Three Boilermakers Post Upsets in Loss to No. 12 Ohio State

Feb 3, 2014 by FloWrestling Staff

Three Boilermakers Post Upsets in Loss to No. 12 Ohio State

Brandon Nelsen avenges early season loss to No. 13/18 Ian Paddock in sudden victory.

	Camden Eppert

Feb. 3, 2014

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Camden Eppert, Cashé Quiroga and Brandon Nelsen provided the firepower as No. 24 Purdue jumped out early, but 12th-ranked Ohio State rallied to win the final four weights for a come-from-behind 16-15 win in Holloway Gymnasium Monday. Each team won five bouts with two-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber's major decision at 141 proving to be the difference maker. The loss evens the Boilermakers' overall record at 6-6, 1-6 Big Ten, while the Buckeyes move to 8-4, 3-4 Big Ten.

"There were a lot of highlights even though we did lose," head wrestling coach Scott Hinkelsaid. "We wrestled hard and that's all I can ask for. The first five guys did a good job and the last five couldn't find a way to win; a couple one- and two-point losses. There were a lot of positives tonight and we will build on it. We go back to the drawing board, fine tune and get ready for a tough Illinois team on Friday."

Nick Roberts took Eppert down early, but that would be the only offense that the redshirt senior allowed as he upset the 12th-ranked 125-pound Buckeye, 5-3. Eppert escaped in the first period and trailed 3-1 after Roberts escaped to start the second. The Anderson, Ind., native evened the score at 3-3 with a takedown of his own to close out the period. Eppert notched his 40th career reversal as he started the final two minutes from bottom to take a 5-3 advantage. With the reversal he moved into a tie for fourth on Purdue's all-time list and improved to 11-9 in his final campaign.

Quiroga used a trio of takedowns to give the Boilermakers back-to-back upsets as he posted a 7-5 decision over No. 3/5 Johnni DiJulius at 133. Like Eppert, Quiroga responded after being taken down early with an escape and a takedown for a 3-2 edge out of the opening period. DiJulius evened the score at 3-3 with an escape in the second. The redshirt senior for Purdue took full advantage of his choice to start the final period from neutral by taking the Buckeye down twice, including an impressive double-leg attack with 36 seconds remaining, to secure his 12th win of the season. His three takedowns brought his career total to 360, which ranks fifth on the all-time list, and he is only two shy of moving into a tie for fourth.

At 149 pounds, Nelsen avenged his 13-9 loss in Las Vegas to Ian Paddock by upsetting the No. 13/18 Ohio State senior, 5-3, in sudden victory. Through two periods, Paddock held a 2-1 edge courtesy of a first period takedown and an escape by Nelsen in the second. Paddock escaped to start the third and Nelsen seized the opportunity for the takedown, putting the match at 3-3 with 14 seconds remaining. Midway through the 60-second sudden victory, the redshirt junior got the winning takedown for his third sudden victory win of the season while improving his record to 13-11.

The Boilermakers took a 12-4 lead into the intermission courtesy of Alex Griffin's 3-1 decision at 157. The Lafayette, Ind., native, escaped and took Randy Languis down in the second period for his first win at 157 after bumping up from 149.

Pat Robinson (6-5) kept the train rolling for Purdue at 165, taking Joe Granominico down three times and adding an escape in the second en route to an 8-3 decision.

Ohio State took over after that, winning the next four weights and ultimately coming back for the dual victory.

In a battle of top-15 grapplers at 197, No. 9/8 Nick Heflin defeated No. 12/14 Braden Atwood (21-7) in a wild 8-6 sudden victory bout. Atwood threw Heflin to his back early in the second period as both wrestlers were heading out of bounds. While keeping one foot in, the redshirt junior from Delphi, Ind., put the tilt on to earn a three-point nearfall. Heflin then reversed Atwood, and following an escape by the Boilermaker, Heflin took him down twice to close out the stanza. Atwood escaped at the start of the third to deadlock the bout at 6-6. The winning takedown for the Buckeye came with just six seconds remaining in the 60-second sudden victory.

Seniors Camden Eppert, Kyle Mosier, Cashé Quiroga, Alex White and Andy Wiseman will be recognized as they make their final appearance in Holloway Gymnasium as Purdue hosts No. 17 Illinois Friday at 7 p.m. The dual against the Fighting Illini closes out the home slate of the 2013-14 campaign.

No. 12 Ohio State 16, No. 24 Purdue 15
125: Camden Eppert (Purdue) dec. No. 12/15 Nick Roberts (Ohio State), 5-3
133: No. 15 Cashé Quiroga (Purdue) dec. No. 3/5 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), 7-5
141: No. 3 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) maj. dec. Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 13-3
149: Brandon Nelsen (Purdue) dec. No. 13/18 Ian Paddock (Ohio State), 5-3 (SV1)
157: Alex Griffin (Purdue) dec. Randy Langusi (Ohio State), 3-1
165: Pat Robinson (Purude) dec. Joe Grandominico (Ohio State), 8-3
174: No. 12/14 Mark Martin (Ohio State) dec. Patrick Kissel (Purdue), 5-4
184: No. 11/10 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) dec. Tanner Lynde (Purdue), 9-4
197: No. 9/8 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) dec. No. 12/14 Braden Atwood (Purdue), 8-6 (SV1)
285: Nick Tavanello (Ohio State) dec. Alex White (Purdue), 1-0