COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 9 Sammy Alvarez (133), No. 17 Nicolas Aguilar (125) and Billy Janzer (184) all picked up victories over ranked foes as No. 24 Rutgers wrestling (6-1, 1-1) fell to No. 5 Ohio State (5-1, 1-0) on Friday night at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. The Scarlet Knights closed the dual with wins in three of their final five bouts, but the Buckeyes used four major decisions to secure the Big Ten Conference matchup.
 
Michael Van Brill (157) also added a win over OSU, which entered the dual ranked No. 5 in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, featured nine ranked individuals and had two consensus No. 1 wrestlers in their respective weight classes.
 
"Our guys wrestled hard and they were close in a lot of these matches, but we have to begin to close the gap on some of those nationally-ranked guys and pick them off," said head coach Scott Goodale. "Now we have to get ready to go for a big one Sunday against Michigan State."
 
Alvarez earned his seventh victory over a ranked opponent in 2019-20, as he defeated No. 16 Jordan Decatur by decision, 6-1. Aguilar added a 14-1 major decision over 2019 NCAA qualifier and the 18^th-ranked wrestler in the country, according to The Open Mat, Malik Heinselman, while Janzer muscled a come-from-behind victory over No. 26 (The Open Mat) Rocky Jordan for his second consecutive Big Ten dual win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The dual started at 141 pounds, as rookie JoJo Aragona faced undefeated and consensus No. 1 Luke Pletcher. Despite taking the first few shots in the opening period, Pletcher secured a 12-4 major decision as OSU opened with a 4-0 lead. Gerard Angelo (149) followed against No. 6 Sammy Sasso, but also dropped a 16-7 major despite a reversal and takedown in the final period.
• Van Brill was the first to get RU on the scoreboard with his 5-3 decision over Elijah Cleary. Van Brill opened with a takedown at the 1:55 mark in the first period and collected 1:47 of RT for an early 2-1 lead. After Cleary landed a reversal on the restart in the second period, Van Brill escaped to make it 3-3 after two. Van Brill closed the bout with an escape in the final period and the riding time point for his first conference win of 2019-20
• After Brett Donner (165) dropped a major decision to No. 13 Ethan Smith, No. 19 Joseph Grello (174) faced No. 9 Kaleb Romero for the first ranked-vs.-ranked matchup of the night. Romero used four takedowns for the 9-2 decision over Grello to give the Buckeyes a 15-3 lead at intermission.
• Janzer was aggressive out of the break against Jordan, as he used a takedown for an early 2-1 lead with two periods to go. After Jordan landed a takedown in the second period and earned a quick out to begin period three, Janzer found himself behind, 4-3, late in the final moments of his bout. However, Janzer landed an inside leg at the edge of the mat at the buzzer to earn the 5-4 decision.
• After a loss from No. 17 Jordan Pagano (197) to 2019 NCAA finalist and No. 1 Kollin Moore by major decision, Matthew Correnti bumped up to face No. 21 Gary Traub at heavyweight. Down 2-1 after a reversal from Traub in the final 30 seconds of the period, Correnti escaped at the buzzer to send it to sudden victory. No scoring occurred in the next three overtime periods before Traub used a takedown in sudden victory two to earn the 4-2 win.
• The Scarlet Knights closed the dual with back-to-back impressive wins, beginning with Aguilar against Heinselman. Aguilar jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first, added a takedown and four back points in period two and closed with consecutive takedowns for the 14-1 major decision, his eight bonus-point victory of the season.
• Alvarez faced Decatur in the final bout of the evening, as the rookies entered with national rankings to their names. After an aggressive first period that featured a scramble and several shots from both competitors, Alvarez escaped and landed a deep shot on Decatur for a 3-0 lead. With a neutral start in the final period, Alvarez added another takedown and tacked on the riding time point for the 6-1 final.

No. 5 Ohio State 22, No. 24 Rutgers 13
Attendance: 4,263
Match Start: 141 Pounds
 
141: 1/1/1 Luke Pletcher (OSU) over JoJo Aragona (RU) by major decision, 12-4; Ohio State leads, 4-0
149: 6/6/8 Sammy Sasso (OSU) over Gerard Angelo (RU) by major decision, 16-7; Ohio State leads, 8-0
157: Michael Van Brill (RU) over Elijah Cleary (OSU) by decision, 5-3; Ohio State leads, 8-3
165: 13/13/13 Ethan Smith (OSU) over Brett Donner (RU) by major decision, 14-3; Ohio State leads, 12-3
174: 9/9/8 Kaleb Romero (OSU) over NR/19/18 Joseph Grello (RU) by decision, 9-2; Ohio State leads, 15-3
184: Billy Janzer (RU) over NR/NR/26 Rocky Jordan (OSU) by decision, 5-4; Ohio State leads, 15-6
197: 1/1/1 Kollin Moore (OSU) over 19/17/20 Jordan Pagano (RU) by major decision, 20-9; Ohio State leads, 19-6
285: 19/NR/21 Gary Traub (OSU) over Matthew Correnti (RU) by decision (SV2), 4-2; Ohio State leads, 22-6
125: 17/14/14 Nicolas Aguilar (RU) over NR/NR/18 Malik Heinselman (OSU) by major decision, 14-1; Ohio State leads, 22-10
133: 9/11/9 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over. 16/NR/15 Jordan Decatur (OSU) by decision, 6-1; Ohio State wins, 22-13
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling/TheOpenMat
 
UP NEXT
Rutgers continues its road weekend with its dual at Michigan State on Sunday in East Lansing. The match will stream live on BTNPus.

Rutgers Wrestling is presented by Eat Clean Bro, an Official Partner of Rutgers Athletics.
 
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