NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Rutgers wrestling team (15-4, 5-1 EIWA) went 3-0 in a home quad-meet, including a 20-18 come-from-behind victory over conference foe Army (5-4-1, 2-1 EIWA), RU’s first victory over the Black Knights since Feb. 14, 2004. Freshman Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.) and senior Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) both went 3-0 on the day to lead the Scarlet Knights.
“It was a good day,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “It’s a step in the right direction and we are getting there quicker than we thought we would. The best thing about it is that these guys want to win every time out and they are starting to believe in themselves, and that is half the battle.”
RU opened the day with a 39-0 shutout over US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). Redshirt heavyweight sophomore DJ Russo (Netong, N.J.), freshman 141-pounder Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) and redshirt sophomore David Greenwald (Union, N.J.) at 149 all picked up falls for Rutgers, while freshman Matt Fusco (Belleville, N.J.) at 125, redshirt freshman Brian Bollette (Newton, N.J.) at 133, Winston at 157, senior Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) at 165, Whalen at 174 and sophomore McPaul Ogbonna (East Hanover, N.J.) at 184 all won by decision.
RU’s next opponent was Army, which coming in had won six of the last seven matches in the series, including the previous four. The Black Knights jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before Fusco put RU on the board with a decision at 125. But Army rattled off three consecutive victories, including No. 12 Matt Kyler’s pin of Greenwald at 149. Trailing 18-3, RU mounted an impressive comeback, starting with Winston’s technical fall over Rudy Chelednik.
Pletcher followed that with a pin of Michael Gorman to bring Rutgers within four, at 18-14. Whalen came through with a huge victory at 174, defeating Ryan Mergen 7-1, putting the Scarlet Knights in position to win. After getting an early takedown and an early lead, Ogbonna held off a furious attack from Army’s Jacob Vetter to win 3-2 and give RU the 20-18 victory.
“After we lost at 149 we knew we would have to pick up some points somewhere, but then Winston and Pletcher came through for us,” said Goodale. “So we answered their pin and came up with a technical fall, and we knew it was coming down to 174, so it was a great win for Whalen and then Ogbonna comes back and wins the match for us.”
In RU’s final match of the night, the Scarlet Knights dropped the first bout, but won the rest, winning easily 44-3. Russo, Bollette, Melde, Greenwald, Winston and Orzechowski all picked up extra-point victories while sophomore Mike Demarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.) at 125, junior Matt Rigoglioso (Wayne, N.J.) at 165 and Whalen also won for Rutgers. Whalen’s victory came over No. 20 ranked Hunter Meys.
Army defeated BU 28-15 and USMMA 31-9 to finish 2-1 on the day. Boston defeated the Merchant Marines 20-18 to round out the wrestling action.
Rutgers returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 17, when it faces Virginia and UNC-Greensboro in Charlottesville, Va., before taking on Virginia Tech and VMI on Sunday, Jan. 18, in Blacksburg, Va.
“We want to win,” said Goodale. “We are wrestling well right now, we are training well, staying here over the break has been good for us, so we are going to head down south and try to get some more wins.”
PACK THE RAC:
On Jan. 24, Rutgers will face Rider at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Tickets for that match are on sale now. Fans can log on to www.ScarletKnights.com or call the Rutgers Ticket Office at 866-445-GORU. Reserved seating is 12 dollars, general admission is seven dollars and children under 12 and seniors are five dollars. Rutgers students enter free with their RU ID. Four of the top high school teams in the state (Queen of Peace, Howell, High Point and Long Branch) will wrestle at 4:00 p.m., followed by RU vs. Rider at 6:00 p.m.
Rutgers 39 – USMMA 0
