"I thought we competed better in most of the situations we were in tonight," Purdue head wrestling coach Tony Ersland said. "We definitely put more points on the board and that is an emphasis of ours."
While the dual was taking place, Michigan State also held a gymnastics meet, in an event titled Tumbles & Takedowns. It created a non-traditional setting for wrestling, but Ersland was pleased with how his team responded.
"It was different for us, but the distractions forced us to focus," Ersland said. "It's a positive for us, being able to go into an environment like that and have our guys perform because we'll have more hostile and loud crowds as the season progresses."
Michigan State claimed two of the first three bouts, 125 and 141, to take a 9-3 lead. Luke Welch was credited with getting Purdue's first points on the board thanks to a 10-4 decision over Garth Yenter at 133. Four takedowns, an escape and 1:04 of riding time earned the redshirt sophomore his 11th win of the season.
Alex Griffin needed only 5:00 to register a 17-0 technical fall for the first of a string of five straight wins for the Boilermakers. The 149-pounder scored 10 points in the opening period, tilting the Spartans' Kaelan Richards twice for a two-count and once for a four-count after the initial takedown. The Lafayette, Indiana, native picked up his ninth win and third shutout of the season.
The ensuing match at 157 saw Doug Welch take MSU's Joe Johnson down in the first period, score a reversal in the third and accumulate 2:31 of riding time on his way to a 5-1 decision. With the win, Purdue took an 11-9 lead, it's first in the dual, into the break.
The winning continued for the Boilermakers in the second half of weights. No. 6 Chad Welch used a nine-point third period to post a 13-4 major decision over Dean Vettese. The 165-pound redshirt senior lifted his record to 20-3, while pushing his team ahead 15-9.
"I was glad to see Chad scoring points in other ways tonight," Ersland said. "Although he gave up the first takedown, he was able to recover and get on his leg attacks. He really got after it in the third with those attacks and ended up getting bonus points for us."
A 5-2 decision from Jacob Morrissey (10-8) followed at 174 and the third bonus point win of the dual came via Tanner Lynde. The 184-pounder pinned Shwan Shadaia in 2:29 to clinch the dual for Purdue. Lynde's fall was the fifth of his career as he captured his first win in Big Ten dual action.
"That was a great win for Tanner," Ersland said. "I like that he was strong and had purpose on top tonight. That's something we talked about this week, we want them to be aggressive on top. Tanner was determined to break [Shadaia] down from the top and he succeeded."
Tyler Kral closed out the Boilermakers' efforts by winning his second straight match, a 6-0 decision over Dimitrius Renfroe for the eighth win of the season.
Purdue returns home to Holloway Gymnasium on Sunday to take on Maryland (4-7, 1-4 B1G) at 1 p.m. ET. The Terrapins will make their first-ever trip to West Lafayette on the heels of a 26-13 loss at Indiana on Friday.
#BoilerNotes
• The win is Purdue's fifth straight in the Michigan State series … it is the Boilermakers' 26th overall in the series and they have now won a dozen times in East Lansing.
• Purdue won its first Big Ten Conference road test of the season … it's the Boilermakers' first conference road win since an 18-16 win at Indiana on Jan. 31, 2014 … they are now 4-0 when wrestling on the road this season.
• The Boilermakers had a 14-5 takedown advantage … they scored 20 back points with a pair of two-point nearfalls and four four-point nearfalls.
• Alex Griffin won his 40th career match with the eighth technical fall of his career … he has now held 11 opponents scoreless in his three seasons … it was his third bonus point win of the season.
• Fourteen of Chad Welch's 20 wins have been with bonus points (6 MD, 2TF, 6 F) … it was the 30th dual victory of his career and the 120th match he's wrestled in his Purdue career … he now has 31 career victories resulting in bonus points (10 MD, 5 TF, 16 F).
• It was the 15th dual start for the Welch Trio (Luke - 133; Doug - 157; Chad - 165) dating to last season … it was the fifth time all three have won together this season and the seventh time overall.
Results:
125 / Mitch Rogaliner (Michigan State) dec. Ben Thornton (Purdue) 7-5
133 / Luke Welch (Purdue) dec. Garth Yenter (Michigan State) 10-4
141 / Javier Gasca (Michigan State) pinned Danny Sabatello (Purdue) 5:51
149 / Alex Griffin (Purdue) tech. fall Kaelan Richards (Michigan State) 17-0 (5:00)
157 / Doug Welch (Purdue) dec. Joe Johnson (Michigan State) 5-1
165 / No. 6 Chad Welch (Purdue) maj. dec. Dean Vettese (Michigan State) 13-4
174 / Jacob Morrissey (Purdue) dec. Shane Shadaia (Michigan State) 5-2
184 / Tanner Lynde (Purdue) pinned Shwan Shadaia (Michigan State) 2:29
197 / Jacob Cooper (Michigan State) pinned Drake Stein (Purdue) 1:54
285 / Tyler Kral (Purdue) dec. Dimitrius Renfroe (Michigan State) 6-0
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