start his collegiate career, freshman Thomas Penola is ready to go at 197 pounds after a redshirt season spent competing at 184. He won the Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open and Indianapolis Greyhound Open, took fourth in the frosh/soph division at Michigan State and placed eight at the prestigious Midlands Championships. In addition, Penola finished sixth at the UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships in April, putting the final touches on an impressive rookie season.

285 POUNDS

Several individuals will get a shot at the starting heavyweight job for the Boilermakers, including a pair of newcomers and a rising sophomore moving up from 197 pounds to heavyweight. Sophomore David Eli takes his talents to heavyweight, owning the only match experience for the Boilermakers at the top weight. He wrestled 18 matches in 2018-19, placing at the Michigan State Open, Journeymen Collegiate Classic and the Greyhound Open.

Junior Jairus Perry and true freshman Jacob Somlai will throw their respective hats in the ring as well. Perry joins the Boilermaker roster after spending the past few years in the U.S. Army, while Somlai comes to Purdue from Brookfield, Wisconsin, where he won a state championship with an undefeated 52-0 record at 220 pounds.

Freshman Eli Pokorney had a decorated high school career at Chesterton High School in Indiana, winning the 2018 state title and being ranked as high as fourth in the country at heavyweight and No. 74 overall in the class of 2019. However, the Boilermaker rookie will sit out 2019-20 recovering from knee surgery and will be ready to go in 2020-21.

Tanner D Lipsett
Supervisor of Wrestling Operations /
Associate Director Strategic Communications
Purdue University Athletics