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2023 was a banner year for the Ersland era of Purdue Wrestling. After coming close on numerous occasions, the Boilermakers finally broke through the All-American barrier and put two on the podium at the NCAA Championships in Tulsa. Matt Ramos and Parker Filius became the 60th and 61st All-Americans in program history after wrestling to second and seventh place finishes on the national stage. Their efforts helped the Boilermakers to a t-20 finish, tied for the best team finish since 2003. Ramos was Purdue’s ninth NCAA runner-up and the first Boiler to make a final since 2006.
• Has sent 56 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships … has matched a program high with eight qualifiers four times in the last eight years … Purdue previously qualified eight in 1993 and 2003 … the eight qualifiers in 2015 were the most since 2010 … has taken at least seven wrestlers in six of his nine seasons.
• Forty-nine Boilermakers have placed at the Big Ten Championships under Ersland, with eight earning podium finishes in 2020 and 2021 … the eight placewinners match the program record and are the most since 2004 … Purdue placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships in 2020 (83.0 points), marking the Boilermakers’ best conference finish since 1992, and their most points since points 89 in 2004 … the Boilermakers finished sixth in 2021 (76.0 points), marking the first time Purdue finished in the top-six in back-to-back seasons since placing fifth in 1991 and 1992.
In nine years, Ersland has secured 18 top-100 recruits and six top-25 recruiting classes … the class of 2016 was ranked No. 6 by FloWrestling, No. 7 by InterMat and No. 8 by WIN Magazine … the class of 2017 was ranked No. 13 by FloWrestling, No. 18 by InterMat and No. 22 by TheOpenMat.com … the InterMat ranking is the third highest for Purdue with records dating to 2004 … Ersland is credited with two of those top three recruiting classes: 2016 and 2017 … the class of 2018 was ranked 18th by FloWrestling and 25th by TheOpenMat.com … the class of 2020 was ranked No. 13 by FloWrestling, No. 20 by InterMat and No. 22 by MatScouts … the class of 2021 was ranked 17th by WIN Magazine, No. 20 by InterMat and No. 22 by MatScouts… the 2023 class was one of the best of the lot, earning a No. 13 ranking from Intermat, FloWrestling and MatScouts.
• Ersland’s squad had ranked in 38 straight NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll’s, dating from Nov. 12, 2019 to October 28, 2022, and had received votes in 73 consecutive polls, every week since the final poll of the 2016-17 season until the 2022 season … the Boilermakers have climbed as high as No. 12 in the nation during the streak, the program’s highest ranking in 23 years (1/27/1999) … Purdue finished the 2019-20 season ranked 15th in the country, the best final ranking for an Ersland-coached team and the top end-of-season mark for the Boilermakers since 2012-13 (No. 14) … The Boilermakers were tabbed 18th in the 2018-19 preseason poll, the highest preseason ranking since 1991-92.
• For three straight years (2019-22), Purdue has had as many as eight nationally ranked wrestlers at one time … it was the first time on record in program history the feat had been accomplished when the team did it during the 2019-20 season … all three of those seasons, nine wrestlers earned a national ranking at some point during the season.
• 94 Academic All-Big Ten Conference honors have been earned by 41 Boilermaker wrestlers … has twice broken program highs in number of honorees, first with 10 in 2015-16 and then 13 in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
• The 2018-19 squad was ranked 18th on the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Top-30 Scholar All-American Teams list … it was the first time since 2013 Purdue made the list and was the second highest ranked team among six Big Ten Conference programs among the top 30 … the team repeated its top-30 showing in 2019-20, ranking 28th, and was again 1-of-2 Big Ten teams.
• Five Boilermakers were named NWCA Division I Scholar All-American Award winners in 2018-19 and 2021-22, setting a new standard for Purdue wrestling … Max Lyon became the second wrestler in Purdue history to be a four-time Scholar All-American and the first under Ersland … during Ersland’s tenure, 11 Boilermakers have been named NWCA Division I Scholar All-American Award winners a combined 20 times.
• Four of Ersland’s wrestlers have received the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship, a $7,500 scholarship to be used towards graduate degree education: Andrew Hoselton (2016), Ben Thornton (2019), Dylan Lydy (2020), and Thomas Penola (2023).
• Coach Matt Ramos to the 2023 U.S. Open Senior Freestyle Championship at 57 kg … Coached Kendric Maple to the 2017 U.S. Open Men’s Freestyle National Championships title at 61 kg … coached Griffin Parriott to the 2017 UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships title at 70 kg.
• Put two Boilermakers on the top of the podium at the 2019 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, marking the first time in program history as Dylan Lydy won the 174-pound championship and Christian Brunner earned the 197-pound crown … coached 2015 Midlands 165-pound title winner Chad Welch to give Purdue its first Midlands champ since 1963 … coached the first two-time Big Ten Wrestler of the Week in Purdue history in Danny Sabatello (2014-15).
• At the 2017 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships a program-record seven wrestlers placed, crushing the previous high of four from 2008, 2006 and 1990 … as a team, the Boilermakers totaled 84 points to place seventh … the 84 points are the most they have ever scored at Midlands, topping 2008’s performance of 82.5 points … they combined to score 367 total match points, which was the fifth most among all teams.
• Matched the program’s best team finish at the 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, placing fifth with 92.5 points, the most ever for the Boilermakers since they began attending the tournament in 2002 … had three individuals advance to the finals as Dylan Lydy won the 174-pound championship, while Devin Schroder and Christian Brunner were runner-up at 125 and 197, respectively … had five individuals place, matching the program’s best mark set in 2004.
• In 2015, Tony Ersland was one of nine head coaches that were in their first season as a Division I head coach and one of 13 coaches that were in their first year at the helm of their respective program … his eight NCAA qualifiers were the most among both groups … he was also the only coach among both groups to have his team in the final USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll.
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