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The NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Tournament can be so unforgiving.
That was the case for Rutgers University in this year's tournament at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia. The Scarlet Knights left the tournament without an All-American for the second time in the last three seasons.
Dean Peterson (125), who had advanced to the quarterfinal with an electrifying pin of defending champion Richard Figueroa of Arizona State Thursday night in the pre-quarterfinal, Dylan Shawver (133) and Joey Olivieri (141) were all defeated in fourth round wrestleback bouts Friday night - one win shy of All-American status.
“It was a tough night, but that’s the national tournament,” Rutgers head coach Scott Goodale said to reporters at the tournament. “We’ve been through this a bunch. It’s been 18 years now and these nights come and go. There were some really high, high nights, and there’s been some low nights. Tonight was a tough one.”
Rutgers not having an All-American for just the second time in the last 11 seasons the tournament has been held was not surprising. The seeds for the tournament indicated the Scarlet Knights were going to have a tough go of it. None of Rutgers' seven wrestlers were seeded in an All-American spot (top eight).
Five of the Scarlet Knights were seeded 15th, 16th, 16th, 19th and 29th respectively, which meant a quick trip to the wrestlebacks. It is always a tough grind once you land there.
Shawver, who was seventh at 133 in 2024 and Olivieri made a gallant go of it in the wrestlebacks after first-round defeats. Both won three bouts there.
Shawver knocked off two past All-Americans and a wrestler who had defeated him twice previously this season. He won all three of those bouts in either sudden victory or the tiebreaker period. One of Olivieri's wins came in sudden victory.
However, Shawver and Olivieri eventually ran into wrestlers who were seeded higher than them.
Peterson, who fell one win shy of being an All-American for the second time in three seasons, was leading his fourth round wrestleback bout until Northern Colorado's Stevo Poulin was awarded a go-ahead takedown upon video review with 46 seconds remaining.
Rutgers' three wrestlers in the fourth round wrestleback bouts scored just one takedown and one reversal.
“You’ve got to be laser-beam focused and just keep grinding. You’ve got to keep going forward. You’ve got to keep wrestling every single position,” Goodale said to reporters at the tournament. “We just didn’t do that (Friday night).''
The Scarlet Knights lost their final five bouts in the tournament, including sudden victory defeats for Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and Yaraslau Slavikouski (heavyweight) in the third-round of wrestlebacks. They scored just 10 total points - one takedown and one reversal - in those bouts.
“We didn’t score a lot of points at any weight and you you can’t win at this level — the ultimate level — without scoring," Goodale said to reporters at the tournament.
A quick look at teams like Penn State, and Nebraska will reveal those teams always try to add on to leads. All 10 of Penn State's wrestlers earned All-American honors as it will win the championship for the fourth straight time and 12th time in the last 14 national tournaments. Eight of Nebraska's nine wrestlers are All-American. The Cornhuskers are second in the team standings.
Five of the Scarlet Knights national tournament qualifiers - Peterson, Shawver, Olivieri, Andrew Clark (149) and Cartagena-Walsh - are slated to return next season. All won bouts in this year's tournament and all but Clark won at least two bouts in the tournament.
Anthony White (165), who was an alternate for this year's tournament and a qualifier at 149 in 2023, also returns, as does Michael Cetta (149-157), who went 2-2 at 149 in the 2024 national tournament and did not wrestle this season after Jan. 10.
Seven of th 10 starters return. Also returning to the fold is two-time national qualifier Brian Soldano (184), who did not wrestle the last three months of the season and is seeking a medical redshirt after sustaining a concussion at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 30.
The Scarlet Knights had a talented freshman class this season that was ranked the No. 4 recruting class in the country before the season by intermatwrestle.com. Most of that class was red-shirted
The freshman group is led by Conner Harer, who was the starting 157-pounder, and in this reporter's opinion, deserved an at-large berth to the national tournament. Harer went 15-11, 4-4 in Big Ten dual meets and defeated national semifinalist Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament ninth-place bout.
Also showing great potential was Andrew Barbosa (165), who went 6-3, 4-1 in dual meets and 2-0 in Big Ten dual meets.
Other members of that class who impressed are: Ayden Smith (125), who went 10-4, 1-1 in dual meets); Mason Gibson (133), who went 8-2 in open tournament competiton, Alex Nini (149), who went 10-7, 1-1 in dual meets and Ryan Ford (165), who went 7-5 and 1-0 in Big Ten dual meets.
All are eventually expected to be big parts of Rutgers lineup in the future. It would not be a surprise if Barbosa and one or two others of that group challenge for lineup spots next season.
The Scarlet Knights have another talented recruiting class coming in, led by Pennsylvania state champions Tahir Parkins (141) and Devon Magro (157) and two-time NJSIAA runner-up Jordan Chapman of Cranford (174).
Rutgers has made great inroads recruiting the wrestling-rich state of Pennsylvania the last two seasons.
