Pre-Thanksgiving Boilermakings

I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving tomorrow. I'll be headed home to Kokomo to visit family and watch my beloved Kats open the basketball season in their traditional first game against Western. As much as I love all things Purdue, nothing compares to the few times a year I get to go back to Kokomo's Memorial Gym. Before we get to the holiday, here is a quick Boilermakings.

Smith and Kerrigan named First Team All-Big Ten, get surgery as a reward - Credit to regular reader Carmen_fanzone for posting these two items as fanshots over to the right. Kerrigan's injury can be a little tricky. I had a stress fracture in the same spot once and it can take a while to heal. He seems to have had a clean break though, so surgery might help. Smith is simply a badass for playing 10 games with his injury and still making the all-Big Ten team.  

More honors for Kerrigan - Ryan was selected today as a Second Team Academic All-American by ESPN.

Wrestling begins season with major upset - The Boilers upset 9^th ranked Missouri on the road this past weekend.

Caden Shields gives us a reason to pay attention to Cross Country - As mentioned a week ago, Shields was the first Purdue male athlete to participate in the Cross Country championship since 1987. He placed 132^nd overall with a personal best time.

Volleyball nearly makes history - Penn State has now won 93 consecutive matches, but Purdue hung tough last week before losing three sets to one. Purdue took its first set against the Nittany Lions since 2005.

Women's basketball struggles early - Depth is going to be a huge issue with so many people hurt. The ladies beat Western Illinois and Seattle to start the season, but lost games in Mackey Arena to Dayton and Georgetown in the Basketball Travelers Classic. Projected starters Chantel Poston and Alex Guyton are out at the moment, as is freshman Sam Ostarello.

A Final salute to Jaycen Taylor - You will be missed.