Three Scarlet Knights Head To NCAA Wrestling Championships This Weekend
Mar 18 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Senior Matt Pletcher (Eastamton, N.J.), sophomore D.J. Russo (Netcong, N.J.) and freshman Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.) will travel to St. Louis, Mo. to compete in the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships this Thursday – Saturday inside the Scottrade Center.
Pletcher owns a 33-11 record on the season and finished fourth in the 165-pound weight class at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships two weeks ago. He is tied with Lee Getz (1984-87) for 21st in school history with 77 career victories. Pletcher will face No. 11 seed Trevor Stewart of Central Michigan on Thursday in the opening round.
Winston enters the NCAAs ranked 11th nationally at 157 pounds. He is one of the top wrestlers in the nation in win totals with a 38-7 mark on the year. The true freshman has also recorded five pins on the season. He is coming off a third-place showing in the EIWA Championships. His last loss came by a 4-2 decision to the fourth-ranked wrestler in his weight class (Harvard’s J.P. O’Connor) in the conference tournament. Winston completed the dual season 18-2. He will face Minnesota’s Tyler Safratowich in the first round on Thursday.
Russo, wrestling in the heavyweight class, placed fourth in the EIWA Championships and owns a 32-14 record on the season. The redshirt sophomore ranks second on the team with 10 pins on the season. He led the Scarlet knights to victory with pins in the final bout against American and Navy during the dual season. Russo will face Virginia Tech’s David Marone in the opening round Thursday.
The three Scarlet Knights represent the most wrestlers from Rutgers competing at Nationals since 2004 when Andy Roy, Rudy Medini and Ramel Meekins each earned a bid.
