The No. 9 Buckeyes will continue their tour of Indiana when they take on the No. 24 Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon. The Wrestlebucks defeated Indiana, 27-9, on Friday night.
Ohio State should be heavy favorites, but the Boilermakers have a few tough wrestlers, which will make for interesting matchups. The dual meet takes place at 1 p.m. EST, and is available for streaming on BTN Plus (subscription required).
Let's take a look at what to expect when the Buckeyes visit West Lafayette.
Head Coach: Tony Ersland
Ersland took over the Boilermaker program last season and took an impressive eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in his first season. Though new to Purdue, Ersland is well-versed in Big Ten wrestling as he was an assistant at Nebraska for nearly a decade and spent five years at the head assistant coach at Northwestern for five seasons.
Ersland is yet another Big Ten coach to have learned his trade under the legendary Dan Gable, graduating from Iowa in 1997. Ersland finished a match short of All-American status as a senior, but represented the Hawkeyes well in the classroom, earning four Academic All-Big Ten honors. Ersland is assisted by former All-Americans Zach Tanelli (Wisconsin) and Tyrell Todd (Michigan).
Ohioans on the Boilermaker Roster
James Ford (Fr, HWT)- Worthington Kilbourne HS
Ford was a 3rd place finisher at the Ohio state tournament at 220 lbs. In addition, he was an ASICS Greco Roman national champion and finished as the Walsh Ironman runner-up in 2014.
Blake Reid (RS Fr, 174)- Upper Arlington HS
Reid was once a state qualifier for Upper Arlington.
Notable Boilermaker Wrestlers
Chad Welch (RS Sr, 165)
Chad is the most successful of the three Welch brothers in the Purdue starting lineup, finding himself ranked No. 7 in the latest InterMat rankings. Welch is 23-3 on the season and has a knack for bonus points, earning major decisions in each of his last four bouts. Chad competed at 174 last season, earning a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Danny Sabatello (RS Sr, 141)
Sabatello has twice won Big Ten wrestler of the week awards, earning both last season. Sabatello has earned a pair of trips to the NCAA tournament, winning two matches before he was eliminated. He is prolific at earning backpoints, earning a spot in Purdue’s top 20 as a junior.
Doug Welch (RS Sr, 157)
Doug is Chad’s twin brother, though he is not nearly as accomplished as his brother. Doug took 6th place at the Big Ten tournament last season and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament. Doug has had a tough go of it in Big Ten competition, going just 2-4 against conference opponents this season.
| No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes | No. 24 Purdue Boilermakers | |
| 125 | No. 1 Nathan Tomasello | Ben Thornton |
| 133 | No. 8 Johnni DiJulius | Luke Welch |
| 141 | No. 4 Micah Jordan | Danny Sabatello |
| 149 | No. 11 Hunter Stieber | Alex Griffin |
| 157 | No. 14 Jake Ryan | Doug Welch |
| 165 | No. 2 Bo Jordan | No. 7 Chad Welch |
| 174 | No. 15 Myles Martin | Jacob Morrissey |
| 184 | No. 13 Kenny Courts | Tanner Lynde |
| 197 | Josh Fox | Drake Stein |
| HWT | Nick Tavanello or Thomas Haines | Tyler Kral |
Key Matches
141: No. 4 Micah Jordan vs Danny Sabatello
Sabatello is an experienced opponent, and one that won’t let Micah run him over without a great deal of effort. Sabatello is the kind of guy that Micah is going to have to defeat early in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, so he’d better get used to his style in late January so he’s ready for March.
165: No. 2 Bo Jordan vs No. 7 Chad Welch
Bo defeated Welch last season, but both wrestlers have come a long way since then. Bo is undefeated to this point in the season, but Chad won’t be an easy out. He’s a feast or famine type of wrestler who makes himself vulnerable in looking for a pin. Bo should take advantage and keep his record clean.
184: No. 13 Kenny Courts vs Tanner Lynde
Courts defeated Lynde by decision two seasons ago, which should give him a small amount of confidence heading into the match. Courts has been wildly inconsistent this season, which is right in line with the rest of his career. If Kenny is going to repeat his All-American performance of a season ago (just two weeks after an 8th place finish at the Big Ten tournament), he’s going to need to pick up some confidence-building wins. Lynde is beatable, so he’s certainly a candidate to be a confidence-building win.
Match Outlook
As mentioned in the Indiana preview, the Purdue match is one in which the Buckeyes should cruise. Tom Ryan may opt to rest starters in order to preserve them for next weekend’s Penn State match. The team score may not be as much in favor of the Buckeyes as some would like, but it should still go the Buckeyes’ way. When the dust settles on the weekend, expect the Buckeyes to be 6-1 in the Big Ten and looking forward to travelling to Penn State on Friday night.
