Lopouchanski becomes the most accomplished member of the Boilermakers’ recruiting class, coming to West Lafayette after UNC Greensboro dropped their program after the conclusion of the 2010-11 campaign. In his two years with the Spartans, Lopouchanski put together a 74-20 record, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in 2010 and 2011, and advancing to the NCAA Round of 12 in 2011. After redshirting his initial season at UNC Greensboro, he was 33-10 at 141 pounds as a freshman, including open tournament titles at Virginia Tech and North Carolina State and a Southern Conference Championship.
Moving up to 149 pounds in his sophomore campaign, Lopouchanski put together an impressive 41-10 record and setting the UNC Greensboro record for single-season wins. He won the Virginia Tech Hokie Open and the North Carolina State Open to start the season, followed by a sixth-place effort at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and a fifth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle. He cruised to his second straight Southern Conference Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, where he fell just one win shy of All-America honors.
Hailing from Hollywood, Fla., by way of Russia, Lopouchanski was a three-year high school state placewinner in Florida, winning the state title as a senior at South Broward High School after finishing second as junior at Cardinal Gibbons High School and third as a sophomore at South Broward. Lopouchanski will wrestle at 149 pounds for the Boilermakers.
“We’re very excited to see Ivan join our team and become a part of Purdue Wrestling,” said Boilermaker head coach Scott Hinkel. “When you look at what he accomplished at Greensboro, and factor in the increased resources and training opportunities at Purdue and the outstanding level of competition in the Big Ten, the sky is the limit for a wrestler like Ivan.”
Quam comes to Purdue from San Clemente, Calif., where he was a two-time California State High School placewinner for San Clemente High School. With just two years of wrestling experience under his belt, Quam has an extensive background in judo and martial arts. He has competed internationally in judo for several years, including the USA Judo Junior Olympics and the 2009 California State Games, where he was named Athlete of the Year.
In his first year of wrestling competition he claimed fifth at the California High School State Championships, marking the third-best finish in the history of San Clemente High School. He was even more outstanding in his senior campaign placing fifth at the Walsh Ironman National Tournament in Ohio (called one of the toughest high school tournaments in the nation), winning five tournaments in California, and placing second at the state championships at 189 pounds. En route to the state silver medal he topped 12th-ranked Lucas Sheridan, who is committed to attend archrival Indiana, before falling to nationally top-ranked Penn State-commit Morgan McIntosh in the finals.
“We honestly have no idea how amazing Preston could be,” said Hinkel. “To see the success he’s already achieved in just two years of wrestling illustrates how much potential there is for him to become a truly elite wrestler. We’re extremely excited to have him in our room as we are looking forward to not only the things we can teach him, but also the things he can teach us with his judo and martial arts background.”
Quam is projected to compete at 184 or 197 pounds for the Boilermakers next season. Lopouchanski and Quam join Indiana natives Drake Stein, Doug and Chad Welch and Luke Schroeder, Illinois signee Danny Sabatello and Rusty Maness from West Virginia.
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