HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – No. 17 Rutgers wrestling is in third place after No. 1 seed
Nick Suriano (125), No. 2 seed
Scott DelVecchio (133), No. 2 seed
Nicholas Gravina (184) and No. 3 seed
Richie Lewis (165) all punched tickets to the semifinals on Friday night at the 55
th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
The Scarlet Knights' four semifinalists at the event are the most for the program in their history, as all will vie for spots in the finals beginning Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET. In total, nine RU wrestlers are still alive at the tournament, with five –
Michael Van Brill (141),
Eleazar DeLuca (149,
John Van Brill (157),
Jordan Pagano (174) and
Kevin Mulligan (197) – competing in the wrestlebacks. Redshirt
Matthew Correnti (HWT), who is wrestling unattached at the tournament, is also alive in the tournament after posting a 4-1 record on Friday
Session III of the championships begins at 1 p.m. ET Saturday. Fans can watch all mats via BTN Plus, with brackets and results provided by TrackWrestling. The championship finals begin at 8 p.m. ET Saturday on BTN Plus.
No. 17 Rutgers Wrestling Semifinal Matchups (1 p.m. ET, BTN2Go/FloWrestling)
125 Pounds: No. 1
Nick Suriano (Rutgers) vs. No. 5 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern)
133 Pounds: No. 2
Scott DelVecchio (Rutgers) vs. No. 6 Bryan Lantry (Buffalo – Unattached)
165 Pounds: No. 3
Richie Lewis (Rutgers) vs. No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
184 Pounds: No. 2
Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) vs. No. 3 Emory Parker (Illinois)
Iowa currently leads all teams with 91 points, followed by Arizona State with 75. Rutgers' four semifinalist are tied with South Dakota State University for the second most in the team field behind the Hawkeyes and Sun Devils with five.
"It's good to have all four of those guys in the semifinals and nine still alive for us after the first session," said head coach
Scott Goodale. "Tomorrow is a huge round for us, so we have to be ready to go in the morning. Tomorrow is a big day for this program.'
Suriano did not miss a beat after his dominate performance in session one, as he defeated former NCAA runner-up, No. 9 seed Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), by decision, 6-0 in the quarterfinal. Suriano scored a takedown in the first 10 seconds of period one, added two points on a near fall in period two and contributed an escape and the riding time point for the result.
In his three bouts on Friday, Suriano outscored his opponents, 46-9, with two tech falls and a decision. Suriano will face No. 5 seed Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) in tomorrow morning's semifinal bout.
DelVecchio also muscled a hard-fought decision to advance to the 133-pound semifinal, as he defeated No. 7 seed Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh – Unattached), 6-2. Up 3-1 heading into the final period, DelVecchio secured the win with a takedown at the 25-second mark.
Lewis's quarterfinal match with No. 6 seed Logan Parks (Central Michigan) lacked scoring, as both earned escapes to force a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. Both would trade shots in overtime, but it was Lewis' who jumped over Parks in the final minute and caught him from behind to give him a 3-1 win. Lewis earned a rematch with No. 2 seed Alex Marinelli (Iowa), who defeated Lewis, 6-4, in sudden victory during Rutgers' dual with the Hawkeyes at the RAC on Dec. 8.
Gravina entered his quarterfinal match against Dylan Ammerman (Lehigh), who posted back-to-back pins as an unseeded competitor in his first two matches. Gravina's first-period takedown proved to be the difference in the 4-2 win over Ammerman, which sets Gravina up with a rematch with No. 3 seed Emory Parker (Illinois). Parker defeated Gravina last year at the RAC.
RU closed out Session II on a hot streak in the wrestlebacks, courtesy of three consecutive pins from
Michael Van Brill,
John Van Brill and Pagano.
John Van Brill added a fall at 2:27 over Spencer Nagy (Edinboro),
Michael Van Brill contributed a pin over Vince Turk (Iowa) at 2:12, and Pagano closed out he night with a pin of Andrew McNally (Eastern Michigan) in the first period.
