April 13, 2006

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Senior wrestler Ben Wissel has been named the 2006 recipient of the Varsity Walk Award, the Purdue Reamer Club announced.

The Varsity Walk Award is given annually to the Boilermaker senior student-athlete who has brought national recognition to Purdue University.

Wissel, a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier, finished seventh at the 2006 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City at 184 pounds. The senior from Richmond, Ind., had been ranked No. 1 in the nation by several polls earlier in the season, and finished the year with a record of 38-6.

Wissel etched his name in the Purdue record books as a senior, establishing the Boilermaker single-season takedown record with 188 takedowns. His 38 wins were the most on the Purdue squad this season, and rank fourth in the Purdue record books for a single season.

A product of Richmond High School, Wissel came to Purdue University in 2001 and was redshirted in his first season. A starter at 184 pounds each of the next four seasons, Wissel had one of the most successful wrestling careers in Purdue history. His 115 career wins rank third on the Purdue career list, and his 406 takedowns are second in the career record book. Wissel is just the second Boilermaker grappler to record more than 400 takedowns in his career.

Wissel was honored as the Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler on the Boilermaker squad at the team's banquet this season (with Chris Fleeger), and was named Most Inspirational and Most Dedicated as well. Wissel was also the team's most outstanding wrestler in 2005.

Wissel is the third Boilermaker wrestler to receive the prestigious award in the award's 51-year history. Past wrestlers to receive the Varsity Walk Award are Alan Housner (1976) and Charles Jones (1992). Housner was a 1975 All-American at 150 pounds and 1976 Big Ten champion at 142 pounds. Jones won the 167-pound national title at the NCAA Championships in 1992.

Bob Verplank, a 1957 Purdue graduate, was the originator of the idea of Varsity Walk. It was the project of the Purdue Reamer Club spring pledge class of 1956. The walk was located in the Purdue Mall with the Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering buildings to the south and the Physics and Chem-Met buildings to the north.

An awards tower listing all recipients of the Varsity Walk Award stands at the northwest corner of the Materials and Electrical Engineering Building.

Printer-friendly format	Email this article

Purdue Boilermakers