Four Boilers qualify for tournament

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The Purdue wrestling team finished ninth at the 2013 Big Ten Championships.

The Boilermakers have four individuals that automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships and three more eligible for at-large bids.

The Boilermakers were led by senior Ivan Lopouchanski and sophomore Brandon Nelsen, who finished third and fourth, respectively, at 149 and 141 pounds. Lopouchanski is the Boilermakers’ highest individual placewinner since Colton Salazar’s second-place effort in 2010. Lopouchanski is now 27-2 on the season and will await word of a potential seed at the NCAA Championships. Nelson is now 25-12 on the year, but is unlikely to receive a seed at nationals.

Junior Camden Eppert, freshman Chad Welch and sophomore Braden Atwood finished eighth at 125 pounds, 174 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively, all falling in the seventh-place bouts.

Penn State won its third straight conference title, totaling 151 points over the two-day tournament and crowning four individual champions.

Nelsen, Lopouchanski, Welch and Atwood all have claimed automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, set for March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa. Eppert, fellow junior Cashe Quiroga and senior Tommy Churchard all will look for at-large bids to the championships as Quiroga needs a bid at 133 pounds and Churchard hopes for his second straight at-large bid at 157. Announcements of the entire NCAA field and brackets will be announced late this week.