Peter Lipari (141),
Nick Santos (149),
Brett Donner (157),
Joseph Grello (174),
Anthony Messner (197) and
Razohnn Gross (HWT) were all eliminated on day one. Lipari had two victories and contributed four team points, Santos added three victories for two team points while Donner, Gross and Messner all had two wins.
Full results from Friday can be found below.
125 Pounds: No. 1 Nick Suriano (3-0, 13.00 Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Suriano (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Suriano (Rutgers) won by tech fall over Steve Polakowski (Minnesota) (TF 21-5)
Champ. Round 3 - Suriano (Rutgers) won by tech fall over Justin Stickley (Iowa) (TF 19-4)
Quarterfinal - Suriano (Rutgers) won by decision over Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) (Dec 6-0)
133 Pounds: No. 2 Scott DelVecchio (4-0, 12 team points)
Champ. Round 1 - DelVecchio (Rutgers) won by fall over Danny Bertoni (Maryland) (Fall 4:58)
Champ. Round 2 - DelVecchio (Rutgers) won by decision over Hunter Kosco (Brown) (Dec 5-3)
Champ. Round 3 - DelVecchio (Rutgers) won by decision over Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern) (Dec 7-5)
Quarterfinal - DelVecchio (Rutgers) won by decision over Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh ) (Dec 6-2)
184 Pounds: No. 2 Nicholas Gravina (3-0, 10.50 Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Gravina (Rutgers) won by tech fall over Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) (TF 20-5)
Champ. Round 2 - Gravina (Rutgers) won by decision over Greg Bulsak (Clarion) (Dec 3-2)
Quarterfinal - Gravina (Rutgers) won by decision over Dylan Ammerman (Lehigh) (Dec 4-2)
165 Pounds: No. 3 Richie Lewis (3-0, 10 Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Lewis (Rutgers) won by major decision over Brett Bye (South Dakota State) (Maj 15-7)
Champ. Round 2 - Lewis (Rutgers) won by decision over Zachary Carson (Eastern Michigan) (Dec 11-5)
Quarterfinal - Lewis (Rutgers) won in sudden victory - 1 over Logan Parks (Central Michigan) (SV-1 3-1)
157 Pounds: No. 7 John Van Brill (3-1, 8.50 Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 – Van Brill (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 – Van Brill (Rutgers) won by tech fall over Nick Gasbrro (Illinois) (TF 15-0)
Champ. Round 3 - Andrew Crone (Wisconsin) won by decision over Van Brill (Rutgers) (Dec 7-3)
Cons. Round 4 – Van Brill (Rutgers) won by injury default over Andrew Shomers (Edinboro) (Inj. 4:25)
Cons. Round 5 – Van Brill (Rutgers) won by fall over Spencer Nagy (Edinboro) (Fall 2:27)
141 Pounds: Michael Van Brill (3-1, Six Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Van Brill (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Van Brill (Rutgers) won by major decision over Keegan Moore (West Virginia) (Maj 11-0)
Champ. Round 3 - Yahya Thomas (Northwestern - UNAT) won by decision over Van Brill (Rutgers) (Dec 8-3)
Cons. Round 4 - Van Brill (Rutgers) won by decision over Pete Lipari (Rutgers) (Dec 4-0)
Cons. Round 5 - Van Brill (Rutgers) won by fall over Vince Turk (Iowa) (Fall 2:12)
149 Pounds: No. 8 Eleazar DeLuca (3-1, Six Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - DeLuca (Rutgers) won by major decision over Tyler Meisinger (Michigan) (Maj 8-0)
Champ. Round 2 - DeLuca (Rutgers) won by fall over Camden Fischer (Lehigh) (Fall 2:05)
Champ. Round 3 - DeLuca (Rutgers) won by decision over Steven Bleise (Minnesota - UNAT) (Dec 3-2)
Quarterfinal - Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) won by major decision over DeLuca (Rutgers) (Maj 12-2)
174 Pounds: Jordan Pagano (3-1, Five Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Pagano (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Pagano (Rutgers) won by decision over Joey Gunther (Iowa) (Dec 7-4)
