Rutgers University
Big Ten Championships
Anthony Ashnault Wins B1G 141-Pound Championship
Mar 06 | Wrestling
IOWA CITY, Iowa - 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) cruised to a 9-0 win against Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to become Rutgers wrestling's first Big Ten Champion. Nine other Scarlet Knights placed in the top-eight of their respective weight classes, including fourth-place finishers Nicholas Gravina (Allendale, N.J.) and Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) at 184 and 285 pounds, respectively.
2016 Big Ten Wrestling Championships
Saturday, March 5 - Sunday, March 6
Carver-Hawkeye Arena | Iowa City, Iowa
Day One Brackets: Click Here Final Brackets: Click Here Day One Team Scores: Click Here Final Team Scores: Click Here All 10 Scarlet Knights placed in the top-eight for the program's most conference placewinners in program history. The output gave Rutgers a fifth-place finish with 106.5 team points behind Big Ten champ Penn State (150.5), runner-up Iowa (127), Ohio State (126), and Nebraska (117).
"We got in the hotel room last night after that first round which was a tough first round and we just talked how we knew we could just bounce back and have a great round and we did," Goodale said. "It sort of snowballed. It was almost like a dual-meet effect where [Sean] McCabe got us going and next thing you know we were sitting at 15-3 on the night. That's an unbelievable round in a really tough tournament."
Ashnault (28-2) got going in the second period with a four-point near fall against Gulibon midway through, and another two-count before the horn sounded for a 6-0 lead. Ashnault then escaped from bottom in the third and scored another takedown in the final 30 seconds to forever etch his name in the Rutgers record books.
"I'm happy for him. It's a great tournament and it's a very difficult tournament. There's been some great wrestlers that have come through this tournament and not be able to win one, so for him I'm just super happy," Goodale said. "Obviously it's really good for our program. It's the first, hopefully it opens up another door for guys to shoot for because it is such a big accomplishment. But there's just so much more for him to do that that's really what we're concentrating on."
Ashnault is the first conference champion for Rutgers wrestling since Scott Winston won an EIWA title at 165 pounds in 2011. The 10 conference placewinners in a single postseason eclipses Rutgers previous record of nine set in 2013 and 2011 as a member of the EIWA.
"I think we all definitely expected to win. Coming into this tournament sometimes things don't go your way, especially in the sport of wrestling where it's one of those sports where anyone can win," Ashnault said. "I definitely expected to win. This is just a stepping stone to get to the national tournament. I really want to win the national title this year and I'm confident going in.
"It's created a lot of momentum and a lot is going right for me right now and going my way. I'm trying to just carry it right on over in two weeks at Madison Square Garden."
2016 NCAA Championships Qualifiers
133 Pounds - Anthony Giraldo (Guttenberg, N.J.)*
141 Pounds -Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.)**
149 Pounds -Tyson Dippery (Harrisburg, Pa.)*
157 Pounds -Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J.)*
165 Pounds -Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.)***
174 Pounds -Phillip Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.)*
184 Pounds -Nicholas Gravina (Allendale, N.J.)*
197 Pounds -Hayden Hrymack (Point Pleasant, N.J.)*
HWT -Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.)****
*denotes number of NCAA qualifying bids in Rutgers career
"We were really psyched as a program and as a team," Goodale said. "It was awesome. It was just a really exciting night with everybody winning and feeding off each other. It was a super team atmosphere and next thing you know you're sitting on nine guys going to the national tournament after the first day of the Big Ten Tournament."
"The team comradery right now is just great. I love being a part of Rutgers wrestling," Ashnault said. "There's no other wrestling program I'd rather be at. Looking at the teams at the tournament, some of them were recruiting me and I just can't picture myself in a different place. I wouldn't be able to compete at the same level that I compete, I don't believe. Being around my teammates makes me wrestle better. I get more confidence and just the family atmosphere."
Gravina powered through No. 2 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State), 4-1, in the consolation semifinals with another tough seven minutes of wrestling to advance to the third place match. Once there against No. 1 Domenic Abounader (Michigan), Gravina fell behind in the second period en route to an 11-0 loss and fourth-place finish.
Smith (27-8), who qualified for his fourth NCAA Championships, fell in tiebreakers against No. 5 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) for the second time in the tournament for third place.
Four Scarlet Knights wrestled for fifth place Sunday in the final session of the tournament already with NCAA qualifying spots.
Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J.) topped Ohio State's Jake Ryan, 5-2, for fifth at 157 pounds. In his first season at Rutgers, Lewis (26-5) qualified for his for NCAA Championships.
133-pounder Anthony Giraldo (Guttenberg, N.J.) (17-14) and 149-pounder Tyson Dippery (Harrisburg, Pa.) (18-13) fell in their fifth-place matches to finish sixth in the tournament. Both automatically qualified for NCAAs.
Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) took two medical forfeits Sunday for sixth place and will look ahead to nationals after automatically qualifying. Rounding out the sixth-place finishers was Hayden Hrymack (Point Pleasant, N.J.), who will conclude his RU career with his first trip to NCAAs.
No. 9 174-pounder Philip Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.) finished his tournament with bang, pinning No. 8 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) in 3:20 for seventh place. The win was Bakuckas' second over Robertson on the weekend. The redshirt junior (18-13) qualified for his first NCAA Championships with the stellar run.
