Sunday, March 7
State College, PA
Rutgers University
at
Big Ten Championships
Poznanski, Rivera & VanBrill Take Third at 2021 Big Ten Championships
Mar 07 | Wrestling
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Rutgers wrestling went three-for-three in its consolation final matches, as Sebastian Rivera (141), Michael VanBrill (149) and John Poznanski (184) all finished third in their respective weight classes to close out the 2021 Big Ten Championships on Sunday at Penn State. It marks the most top three individual results at the conference tournament since the Scarlet Knights joined in 2015. With eighth-place finisher Billy Janzer (197), RU finished with four podium finishes as it sets its eyes on nationals.
Poznanski, Rivera and VanBrill all secured automatic bids to the 2021 NCAA Championships, held March 18-20 in St. Louis, while several other Scarlet Knights await at-large chances, which will be announced on Tuesday. Rutgers finished the Big Ten Championships in 10th place with 52 team points.
"It's really hard to finish third at this tournament, and we were able to do it three times. We've never done that here," said head coach Scott Goodale. "The guys wrestled their tails off. We had some huge wins and turned around some losses from the dual season. For us, with the layoff we had, this was kind of like our opening-season tournament. We'll be even better prepared for two weeks from now."
Rivera faced No. 4 seed Chad Red (Nebraska) in his third-place match, as Red scored first for an early 2-1 lead after the first period. Rivera added a takedown in the second to tie it at 3-3, and held on for the win with a third-period escape for the 4-3 final.
VanBrill capped one of the more impressive tournament runs for a Rutgers' wrestler in recent memory with an overtime win over No. 6 seed Michael Blockhus (Minnesota). Tied 1-1 after sudden victory, VanBrill earned a last-second escape at the buzzer to begin tiebreaker one, and rode out Blockhus in the final 30 seconds for the win. VanBrill went 4-1 en route to his third-place finish, as he knocked off No. 2 seed Max Murin (Iowa), No. 3 seed Griffin Parriott (Purdue), No. 5 seed Kanen Storr (Michigan) and No. 6 Blockhus to complete his wrestleback sweep.
Poznanski went against No. 9 seed Nelson Brands (Iowa) and landed the first takedown for an early 2-1 lead. Brands and Poznanski traded escapes in the ensuing periods, as Poznanski held off a late Brand's attack at the buzzer to secure third, the highest finish for a Rutgers' true freshman in Big Ten program history.
Session III Recap
133: (14) Shane Metzler (0-3)
141: (3) Sebastian Rivera (4-1) - Third Place
149: (8) Michael VanBrill (4-1) - Third Place
165: (13) Brett Donner (1-3)
174: (7) Jackson Turley (3-2) - Ninth Place
184: (5) John Poznanski (4-1) - Third Place
197: (11) Billy Janzer (1-3) - Eighth Place
HWT: (10) Christian Colucci (1-2)
Poznanski, Rivera and VanBrill all secured automatic bids to the 2021 NCAA Championships, held March 18-20 in St. Louis, while several other Scarlet Knights await at-large chances, which will be announced on Tuesday. Rutgers finished the Big Ten Championships in 10th place with 52 team points.
"It's really hard to finish third at this tournament, and we were able to do it three times. We've never done that here," said head coach Scott Goodale. "The guys wrestled their tails off. We had some huge wins and turned around some losses from the dual season. For us, with the layoff we had, this was kind of like our opening-season tournament. We'll be even better prepared for two weeks from now."
Rivera faced No. 4 seed Chad Red (Nebraska) in his third-place match, as Red scored first for an early 2-1 lead after the first period. Rivera added a takedown in the second to tie it at 3-3, and held on for the win with a third-period escape for the 4-3 final.
VanBrill capped one of the more impressive tournament runs for a Rutgers' wrestler in recent memory with an overtime win over No. 6 seed Michael Blockhus (Minnesota). Tied 1-1 after sudden victory, VanBrill earned a last-second escape at the buzzer to begin tiebreaker one, and rode out Blockhus in the final 30 seconds for the win. VanBrill went 4-1 en route to his third-place finish, as he knocked off No. 2 seed Max Murin (Iowa), No. 3 seed Griffin Parriott (Purdue), No. 5 seed Kanen Storr (Michigan) and No. 6 Blockhus to complete his wrestleback sweep.
Poznanski went against No. 9 seed Nelson Brands (Iowa) and landed the first takedown for an early 2-1 lead. Brands and Poznanski traded escapes in the ensuing periods, as Poznanski held off a late Brand's attack at the buzzer to secure third, the highest finish for a Rutgers' true freshman in Big Ten program history.
Session III Recap
- Rutgers went three-for-three in its consolation semifinal matches, as Rivera earned a 21-6 tech fall over Parker Filius (Purdue) to advance. VanBrill followed with his third consecutive upset of the championships, this time over No. 5 seed Kanen Storr (Michigan). Tied 1-1 in the third period, VanBrill caught Storr on his back at the edge of the circle, keeping his toe in for for back points en route to a 6-1 decision.
