The Purdue wrestling team put together one of the top seasons in program history in 2019-20, featuring unprecedented accomplishments in both tournament and dual competition. The list of team and individual accolades is incredibly long and distinguished, and while they were unable to chase the ultimate goal of national titles, their achievements should be honored and celebrated.
2019-20 DUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Boilermakers went 12-5 overall in duals, including a 5-4 mark in Big Ten duals, which is their best season and first winning conference record since 2012-13. They were a perfect 7-0 on the road, including three top-25 team victories.
The squad was 7-1 in non-conference duals, which included a 2-1 mark at the Journeymen Northeast Duals, a 3-0 sweep of the Boilermaker Duals and wins at North Dakota State and SIUE.
Purdue's 5-4 Big Ten dual record marked just the second winning dual season for the Boilermakers in the last 20 years, and featured a variety of accomplishments and highlight moments.
The Boilermakers logged their highest-ranked win since 2011 in their Big Ten opener, taking out No. 13 Northwestern on the road 21-13. Major decisions from freshmen Travis Ford-Melton and Thomas Penola were key the win, while junior Devin Schroder put down seventh-ranked Northwestern freshman Michael DeAugustino by major decision, 11-2.
The Boilermakers extended their longest win streak over their intrastate rivals, winning their 10th straight over Indiana in a 23-9 victory in Bloomington. Freshman Kendall Coleman and senior Dylan Lydy posted victories in overtime, while junior Max Lyon and senior Christian Brunner both put up bonus points in the win.
The squad made the most of an East Coast road trip, crushing Maryland 37-4 in Purdue's biggest conference margin of victory since 2012, and scoring the first win over Rutgers in program history in a 20-18 barn burner at the RAC. After taking 9-of-10 against the Terrapins on Friday, the Boilermakers had to overcome some serious adversity in their win over the Scarlet Knights. The dual saw a nine-point swing at 197 pounds as Brunner was leading 1-0 in the third period with nearly two minutes of riding time in tow when he was forced to injury default. Penola, Schroder and sophomore Parker Filius came through down the stretch as Penola came from behind to win in overtime, Schroder put up bonus points on another ranked opponent and Filius followed Penola's example with a dual-sealing overtime win. The win at Rutgers was called one of FloWrestling's top-15 duals of the 2019-20 season.
The regular season finished up with a huge win at Illinois, defeating the Fighting Illini 18-14 for the first Purdue win in the series since 2010. Competing without the services of Coleman and Brunner, the Boilermakers took 6-of-10 weights, including upset wins for Filius and Lyon. Filius used a huge six-point move to knock off No. 13 Dylan Duncan, while Lyon controlled No. 14 Zac Braunagel from start to finish. Penola came through in the clutch again for his squad, topping fellow freshman Luke Luffman 5-2 in the finale to seal the win.
2019-20 Tournament Successes
The Boilermakers were continually at their best in tournaments, showing a level of consistency in the brackets that has almost never been seen in West Lafayette. Ersland's squad got comfortable on the podium and continued building from start to finish.
After starting the season with only one wrestler ranked in the top-10 of their respective weight classes, the Boilermakers left their mark at the Michigan State Open. Coleman led a list of seven placewinners as he went 5-0 and took home the title at 157 pounds. He toppled a pair of top-10 ranked individuals and posted a pair of falls as he announced himself on the NCAA wrestling scene.
While the nation had started to take notice, the Boilermakers announced their presence at the 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Purdue scored an all-time high 92.5 points and tied for its best-ever team finish at fifth place. The Boilermakers' five placewinners tied a program high at the event, including three individuals in the finals after having eight previously in tournament history.
Dylan Lydy became just the fourth Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion in Purdue history, taking down an incredible run of individuals on his way to the title. He posted his second win of the season over Utah Valley's Kimball Bastian, outlasted Oklahoma's Anthony Mantanona in the quarterfinals, and then notched back-to-back overtime victories over Mikey Labriola of Nebraska and Bryce Steiert of Northern Iowa in the semifinals and finals.
