Team to travel to Ohio meet
Wendy’s Duals event
to provide wrestlers chance for experience
By Mike Urena
Staff Writer
Assistant wrestling coach Tom Erikson will not
be competing in the french fry toss and hamburger-eating contests at
the Wendy's Duals this weekend.
The reigning champion in both events will, however,
travel to Ashland, Ohio, on Sunday hoping to coach the Boilers to three
wins at the annual event, which is sponsored by the popular fast-food
chain Wendy’s.
"I am going to leave it up to assistant coach (Scott)
Hinkel this year," Erikson said. "It's not fair; I've been winning it
every year."
And the Boilers have also been winning a lot each
year they go to the Wendy's Duals.
The Wendy's Duals will consist of several teams
from the Big Ten, such as Indiana and Ohio State, as well as teams outside
of the conference like Eastern Illinois. However, the Boilers will not
be meeting up with the Buckeyes or Hoosiers.
"But we'll have an opportunity to see some of their
kids wrestle other teams in the same gym," Purdue coach Jessie Reyes
said.
Reyes said he hopes it's worth the trip to Ohio
and that his wrestlers start the semester right.
"I look at it as a great event for wrestlers to
get some matches in," Reyes said. "Many wrestlers will more than likely
get the opportunity to wrestle three in a row."
The Boilers' first match is with Ashland —
a Division II school with slightly older recruits from different parts
of the nation. The second match is with Cleveland State and the day
culminates with a meet against Marquette.
"We need to go in there with attitudes thinking
we are going to beat all of them," Reyes said.
Purdue had the attitude to come up with impressive
results in last year’s meet. The Boilers beat Cleveland State 34-3
with only one loss by Carlos Blanco, the former 141-pound wrestler.
The second match against Marquette resulted in a 36-3 Purdue victory.
The Boilers’ final match against Binghamton ended in an impressive
42-0 Purdue win.
The team has a strong point in developing confidence
in between meets. The only drawbacks are trying to give new wrestlers
experience and healing the injured before the meet begins.
Ryan Lange, Purdue's 174-pounder, missed practice
a few times this week with sickness. Kirk Moore, a returning NCAA qualifier
at 165 pounds, has been in and out of the lineup with injuries. Jason
Silverstein, a former All-American and the Boilers' 125-pounder, missed
the Boilers' last meet.
"This is the time of the year where many of the
athletes get sick and injured," Reyes said. "But overall, they recover
and come back doing a better job than before."
Reyes is looking forward to seeing two wrestlers
perform well this weekend. At 141 pounds, Paul Sacquitne (2-5), a freshman
from Fremont, Ind., will wrestle to gain more experience on the mat
from this meet and to improve his season record.
"We just hoping he doesn't get discouraged," Reyes
said. "We want him to get some experience in this meet, and if he does,
we might need him later on in the season."
Lange (16-5), a highly-recruited freshman, came
to Purdue as a redshirt. Although he fought in a tough battle for the
174-pound spot when he first arrived on campus, he entered the 2000-01
season starting in his weight class.
Reyes wants his team, including the freshman wrestlers,
to go with a positive mindset.
"I’ve been telling everybody to just
go in there, and shut 'em out," Reyes said.
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