ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 93
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BY TRAVIS BAUGH
TBaugh@Purdue.edu
C
urt Welch nervously paced around Kell High School's
gymnasium in Marietta, Ga., on Dec. 13.
He made the 382-mile trip from Newburgh, Ind., to
watch his three sons — Chad, Doug and Luke — com-
pete for Purdue in a dual meet together for just the third
time. One by one, he watched each son emerge victorious
as Purdue defeated North Carolina.
"He came up to us and said, 'I can watch one of you
guy's wrestle; that's not bad. Once the second one is out
there, my heart starts hurting. By the third one, I feel like
I'm going to have a heart attack,' " Doug recalled. "He
looked like he was losing it he was so nervous."
The performance against North Carolina was the latest
in a breakout year for the three brothers who have helped
Purdue climb to the No. 25 spot in the mid-December
Coaches Poll.
"They add a lot to the team," Coach Tony Ersland said.
"Not just with their wins … but their attitudes have been
great and they've done everything we've asked them to
do. It's great to see and a great situation to have them all
on the team."
Chad, who is less than a minute older than identical
twin Doug, appears to have regained his freshman-year
form, when he went 22-15 and qualified for the NCAA
Championships. He went 8-13 last year after he returned
from surgery too early, he admits.
This season, he's 13-6, with a 3-1 mark against ranked
opponents and five consecutive dual wins.
"Mentally, I didn't have the confidence that I did fresh-
man year and this year," Chad said. "Instead of going out
and facing adversity, I took a step back and felt sorry for
myself, which really hurt me last year in my wrestling."
W R E S T L I N G F E A T U R E : W E L C H B R O T H E R S
Welch trio finds success on the mat
BREAKING OUT
Before Big Ten action, all three of the Welch
brothers totaled at least five more wins than they
did all of last season.
2013 2014
Chad 8-13 13-6
Doug 5-7 13-3
Luke 0-0* 5-6
* Redshirted during the 2013-14 season.
Tom Campbell
Brothers (from right to left) Luke, Doug
and Chad Welch
