LOWELL | High school wrestlers in the Region rarely get a chance to see two nationally ranked college wrestling programs duke it out.
With defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Iowa in town to face No. 25 Purdue at Lowell High School, the feeling was just that much sweeter for Red Devils senior wrestler Nathan Cleveland.
"It's pretty awesome. I don't know if you realize, but that's the best of the best right there," Cleveland said while pointing toward Iowa's bench. "There were some pretty intense matches, and you can see how much their conditioning level pays off."
Iowa certainly wrestled like defending national champs, winning all but two of the 10 weight classes to beat the Boilermakers 41-6, the Hawkeyes' 53rd consecutive dual meet victory.
Purdue (10-5, 1-1 Big Ten) received wins from Colton Salazar (157) and Logan Brown (197), who both fought through three regulation periods before recording takedowns in the first sudden-death overtime period.
"When they wrestle Iowa, a lot of guys get scared," Brown said. "You just have to go out there and wrestle tough. I was super-pumped up and wanted to get something going for the team. I know it was toward the end of the meet, but I was hoping we could take that momentum into our next dual."
Cleveland admitted to learning a lot technique-wise from watching the meet.
"They're always in good position," he said. "It's basically all fundamentals when they wrestle with a lot of scrambles and stalemates."
Purdue coach Scott Hinkel, who coached E.C. Central from 1990-93, noticed marked improvement in his team Sunday against Iowa (15-0, 1-0). The Boilermakers were shut out by the Hawkeyes 38-0 last season.
"I thought winning two overtime matches was a positive for us. I think we made a lot of improvements as opposed to last year, but we've got a lot of work to do," Hinkel said.
Hinkel, who called the Region "a second home," already has commitments from Hobart's Frankie Porras and Munster's Alex Surma, and knows the talent pool in the area is usually top notch. Purdue currently has three local wrestlers in Tommy Churchard (Valparaiso), Matt Hemry (Portage) and Roger Vukobratovich (Hanover Centra), though none of them wrestled due to injuries.
"I think it's important we get the best kids in the state on our team," Hinkel said. "When I say 'the best kids,' we all know that a lot of them are from up in this area. That just happens to coincide with the Region."
COLLEGE WRESTLING
No. 1 Iowa 41, No. 25 Purdue 6
