With eighth-ranked sophomore Cashé Quiroga recovering from an injury suffered at the Eastern Michigan Open, Fields has held down the 133-pound starting spot for the Boilermakers and posted an 8-4 record so far this season. He has a team-best four falls and is tied for the team lead with a pair of major decisions.
"Matt has been an outstanding member of our team for the last four seasons and it's great to see him have this kind of success as a senior," said Purdue head coach Scott Hinkel. "The goal is to win every match, and this weekend Matt achieved that goal in dominant fashion. We're fired up for him, but want to make sure he continues wrestling like this."
Fields opened up Saturday with an 11-0 major decision over Binghamton's Patrick Hunter, coming out on top of scrambles for three takedowns and cradling Hunter for a three-point nearfall in the third period. He trailed Rutgers' Daniel White, 2-1, heading to the third period, but took a 4-2 lead on a three-point nearfall and then stuck White at 6:32 for the six team points. Fields' final two opponents weren't able to make it out of the first period as he stuck Lehigh's Chris Dinnien in 2:52 and needed just 43 seconds to pin American's Chris Brienza.
With his impressive weekend, Fields has moved on to the Purdue Career Record lists in a trio of categories: ranking ninth all-time with 151 back points, tied for 17th at Purdue with 27 reversals and standing 19th with 16 career falls. He is the first Boilermaker to earn Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors since Colton Salazar earned the award on Nov. 10, 2009, after winning the Eastern Michigan Open.
Fields and the Boilermakers continue their season Thursday at Northern Illinois.
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