Champ. Round 3 - Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) won by decision over Pagano (Rutgers) (Dec 9-3)
Cons. Round 4 - Pagano (Rutgers) won by decision over Mathew Wilhelm (Cal Poly) (Dec 6-5)
Cons. Round 5 - Pagano (Rutgers) won by fall over Andrew McNally (Eastern Michigan) (Fall 2:59)
HWT: No. 12 Matthew Correnti (4-1, Unattached)
Champ. Round 1 - Correnti (Rutgers - UNAT) won by decision over Trent Hillger (Wisconsin - UNAT) (Dec 5-0)
Champ. Round 2 - Correnti (Rutgers - UNAT) won by decision over Tyler Hall (Penn) (Dec 9-3)
Champ. Round 3 - William Miller (Edinboro) won by fall over Correnti (Rutgers - UNAT) (Fall 6:47)
Cons. Round 4 - Correnti (Rutgers - UNAT) won by decision over Ian James (Buffalo) (Dec 4-0)
Cons. Round 5 – Correnti (Rutgers - UNAT) won by fall over Christian Araneo (Princeton) (Fall 0:36)
141 Pounds: Peter Lipari (2-2, Four Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Lipari (Rutgers) won by fall over Anthony Rubino (Northern Illinois) (Fall 2:42)
Champ. Round 2 - Michael Carr (Illinois) won by decision over Lipari (Rutgers) (Dec 8-4)
Cons. Round 2 - Lipari (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Lipari (Rutgers) won by decision over Nicholas Villarreal (Arizona State) (Dec 8-4)
Cons. Round 4 – Van Brill (Rutgers) won by decision over Lipari (Rutgers) (Dec 4-0)
197 Pounds: Kevin Mulligan (2-1, Two Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Mulligan (Rutgers) won by decision over Landon Pelham (Central Michigan) (Dec 6-3)
Champ. Round 2 - Mulligan (Rutgers) won by decision over Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin) (Dec 2-1)
Quarterfinal - Frank Mattiace (Penn) won by fall over
Kevin Mulligan (Rutgers) (Fall 1:46)
149 Pounds: Nick Santos (3-2, Two Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Santos (Rutgers) won by decision over Collin Purinton (Nebraska) (Dec 7-5)
Champ. Round 2 - Evan Fidelibus (Rider) won by tech fall over Santos (Rutgers) (TF 18-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Santos (Rutgers) won by decision over Eric Yang (Northwestern) (Dec 8-3)
Cons. Round 3 - Santos (Rutgers) won by decision over Jordan Shearer (Nebraska) (Dec 7-5)
Cons. Round 4 - Steven Bleise (Minnesota - UNAT) won by tech fall over Santos (Rutgers) (TF 17-1)
157 Pounds: Brett Donner (1-2, Two Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Donner (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Donner (Rutgers) won by decision over Leonard Merkin (Princeton) (Dec 10-9)
Champ. Round 3 - Michael Kemerer (Iowa) won by fall over Donner (Rutgers) (Fall 1:25)
Cons. Round 4 - Shayne Oster (Northwestern) won by decision over Donner (Rutgers) (Dec 5-2)
HWT: Razohnn Gross (1-2, One Team Point)
Champ. Round 1 - Gross (Rutgers) won in tie breaker - 2 over Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) (TB-2 5-2)
Champ. Round 2 - Ian Butterbrodt (Brown) won by decision over Gross (Rutgers) (Dec 3-2)
Cons. Round 2 - Gross (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Christian Araneo (Princeton) won by decision over Gross (Rutgers) (Dec 2-1)
174 Pounds: Joseph Grello (0-2, Zero Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Grello (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Garrett Sutton (Michigan) won by decision over Grello (Rutgers) (Dec 6-4)
Cons. Round 2 - Grello (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Devin Kane (North Carolina) won by decision over Grello (Rutgers) (Dec 4-2)
197 Pounds: Anthony Messner (0-2, Zero Team Points)
Champ. Round 1 - Cash Wilcke (Iowa) won by fall overMessner (Rutgers) (Fall 4:45)
Cons. Round 1 - Messner (Rutgers) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 - Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin) won by fall over Messner (Rutgers) (Fall 6:16)
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