- Poznanski faced No. 3 seed Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) in his consolation semifinal match, as he landed two takedowns for an early lead before Malczewski suffered an injury defualt in the second period.
- Janzer faced No. 6 seed Thomas Perona (Purdue) in the seventh-place match and lost by major decision, 10-1. Despite the loss, Janzer earned the first Big Ten podium finish of his career.
- Jackson Turley (174) picked up two wins in his ninth-place bracket, which included an 8-2 decision over Philip Spadafora (Maryland) and a 6-2 decision over Emil Soehnlen (Purdue). Turley wrapped up his first championships with three wins as he looks to earn an at-large bid to nationals.
- Dylan Shawver (125), who earned a first-round upset of No. 4 seed Patrick McKee (Minnesota) on Saturday, wrestled hard in his ninth-place bout against No. 2 seed Liam Cronin Nebraska). Shawver landed two takedowns against Cronin before he lost by decision, 9-5. Brett Donner (165) also lost his ninth-place bracket match to No. 2 seed Dan Braunagel (Illinois).
| Round 1 | (4) Patrick McKee (Minnesota) | W-D, 6-5 |
| Quarters | (5) Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) | L-TF, 20-4 |
| Conso Rd 2 | (10) Robert Howard (Penn State) | L-MD, 10-1 |
| 9th Place Rd 1 | (12) Jacob Moran (Indiana) | W-D, 11-7 |
| 9th Place Semis | (2) Liam Cronin (Nebraska) | L-D, 9-5 |
133: (14) Shane Metzler (0-3)
| Round 1 | (3) Lucas Byrd (Illinois) | L-Fall (6:06) |
| Conso Round 1 | (11) Jordan Hamden (Michigan State) | L-MD, 8-0 |
| 9th Place Rd 1 | (10) Tucker Sjomeling (Nebraska) | L-Fall (5:57) |
141: (3) Sebastian Rivera (4-1) - Third Place
| Round 1 | (14) Dominic Dentino (Wisconsin) | W-Fall (0:39) |
| Quarters | (11) Cayden Rooks (Indiana) | W-D, 6-1 |
| Semis | (2) Nick Lee (Penn State) | L-SV1, 8-6 |
| Consi Semis | (9) Parker Filius (Purdue) | W-TF, 21-6 |
| 3rd Place | (4) Chad Red (Nebraska) | W-D, 4-3 |
149: (8) Michael VanBrill (4-1) - Third Place
| Round 1 | (9) Peyton Omania (Michigan State) | L-D, 9-6 |
| Conso Rd 1 | Bye | |
| Conso Rd 2 | (2) Max Murin (Iowa) | W-D, 7-2 |
| Conso Quarters | (3) Griffin Parriott (Purdue) | W-TB1, 7-2 |
| Consi Semis | (5) Kanen Storr (Michigan) | W-D, 6-1 |
| 3rd Place | (6) Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) | W-TB1, 2-1 |
165: (13) Brett Donner (1-3)
| Round 1 | (4) Camerone Amine (Michigan) | L-MD, 11-2 |
| Conso Rd 1 | (!2) David Ferrante (Northwestern) | L-D, 7-6 |
| 9th Place Rd 1 | (11) Jonathan Spadafora (Maryland) | W-MD, 12-3 |
| 9th Place Semis | (2) Dan Braunagel (Illinois) | L-D, 6-1 |
174: (7) Jackson Turley (3-2) - Ninth Place
| Round 1 | (10) Drew Hughes (Michigan State) | W-MD, 8-0 |
| Quarters | (2) Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) | L-D, 11-9 |
| Conso Rd 2 | (9) Jake Allar (Minnesota) | L-Fall (2:44) |
| 9th Place Rd 1 | Bye | |
| 9th Place Semis | (14) Philip Spadafora (Maryland) | W-D, 8-2 |
| 9th Place | (12) Emil Soehnlen (Purdue) | W-D, 6-2 |
184: (5) John Poznanski (4-1) - Third Place
| Round 1 | (12) Jaden Bullock (Michigan) | W-D, 7-1 |
| Quarters | (4) Owen Webster (Minnesota) | W-Fall (4:55) |
| Semis | (1) Aaron Brooks (Penn State) | L-MD, 10-2 |
| Consi Semis | (3) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) | W-Inj. (3:06) |
| 3rd Place | (9) Nelson Brands (Iowa) | W-D, 3-2 |
197: (11) Billy Janzer (1-3) - Eighth Place
| Round 1 | (7) Michael Beard (Penn State) | L-D, 7-3 |
| Conso Rd 1 | Bye | |
| Conso Rd 2 | (9) Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) | W-D, 3-2 |
| Conso Quarter | (5) Lucas Davison (Northwestern) | L-D, 7-4 |
| 7th Place | (6) Thomas Penola (Purdue) | L-MD, 10-1 |
HWT: (10) Christian Colucci (1-2)
| Round 1 | (6) Trent Hilger (Wisconsin) | L-D, 2-1 |
| Conso Rd 1 | (14) Garrett Kappes (Maryland) | W-D, 5-1 |
| Conso Rd 2 | (4) Luke Luffman (Illinois) | L-D, 5-2 |
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