“We’ve got some pretty good guys and some really good guys in the stable in the stable. We’ve got some guys that can win at this level, obviously,” Goodale said to reporters at the tournament. “This is like deja vu from two years ago. Not having an All-American for this program is tough.”
The Scarlet Knights do have some holes to fill.
Slavikouski, who was an All-American last season, four-time national qualifier and 2021 eighth-place finisher Jackson Turley (174) and three-time national qualifier and 2021 184-pound fourth-place finisher John Poznanski (197) are not returning.
Slavikouski and Turley are out of eligibility. Poznanski, who was not entered in the Big Ten Tournament, recently announced his retirement from the sport.
The Rutgers coaching staff will likely go into the transfer portal to find a heavyweight. It could do the same at 174, so it doesn't have to rush the extremeley talented and exciting Chapman into the lineup.
The 197-pound spot could be filled by P.J. Casale, who recorded a big win while filling for Poznanski in the Scarlet Knight' come-from-behind win over Penn in the regular season finale and went 1-3 in the Big Ten Tournament. It could also be filled by either Cartagena-Walsh or Soldano in an attempt to get both in the lineup. Soldano did pin in his two bouts at 197 against Lock Haven and Princeton in December.
125: Peterson/Smith
133: Shawver/Gibson
141: Olivieri/Parkins
149: Clark/Nini/Cetta
157: Harer/Cetta
165: Barbosa/White/Ford
174: Transfer or Chapman
184: Cartagena-Walsh/Soldano
197: Casale/Cartagena-Walsh/Soldano
HWT: Transfer.
Dual-meet wise, it absolutely was.
The Scarlet Knights went 14-5 and finished ranked No. 11 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Poll for its highest national ranking since the 2015-16 season. They also defeated then No. 10 Illinois (on most total points scored) after a 15-15 tie for their first win over a top 10 team since Jan. 11, 2019.
Rutgers went 5-3 in Big Ten dual meets for its first winning conference dual-meet record since the 2018-19 season and just its fourth since joining the conference prior to the 2014-15 season.
In addititon to the Illinois win, the Scarlet Knights defeated the conference teams they should have defeated. The win over a Penn team that matched up really well with a Big Ten caliber lineup was also impressive.
But, as Goodale has often said through his 18 seasons as the Scarlet Knights' head coach, programs are also judged on how they do in the national tournament.
Hopefully, the disappointment of this year's national tounament will serve as motivation for Rutgers next season.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers wrestling: Do the Scarlet Knights have a bright future?
Continue reading...
That was the case for Rutgers University in this year's tournament at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia. The Scarlet Knights left the tournament without an All-American for the second time in the last three seasons.
Dean Peterson (125), who had advanced to the quarterfinal with an electrifying pin of defending champion Richard Figueroa of Arizona State Thursday night in the pre-quarterfinal, Dylan Shawver (133) and Joey Olivieri (141) were all defeated in fourth round wrestleback bouts Friday night - one win shy of All-American status.
“It was a tough night, but that’s the national tournament,” Rutgers head coach Scott Goodale said to reporters at the tournament. “We’ve been through this a bunch. It’s been 18 years now and these nights come and go. There were some really high, high nights, and there’s been some low nights. Tonight was a tough one.”
Rutgers not having an All-American for just the second time in the last 11 seasons the tournament has been held was not surprising. The seeds for the tournament indicated the Scarlet Knights were going to have a tough go of it. None of Rutgers' seven wrestlers were seeded in an All-American spot (top eight).
Five of the Scarlet Knights were seeded 15th, 16th, 16th, 19th and 29th respectively, which meant a quick trip to the wrestlebacks. It is always a tough grind once you land there.
Shawver, who was seventh at 133 in 2024 and Olivieri made a gallant go of it in the wrestlebacks after first-round defeats. Both won three bouts there.
Shawver knocked off two past All-Americans and a wrestler who had defeated him twice previously this season. He won all three of those bouts in either sudden victory or the tiebreaker period. One of Olivieri's wins came in sudden victory.
However, Shawver and Olivieri eventually ran into wrestlers who were seeded higher than them.
Peterson, who fell one win shy of being an All-American for the second time in three seasons, was leading his fourth round wrestleback bout until Northern Colorado's Stevo Poulin was awarded a go-ahead takedown upon video review with 46 seconds remaining.
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Rutgers' three wrestlers in the fourth round wrestleback bouts scored just one takedown and one reversal.
“You’ve got to be laser-beam focused and just keep grinding. You’ve got to keep going forward. You’ve got to keep wrestling every single position,” Goodale said to reporters at the tournament. “We just didn’t do that (Friday night).''
The Scarlet Knights lost their final five bouts in the tournament, including sudden victory defeats for Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and Yaraslau Slavikouski (heavyweight) in the third-round of wrestlebacks. They scored just 10 total points - one takedown and one reversal - in those bouts.
“We didn’t score a lot of points at any weight and you you can’t win at this level — the ultimate level — without scoring," Goodale said to reporters at the tournament.
