The 2022-23 wrestling season for Purdue was one of frustration, but with a major bright spot. As a team Purdue was 4-11 in dual meets, and that included an 0-8 finish in Big Ten competition. The bright spot, of course, was Matt Ramos, who pulled a monumental upset in the NCAA championships of 3-time champion Spencer Lee before finishing as national runner-up in the 125 pound weight class.

The teams results are a bit skewed, as the ridiculously tough Big Ten currently have five teams in the top 10 nationally and eight in the top 25. Purdue itself is just outside the top 25 after a 3-1 start to the season in dual meets. It has wins over Army, Indianapolis, and Northern Illinois with the lone loss coming against No. 2 NC State. Coach Tony Ersland has been very high on a pair of freshmen that have performed well so far as highly rated recruits.

Greyson Clark won four consecutive state titles in Wisconsin at Kaukauna HS with a 170-7 record in four seasons, and is wrestling at 141 pounds. Joey Blaze is wrestling at 157 as a freshman as a three-time state champion at Perrysburg HS in Ohio with a 184-7 career record. Both were top 30 recruits in the 2023 recruiting class and look to be fixtures in the future in West Lafayette.

Both wrestlers got their first taste of college wrestling at the Clarion Open on November 5th. Blaze won five matches and finished in fifth place at 157 pounds while Clark was 4-1 at 141 pounds.

"It was a great introduction to college wrestling," said Clark. "Clarion opened my eyes to what college wrestling is like and gave me a lot of great film to look back at. I understand what changes need to be made, and I will work to fix the mistakes I made. I know what adjustments need to be made to ultimately reach my goal in March."

Blaze was similarly impressed iwth his introduction, "It was pretty good, I liked how there were some pretty big teams there and it definitely helped me prepare and know what to expect for the rest of the season."

Both Blaze and clark were candid about their decision to enroll at Purdue. "I chose Purdue because the culture of the team, and how the coaching staff interacts with the wrestlers reminded me a lot of my high school coaching staff," said Blaze. "The coaches want to win just as badly as I do so they will hold me accountable and push me to work as hard as required to reach my goals."

"I really clicked with the coaches from the first conversation I had with them," said Clark. "It was clear that our morals and goals were the same. The environment that West Lafayette offers is like no other. It was clear that this was going to be the best place for me to achieve my goals. It was the best decision I ever made."

The Big Ten portion of the season is slated to start January 14th agaisnt No. 15 Rutgers in West Lafayette, and both know that those matches present unique challenges as the conference is home to many of the best collegiate wrestlers in the country. A Big Ten program has won every team championship since 2007, with Iowa and Penn State combining to win 14 in that stretch.

"I plan to take it day by day, the most important thing I do is the next, said Clark about the Big Ten. "If I focus on the next thing, I will fare better in matches. I will be wrestling the best guys in the country, and I will make mistakes I have never made before. This unique challenge will push me and help me elevate my wrestling game."

"I just try to stay focused and stay on top of what I can control," said Blaze. "My weight, my diet, my recovery and my effort. I also want to make sure I keep trust in what my coaches tell me. I got into wrestling because I had too much energy as a kid, so my parents found a flyer for wrestling and they signed me up."

After the break for finals this week Purdue is back on the mats next week at the Fighting Camel Duals at Campbell against No. 19 Stanford, North Dakota State, and Campbell. The next home match is january 3rd t Holloway Gym against Lindenwood.

The 2023-24 season means a new TV deal for the Big Ten. Football and basketball will have games scattered across FOX, FS1, BTN, NBC, CBS, and Peacock. If you're looking for a service that has live sports consider both FuboTV and Hulu (with live sports). Boiler Upload is also an affiliate sponsor with Peacock, where new Peacock subscriptions help keep the lights on here.

Finally, the best way to see a game is in person, so book a room at the Hampton Inn & Suites near campus and get your tickets via Stubhub.

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