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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 105 in the forefront of our mind." The coaching staff was thrilled to welcome a consensus top- 10 recruiting class to West Lafayette this year, and the influx of talent from the highest-ranked group of recruits in program history will be key to helping Ersland take his program to new heights. "I think when you recruit the best kids, there comes another level. There are more goals for those guys to be reached," Er- sland says. "A lot of kids we've recruited now have expectations to want to be on a world championship team, to be on an Olym- pic team, like a (diver and Purdue alum) David Boudia, which is what you want. Those kids are always moving forward and seeking the next level, and so we've got to do the same. We've got to really always be expanding what we're doing as well, so we're just trying to grow the program on a number of different fronts now. "The foundation, I feel like, is really taking a strong foothold, but [now it's about] continuing to push and to expand in a lot of different directions." One direction Ersland took his program in preparation for the 2016-2017 season was outdoors, away from the team's usual practice facility. The Boilermakers held a unique "Practice on the Patio" event on Ross-Ade Stadium's south end zone patio on Oct. 15, taking ad- vantage of Homecom- ing weekend to try and build awareness for both the sport and the squad. For more than an hour on a windy Saturday morning, a mic'd-up Ersland shouted instructions in front of a couple hun- dred spectators as his team put on a display for anyone with a Purdue-Iowa football ticket that wanted to watch. "Obviously most people think Indiana's predominantly a basketball state and we'd like to grow our fan base for wrestling, so with that in mind, what are some unique ways we can expose it to people?" Ersland said. "Of course, football is a mass-appeal sport, and we thought if we could get in front of the football crowd and expose them to what wrestling practice is, how our guys work, and the discipline it takes, that we could grow interest there. "Wrestling is a very tough sport, both from a mental aspect as well as from a physical aspect. These guys put themselves through a tremendous amount of work to get to go out and perform for seven minutes. I think the intensity and the work ethic (that onlookers see), they'll really appreciate how hard these kids work and how much they're willing to risk and put on the line to have success." Freshman Devin Schroder couldn't agree more. "Wrestling is one of the hardest sports out there, and I think our team is one of the hardest-working wrestling teams out there," says Schroder. "I think people saw that (in Ross-Ade)." Senior Alex Griffin, the only returning NCAA qualifier on the roster, hopes that any curious fans who stopped by the patio took time to notice how good the 2016-2017 team really is. "We have some studs on our team, and 1241 Cumberland Ave, Suite B West Lafayette, IN 47906 Phone: 765-497-0197 www.bankerinvestmentgroup.com A Fee-Based Investment Advisor located in the Purdue Research Park 25+ Years of Investment Management Experience Bill Banker, President Purdue University Alumnus '85 Purdue Baseball Alumnus '81-'85 Wrestling's Freshman Class By The Numbers 3 National title winners 6 Ranking of freshman class, best in school history 1 Highest ranked recruiting class ever at Purdue