PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 12 Rutgers wrestling secured its best start to a season in program history with its 26-9 win over Army on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. With the win over the Black Knights, the Scarlet Knights are now 10-0 for the first time since it began to wrestle in 1930.
 
RU won seven of 10 individual bouts in front of a raucous crowd of 6,365, the fourth-largest crowd at the venue in program history. No. 4 Sebastian Rivera (141) picked up his eighth win by bonus in as many outings with his 17-1 tech fall, while No. 5 John Poznanski (184), No. 12 Sammy Alvarez (133), and No. 13 Greg Bulsak (197) collected major decisions. Bulsak, Poznanski, and Rivera all added ranked wins to their ledgers.
 

QUOTEABLES

"It was a good crowd tonight. Army is a really tough team and I have a lot of respect for those guys. Competing against Penn State, Iowa, and Iowa State along with here at our place, they've wrestled some tough teams in some great environments. I'm proud of the way our guys have competed all semester, but we need to get a lot better and we'll take this break to do that." - Head Coach Scott Goodale
 

NOTEABLES

• Rutgers is 10-0 for the first time in program history, as the program dates back to 1930. The Scarlet Knights also started the 1960 season 10-0-1 with a 14-14 tie against Iowa State in its second dual of that campaign.
• The 6,635 fans in attendance marked the fourth-largest crowd for a wrestling match and the second-largest for an out-of-conference foe at Jersey Mike's Arena.
  • 8,321 (Jan. 28, 2018 vs. Penn State)
  • 7,545 (Jan. 13, 2019 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State)
  • 6,754 (Dec. 8, 2017 vs. No. 7 Iowa)
  • 6,365 (Dec. 10, 2021 vs. Army)
• Rivera's 17-1 win was his eighth by bonus in as many matches to open the season and his team-leading fourth tech of the dual season. Rivera has outscored his opponents, 83-11, this season.
• Bulsak and Poznanski now own four ranked wins apiece to lead the team.
• Rivera is just eight wins away from 100 for his career.
• Goodale is just seven wins away from the 200th dual victory as head coach.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rutgers jumped out to a quick 15-0 lead courtesy of four consecutive wins from 125 through 149 pounds. No. 24 Dylan Shawver (125) opened the dual with a tight matchup against Ryan Chauvin, as he was tied with his opponent 5-5 after two periods. Starting the third period on bottom, Shawver hit a reversal with 1:50 to go in the match en route to an 8-6 victory.
• Alvarez scored at will against Dominic Carone, catching Carone on his back en route to a 12-2 opening period. Alvarez added five points in the final four minutes for his 17-4 major, his fifth bonus victory this season.
• Rivera wasted no time against No. 24 Corey Shie, opening with an 8-1 advantage and nearly catching Shie for the pin in the first peiod. Rivera was in complete control en route to his 17-1 tech fall.
• No. 21 Michael VanBrill (149) added an 8-3 decision over Zack Keal, while a loss from No. 32 Robert Kanniard (157) to No. 29 Markus Hartman made it 15-3 at intermission.
• Losses at 165 and 174 shrunk the dual score to 15-9 before Rutgers won in its final three bouts of the night. Poznansk and Bulsak collected back-to-back major decisions against ranked foes to secure the dual.
• The loudest Jersey Mike's Arena became was during the final moments of the night. Tied 1-1 in sudden victory, No. 25 Boone McDermott (HWT) closed the dual in style with a takedown of Ben Sullivan for the 3-1 final.

UP NEXT

• Rutgers gets a few weeks off from competition before it heads to the prestigious 2021 Midlands Championships from Dec. 29-30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

BOX SCORE

Rutgers 26, Army 9 
125:  24/HM Dylan Shawver (RU) over Ryan Chauvin (Army) by dec., 8-6; RU leads, 3-0 
133: 12/24 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over Dominic Carone (Army) by MD, 17-4; RU leads, 7-0 
141: 4/3 Sebastian Rivera (RU) over 29/24 Corey Shie (Army) by TF (5:39), 17-1; RU leads, 12 -0 
149: 21/HM Michael VanBrill (RU) over Zach Keal (Army) by dec., 8-3; RU leads, 15-0 
157: 29/HM Markus Hartman (Army) over 32/NR Robert Kanniard (RU) by dec., 6-1; RU leads, 15-3 
165: Dalton Harkins (Army) over Andrew Clark (RU) by dec.,4-2; RU leads, 15-6
174: Clayton Fielden (Army) over Connor O'Neill (RU) by dec., 5-3; RU leads, 15-9
184: 5/5 John Poznanski (RU) over 30/HM Brad Laughlin (Army) by MD, 13-4; RU leads, 19-9
197: 13/16 Greg Bulsak (RU) over 27/HM JT Brown (Army) by MD, 17-4; RU leads, 23-9
HWT: 25/HM Boone McDermott (RU) over Ben Sullivan (Army) by SV1,3-1; RU wins, 26-9