Brunner and Schroder followed Lydy's lead into the finals, each settling for second place in Vegas, while junior Griffin Parriott and Coleman both took fourth place. Freshman Emil Soehnlen was a potential sixth placewinner for the Boilermakers, advancing through the first day of competition, but was injured before the second day and wound up missing the remainder of the season.
The 2019 Midlands Championships brought another opportunity for the Boilermakers to show out, and they stepped up to the challenge. Despite being down three starters due to illness and injury, including projected No. 3 seed Schroder at 125, Purdue finished eighth with 75 team points and put three individuals on the podium. It was the Boilermakers' fifth top-10 performance at the event in the last 20 years, and their third-highest team point total.
After sitting out the first part of varsity competition due to a projected redshirt, Brunner had slowly been climbing the rankings with his performance in Vegas and various duals. However his championship performance at Midlands vaulted him into the national spotlight at 197 pounds, taking down third-ranked Patrick Brucki of Princeton on his way to the finals. He topped eventual ACC Champion Jay Aiello of Virginia for the second time (beat him in Vegas as well) for the title, becoming 1-of-4 four Boilermakers in program history to stand atop the podium at Midlands.
Lydy continued his tear at Midlands, riding the top seed all the way to the championship and cementing himself as one of the nation's best at 174 pounds. He avenged a loss from the 2019 NCAA Championships with a semifinal win over Army's Ben Harvey, and then defeated UNI's Steiert for the second time, this time getting the job done in regulation in the finals.
2020 Big Ten Championships
Purdue opened the 2020 postseason in style, putting together its best Big Ten Championship performance in almost 30 years as the Boilermakers finished fifth with 83.0 points. Eight wrestlers earned their way on to the podium, marking the team's most since 2004, including three medalists and two finalists. All eight earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
2020 NCAA Championship Projections
While the 2020 NCAA Championships may go down as the tournament-that-never-was, it's important to take note of what the Boilermakers achieved in the eyes of the national committee and where they were projected to finish at the event.
The Boilermakers had four individuals earn top-eight seeds at their respective weights, the program's most since 1950. Purdue's eight NCAA qualifiers matched the program's record for the third time under head coach Tony Ersland, previously achieved in 1993, 2003, 2015 and 2019.
Dylan Lydy headlined the list of Boilermaker seeds, earning the No. 4 seed at 174 pounds. This was Purdue's highest-seeded individual since 2006, when Ben Wissel was tabbed the three-seed at 184.
Christian Brunner became 1-of-12 four-time NCAA Championships qualifiers in program history, earning the No. 6 seed at 197 pounds.
After a 26-5 season, Devin Schroder earned the No. 5 seed at 125 pounds, becoming the second-highest Boilermaker ever seeded at the weight.
Kendall Coleman earned the highest seed for a Purdue freshman since 2002, when Chris Fleeger was the No. 4 seed at 125 pounds. Seeded sixth at 157, Coleman is the fifth freshman in Purdue history to earn a national seed.
Purdue’s other four seeded wrestlers were Griffin Parriott (No. 16 at 149), Thomas Penola (No. 26 at heavyweight), Max Lyon (No. 30 at 184) and Parker Filius (No. 32 at 141). It was the second straight NCAA qualification for Parriott and Lyon and the first of Penola's and Filius' careers.
The Boilermakers were projected to finish seventh at the national tournament based on seeding projections (42 points), and were only 5.5 points out of fourth place and a team trophy (list compiled by FloWrestling).
NCAA Projections (based on NCAA seeds)
1: Iowa - 122.5
2: Penn State - 76.5
3: Ohio State - 66.5
4: Northwestern - 47.5
5: Nebraska - 46.5
6: Oklahoma State - 45.5
7: Purdue - 42
8: Princeton - 41
9: Iowa State - 38
10: Minnesota - 36
