Boiler Wrestling

I have always thought that wrestling is a sport that is not highly recognized, but I have never understood why. Wrestlers are very hard working athletes, who have to work out every day to try to maintain a certain weight without being unhealthy. No other athletes have to worry about their weight in order to compete in their competitions. Wrestling workouts are so hard core. I watched plenty of them in high school, and they were intense. I can’t imagine what it is like at the collegiate level.

Just to give you an idea on what they do for their workouts, here is part of an article I found on the Purdue’s wrestling website of their first season practice. It was a marathon charity run for the United Way.

"The run started in the Blake Wrestling Center, where the team took off on a three-mile run to start the day. Upon return they climbed all the stairs in Ross-Ade Stadium, only to take off on a second three-mile run afterwards. A pair of runs up-and-down Slayter Hill was next on the list, followed by 100-yards of flipping a large tire in the Mollenkopf Center, and yet another trip around Ross-Ade. The test completed with eight minutes of biking in the Blake Wrestling Center.”

Wow! There is no way I would be able to do that ever, let alone on my first day of season practice! I mean, I am sure not every practice would be that intense, but that just gives you a different view on what wrestlers have to do.
The Purdue wrestling team has been working out really hard for their season opener on November 1st at the Eastern Michigan Open. The tournament consist of many of the region’s top teams, including the number 10th ranked team, Michigan, number 11th Northwestern, and number 18th Central Michigan.

Some of the Boilermakers earned a preseason ranking from InterMat/NWCA poll. Senior Jake Patacsil and Luke Manual. They are both ranked in the 7th spot for the 149 pound weight class and 184 pound weight class. On top of being ranked 7th overall, Manuel is the top ranked wrestler for his weight class. Two other Boilers, Kissel ranked 11th in the 184 weight class, and Brown is ranked 13th for the 197 weight class. So this year, the Purdue’s wrestling team is full of high ranked wrestlers. Let’s hope they do well this season! Come out and support the Boiler wrestling team!!! Boiler Up!