Ersland, Purdue eye Big Ten tourney

Tony Ersland’s Purdue University wrestling team is looking for a strong finish.
Ersland, a Humboldt native and now in his sixth season leading the Boilermakers, will guide his 13th ranked squad into what is shaping up to be a brutal Big Ten Conference tournament this weekend (Mar. 7-8) in Piscataway, NJ.
The Boilermakers finished their regular season with a won-loss record of 12-5, including 5-4 in the Big Ten.
“You will always have a few dings this time of the year but we should be relatively healthy for the tournament this weekend,” Ersland told the Independent on Monday.
Purdue’s losses are all to ranked teams, including top-ranked Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and No. 4 Arizona State.
The Big Ten 10 Conference will have 47 automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis Mar. 20-21.