125-pounder Sean McCabe (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) dropped his seventh-place match to No. 6 Johnny Jimenez (Wisconsin) and closed the tournament one match shy of automatically qualifying for NCAAs. McCabe (14-14) will need an at-large bid for Rutgers to have all 10 weight classes represented at nationals. He will learn his fate on Wednesday, March 9, when the NCAA will release qualifiers throughout the day on social media. The NCAA Wrestling Championships Selection Show is set to air at 6 p.m. EST on NCAA.com.
The 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships will run from March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
| Wrestler - Weight (Record) | Opponent (School) | Result |
| No. 8 Sean McCabe - 125 Pounds (1-3) | ||
| Championship First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) | L-TF, 20-5 (6:45) |
| Consolation Second Round | Garrison White (Northwestern) | W-MD, 8-0 |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | No. 5 Elijah Oliver (Indiana) | L-D, 8-6 |
| Seventh Place Match | No. 6 Johnny Jimenez (Wisconsin) | L-D, 11-3 |
| No. 10 Anthony Giraldo - 133 Pounds (2-3) | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 7 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) | L-D, 5-1 |
| Consolation First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) | W-D, 3-2 (TB-1) |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | No. 4 Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland) | W-D, 6-0 |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 6 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) | L-D, 9-5 |
| Fifth Place Match | No. 5 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) | L-D, 7-3 |
| No. 3 Anthony Ashnault - 141 Pounds (4-0) | ||
| Championship First Round | George Fisher (Michigan) | W-F, 3:40 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 6 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska) | W-D, 5-2 |
| Championship Semifinals | No. 7 Danny Sabatello (Purdue) | W-D, 8-4 |
| Championship Final | No. 8 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) | W-MD, 9-0 |
| Tyson Dippery - 149 Pounds (2-3) | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) | L-D, 6-2 |
| Consolation First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Consolation Second Round | Luke Blanton (Indiana) | W-TF, 19-4 (3:07) |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | Cody Burcher (Ohio State) | W-MD, 8-0 |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) | L-D, 4-1 |
| Fifth Place Match | No. 3 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) | L-MD, 12-3 |
| No. 3 Richie Lewis - 157 Pounds (4-2) | ||
| Championship First Round | Mark Bozzo (Michigan State) | W-TF, 18-3 (5:14) |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 6 Brian Murphy (Michigan) | L-D, 2-1 (TB-1) |
| Consolation Second Round | Anthony Petrone (Northwestern) | W-TF, 16-1 (2:35) |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | No. 7 Tyler Berger (Wisconsin) | W-D, 5-3 |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 5 Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa) | L-D, 2-0 |
| Fifth Place Match | No. 4 Jake Ryan (Ohio State) | W-D, 5-2 |
| No. 4 Anthony Perrotti - 165 Pounds (1-1) | ||
| Championship First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 5 Chad Welch (Purdue) | W-F, 4:49 |
| Championship Semifinals | No. 1 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) | L-Inj. Default |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 6 Austin Wilson (Nebraska) | L-Med. Forf. |
| Fifth Place Match | No. 5 Chad Welch (Purdue) | L-Med. Forf. |
| No. 9 Phillip Bakuckas - 174 Pounds (3-2) | ||
| Championship First Round | No. 8 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) | W-D, 2-0 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) | L-MD, 15-3 |
| Consolation First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Consolation Second Round | No. 10 Mitch Sliga (Northwestern) | W-MD, 13-0 |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | No. 5 Nate Jackson (Indiana) | L-D, 3-2 |
| Seventh Place Match | No. 8 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) | W-F, 3:20 |
| No. 5 Nicholas Gravina - 184 Pounds (4-2) | ||
| Championship First Round | Tanner Lynde (Purdue) | W-D, 6-0 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 4 TJ Dudley (Nebraska) | L-D, 8-2 |
| Consolation First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Consolation Second Round | Matt Irick (Indiana) | W-MD, 10-2 |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | No. 8 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) | W-D, 4-0 |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 2 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) | W-D, 4-1 |
| Third Place Match | No. 1 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) | L-MD, 11-0 |
| No. 7 Hayden Hrymack - 197 Pounds (3-3) | ||
| Championship First Round | Drake Stein (Purdue) | W-D, 5-3 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 2 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) | L-MD, 13-1 |
| Consolation First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Consolation Second Round | Jake Masengale (Indiana) | W-D, 7-3 |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | No. 6 Mark Martin (Ohio State) | W-D, 1-0 |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) | L-MD, 14-2 |
| Fifth Place Match | No. 4 Max Huntley (Michigan) | L-F, 5:52 |
| No. 4 Billy Smith - Heavyweight (4-2) | ||
| Championship First Round | Dimitrus Renfroe (Michigan State) | W-MD, 14-3 |
| Championship Quarterfinals | No. 5 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) | L-D, 3-3 (RT) (TB-2) |
| Consolation First Round | Bye | Bye |
| Consolation Second Round | Youssif Hemida (Maryland) | W-D, 8-1 |
| Consolation Quarterfinals | Brock Horwath (Wisconsin) | W-D, 7-3 |
| Consolation Semifinals | No. 6 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) | W-D, 6-4 |
| Third Place Match | No. 5 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) | L-D, 4-1 (TB-1) |
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Players Mentioned