197 – Karim Mahmoud (RU) 7-5 (ot) dec over James Billings (USMMA) 3-0 RU
HWT – DJ Russo (RU) pins James Billings (USMMA) :57 9-0 RU
125 – Matt Fusco (RU) 5-3 dec over Jordan Alfaro (USMMA) 12-0 RU
133 – Brian Bollette (RU) 4-3 (ot) dec over Philip Greene (USMMA) 15-0 RU
141 – Trevor Melde (RU) pins Logan Little (USMMA) 1:54 21-0 RU
149 – David Greenwald (RU) pins Dan Twito (USMMA) 1:27 27-0 RU
157 – No. 15 Scott Winston (RU) 7-3 dec over Scott Lowe (USMMA) 30-0 RU
165 – Matt Pletcher (RU) 6-4 dec over Vincent Renaut (USMMA) 33-0 RU
174 – Mike Whalen (RU) 7-1 dec over Erik Schott (USMMA) 36-0 RU
184 – McPaul Ogbonna (RU) 5-0 dec over Nicholas Shephard (USMMA) 39-0 RU
Rutgers 20 – Army 18
197 – No. 13 Richard Starks (Army) 4-1 dec over Karim Mahmoud (RU) 3-0 Army
HWT – Michael Sprigg (Army) 4-2 (ot) dec over DJ Russo (RU) 6-0 Army
125 – Matt Fusco (RU) 8-2 dec over Travis Coffey (Army) 6-3 Army
133 – Whitt Dunning (Army) 5-0 dec over Brian Bollette (RU) 9-3 Army
141 – Casey Thome (Army) 7-2 dec over Trevor Melde (RU) 12-3 Army
149 – No. 12 Matt Kyler (Army) pins David Greenwald (RU) in 1:28 18-3 Army
157 – No. 15 Scott Winston (RU) 19-3 tech fall over Rudy Chelednik 18-8 Army
165 – Matt Pletcher (RU) pins Michael Gorman (Army) in 4:12 18-14 Army
174 – Mike Whalen (RU) 3-1 dec over Ryan Mergen (Army) 18-17 Army
184 – McPaul Ogbonna (RU) 3-2 dec over Jacob Vetter (Army) 20-18 RU
Rutgers 44 – Boston 3
197 – John Hall (BU) 2-0 dec over Karim Mahmoud (RU) 3-0 BU
HWT – DJ Russo (RU) pins Jim Connors (BU) in 1:04 6-3 RU
125 – Mike Demarco (RU) 11-2 maj dec over Ryan Dowd (BU) 10-3 RU
133 – Brian Bollette (RU) wins by forfeit 16-3 RU
141 – Trevor Melde (RU) 20-7 maj dec over Ryan Goddu (BU 20-3 RU
149 – David Greenwald (RU) pins Andrew Swank (BU) in 1:07 26-3 RU
157 – No. 15 Scott Winston (RU) pins Ben Mandelbraut (BU) in 5:47 32-3 RU
165 – Matt Rigoglioso (RU) 4-2 dec over C.J. Inglin (BU) 35-3 RU
174 – Mike Whalen (RU) 4-1 dec over No. 20 Hunter Meys (BU) 38-3 RU
184 – Chris Orzechowski (RU) pins Mike Platco (BU) in 5:29 44-3 RU
Army 28 – Boston 15
197 – John Hall (BU) 2-1 dec over No. 13 Richard Starks (Army) 3-0 BU
HWT – Michael Sprigg (Army) 3-2 dec over Jim Connors (BU) 3-3
125 – Travis Coffey (Army) 8-4 dec over Ryan Dowd (BU) 6-3 Army
133 – Whitt Dunning (Army) wins by forfeit 12-3 Army
141 – Casey Thome (Army) 12-2 maj dec over Ryan Goddu (BU) 16-3 Army
149 – No. 12 Matt Kyler (Army) pins Mike Roberts (BU) in 4:53 22-3 Army
157 – Rudy Chelednik (Army) 9-7 dec over Carlo Fernandino (BU) 25-3 Army
165 – Michael Gorman (Army) 3-2 dec over C.J. Inglin (BU) 28-3 Army
174 – No. 20 Hunter Meys (BU) pins Ryan Mergen (Army) in :35 28-9 Army
184 – Mike Platco (BU) pins Jacob Vetter (Army) in 4:00 28-15 Army
Boston 20 – USMMA 18
197 – John Hall (BU) 14-5 maj dec over Judd Connell (USMMA) 4-0 BU
HWT – Jim Connors (BU) 4-2 dec over Eric Vincent (USMMA) 7-0 BU
125 – Jordan Alfaro (USMMA) 7-2 dec over Ryan Dowd (BU) 7-3 BU
133 – Patrick Graham (USMMA) wins by forfeit 9-7 USMMA
141 – Ryan Goddu (BU) pins Philip Greene (USMMA) in 3:11 13-9 BU
149 – Dan Twito (USMMA) 2-0 dec over Andrew Swank (BU) 13-12 BU
157 – Ben Mandelbraut (BU) 5-3 dec over Scott Lowe (USMMA) 16-12 BU
165 – Vincent Renaut (USMMA) 16-13 dec over Carlo Ferrandino (BU) 16-15 BU
174 – Erik Schott (USMMA) 4-3 dec over C.J. Inglin (BU) 18-16 USMMA
184 – No. 20 Hunter Meys (BU) 10-2 maj dec over Justin Diesel (USMMA) 20-18 BU
Army 31 – USMMA 9
197 – No. 13 Richard Starks (Army)12-2 maj dec over Judd Connell (USMMA) 4-0 Army
HWT – Michael Sprigg (Army) 13-5 maj dec over James Billings (USMMA) 8-0 Army
125 – Jordan Alfaro (USMMA) 5-2 dec over Davey Mason (Army) 8-3 Army
133 – Whitt Dunning (Army) 14-0 maj dec over Philip Greene (USMMA) 12-3 Army
141 – Casey Thome (Army) 16-1 tech fall over Logan Little (USMMA) 17-3 Army
149 – No. 12 Matt Kyler (Army) 11-4 dec over Dan Twito (USMMA) 20-3 Army
157 – Rudy Chelednik (Army) 8-0 maj dec over Seth Ching (USMMA) 24-3 Army
165 – Vincent Renaut (USMMA) pins T.J. Snukis (Army) in 5:54 24-9 Army
174 – Ryan Mergen (Army) 13-0 maj dec over Erik Schott (USMMA) 8-9 Army
184 – Jacob Vetter (Army) 7-3 dec over Justin Diesel (USMMA) 31-9 Army
