Wrestling | January 12

DeKALB, Ill.—Jacob Brya (St. Johns, Mich./St. Johns) and Landen Johnson (Owatonna, Minn./Owatonna) were the lone Huskies' to notch wins this afternoon as the Northern Illinois University Huskies wrestling program faced off against the No. 25 Purdue University Boilermakers inside the NIU Convocation Center.
 
The Huskies fell 8-29 to the Boilermakers as a total of five bouts featured bonus points.
 
Brya took on Cole Solomey of Purdue at 141 pounds and secured a first period takedown for the Huskies. Brya added a reversal in the second period as he held on to secure the first win of the day for the Huskies.
 
At 157 pounds, Johnson got a quick first period takedown over Kade Law before adding a second takedown in the second period. Johnson compiled two more takedowns in the third period as he claimed his second technical fall victory of the season.
 
"West and Ramos had a barn burner match," noted NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "Blake is making the right strides.  Brya was dominant and Johnson wrestled the way we want to see our guys compete. He was aggressive, he used his set ups well, and he set a high pace."
 
The 125 bout was the only bout to showcase two ranked opponents and Purdue's Matt Ramos is currently the top-ranked wrestler and Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) is ranked No. 21 according to Intermat. Ramos took an early first period lead before West started staging his comeback. West's comeback fell short, dropping a 5-4 decision.
 
Brett Smith (Troy, Mo./Buchanan) took on a ranked opponent in No. 33 Stoney Buell at 165 pounds, dropping a 6-0 decision. Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) battled against No. 26 Brody Baumann in the 174 pound bout as Baumann posted a 19-9 major decision over Bennett. The final bout to feature a ranked opponent came at 197 pounds as Sean Carroll (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) took on No. 30 Ben Vanadia. Vanadia posted a 12-4 major decision over Carroll.
 
Markel Baker (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) competed at 133 pounds, dropping a 9-5 decision to Dustin Norris. Tommy Curran (Carol Stream, Ill./DeKalb) took on Isaac Ruble at 149 pounds as Ruble posted a 14-3 major decision. Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) competed at 184 pounds while Jacob Christensen (Durham, Calif./Durham) represented NIU at 285 pounds. Evans dropped a battle to Cruz (TF 22-5, 6:44) while Christesen dropped a 7-2 decision.
 
The Huskie wrestling squad returns to action on January 17 as they travel to Central Michigan University for a Mid-American Conference dual. Action is set to get underway in Mount Pleasant, Michigan at 6 p.m. CT.
 
Results
 
125: No. 1 Matt Ramos (Purdue) def. No. 21 Blake West (NIU), Dec, 5-4
133: Dustin Norris (Purdue) def. Markel Baker (NIU), Dec 9-5
141: Jacob Brya (NIU) def. Cole Solomey (Purdue), Dec 6-1
149: Isaac Ruble (Purdue) def. Tommy Curran (NIU), MD 14-3
157: Landen Johnson (NIU) def. Kade Law (Purdue), TF 18-1, 6:49
165: No. 33 Stoney Buell (Purdue) def. Brett Smith (NIU), Dec 6-0
174: No. 26 Brody Baumann (Purdue) def. Tommy Bennett (NIU), MD 19-9
184: Orlando Cruz (Purdue) def. Jake Evans (NIU), TF 22-5, 6:44
197: No. 30 Ben Vanadia (Purdue) def. Sean Carroll (NIU), MD 12-4
285: Hayden Filipovich (Purdue) def. Jacob Christensen (NIU), Dec 7-2
 
Final Score
NIU - 8
Purdue - 29