A quick look at teams like Penn State, and Nebraska will reveal those teams always try to add on to leads. All 10 of Penn State's wrestlers earned All-American honors as it will win the championship for the fourth straight time and 12th time in the last 14 national tournaments. Eight of Nebraska's nine wrestlers are All-American. The Cornhuskers are second in the team standings.
How does the future look
Five of the Scarlet Knights national tournament qualifiers - Peterson, Shawver, Olivieri, Andrew Clark (149) and Cartagena-Walsh - are slated to return next season. All won bouts in this year's tournament and all but Clark won at least two bouts in the tournament.
Anthony White (165), who was an alternate for this year's tournament and a qualifier at 149 in 2023, also returns, as does Michael Cetta (149-157), who went 2-2 at 149 in the 2024 national tournament and did not wrestle this season after Jan. 10.
Seven of th 10 starters return. Also returning to the fold is two-time national qualifier Brian Soldano (184), who did not wrestle the last three months of the season and is seeking a medical redshirt after sustaining a concussion at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 30.
The Scarlet Knights had a talented freshman class this season that was ranked the No. 4 recruting class in the country before the season by intermatwrestle.com. Most of that class was red-shirted
The freshman group is led by Conner Harer, who was the starting 157-pounder, and in this reporter's opinion, deserved an at-large berth to the national tournament. Harer went 15-11, 4-4 in Big Ten dual meets and defeated national semifinalist Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament ninth-place bout.
Also showing great potential was Andrew Barbosa (165), who went 6-3, 4-1 in dual meets and 2-0 in Big Ten dual meets.
Other members of that class who impressed are: Ayden Smith (125), who went 10-4, 1-1 in dual meets); Mason Gibson (133), who went 8-2 in open tournament competiton, Alex Nini (149), who went 10-7, 1-1 in dual meets and Ryan Ford (165), who went 7-5 and 1-0 in Big Ten dual meets.
All are eventually expected to be big parts of Rutgers lineup in the future. It would not be a surprise if Barbosa and one or two others of that group challenge for lineup spots next season.
The Scarlet Knights have another talented recruiting class coming in, led by Pennsylvania state champions Tahir Parkins (141) and Devon Magro (157) and two-time NJSIAA runner-up Jordan Chapman of Cranford (174).
Rutgers has made great inroads recruiting the wrestling-rich state of Pennsylvania the last two seasons.
“We’ve got some pretty good guys and some really good guys in the stable in the stable. We’ve got some guys that can win at this level, obviously,” Goodale said to reporters at the tournament. “This is like deja vu from two years ago. Not having an All-American for this program is tough.”
The Scarlet Knights do have some holes to fill.
Slavikouski, who was an All-American last season, four-time national qualifier and 2021 eighth-place finisher Jackson Turley (174) and three-time national qualifier and 2021 184-pound fourth-place finisher John Poznanski (197) are not returning.
Slavikouski and Turley are out of eligibility. Poznanski, who was not entered in the Big Ten Tournament, recently announced his retirement from the sport.
The Rutgers coaching staff will likely go into the transfer portal to find a heavyweight. It could do the same at 174, so it doesn't have to rush the extremeley talented and exciting Chapman into the lineup.
The 197-pound spot could be filled by P.J. Casale, who recorded a big win while filling for Poznanski in the Scarlet Knight' come-from-behind win over Penn in the regular season finale and went 1-3 in the Big Ten Tournament. It could also be filled by either Cartagena-Walsh or Soldano in an attempt to get both in the lineup. Soldano did pin in his two bouts at 197 against Lock Haven and Princeton in December.
An early look at next season's lineup. This is just an early guess
125: Peterson/Smith
133: Shawver/Gibson
141: Olivieri/Parkins
149: Clark/Nini/Cetta
157: Harer/Cetta
165: Barbosa/White/Ford
174: Transfer or Chapman
184: Cartagena-Walsh/Soldano
197: Casale/Cartagena-Walsh/Soldano
HWT: Transfer.
Was it a good season
Dual-meet wise, it absolutely was.
The Scarlet Knights went 14-5 and finished ranked No. 11 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Poll for its highest national ranking since the 2015-16 season. They also defeated then No. 10 Illinois (on most total points scored) after a 15-15 tie for their first win over a top 10 team since Jan. 11, 2019.
Rutgers went 5-3 in Big Ten dual meets for its first winning conference dual-meet record since the 2018-19 season and just its fourth since joining the conference prior to the 2014-15 season.
In addititon to the Illinois win, the Scarlet Knights defeated the conference teams they should have defeated. The win over a Penn team that matched up really well with a Big Ten caliber lineup was also impressive.
But, as Goodale has often said through his 18 seasons as the Scarlet Knights' head coach, programs are also judged on how they do in the national tournament.
Hopefully, the disappointment of this year's national tounament will serve as motivation for Rutgers next season.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers wrestling: Do the Scarlet Knights have a bright future?
Continue reading...
