NEWARK, N.J. – No. 19 Rutgers wrestling (5-1, 0-0) delivered wins over No. 21 Penn (0-3, 0-0) and Drexel (0-2, 0-2) on Sunday in the Garden State Grapple at the Prudential Center. The Scarlet Knights muscled a 19-12 victory over the Quakers for their first ranked win of the season and followed with a dominant 26-13 defeat of the Dragons to close out the showcase event in Newark.

RU used a 6-4 match split and wins over four ranked individuals to defeat Penn in its first dual of the day. Dean Peterson (125) delivered a major decision over No. 17 Ryan Miller, No. 14 Joe Heilmann (133) secured a come-from-behind decision over No. 10 Michael Colaiocco, Billy Janzer (197) gutted out a 2-1 win over No. 27 Cole Urbas and No. 26 Boone McDermott earned a decision over No. 24 Ben Goldin to help Rutgers to its first ranked dual victory of the season.

Rutgers earned another 6-4 match split with Drexel, but bonus points in three bouts proved to be the difference against the Dragons. McDermott and Heilmann pinned their opponents in the first period, and No. 9 Sammy Alvarez (141) collected a tech fall at the buzzer to help RU to its fifth dual win to open the season.

"We fought hard," said head coach Scott Goodale. "There were some big matchups in our first dual that we were able to have go our way. I'm just proud of the way we came out and wrestled and fought for every single point. This was a great event and will only continue to grow as we get more teams to participate."
 

Penn Recap

• Rutgers opened its dual with three consecutive wins from 125 through 141. Peterson earned the nod against Miller and responded four takedowns of the two-time prep national champion, as he would leave the mat with a 10-2 major decision for his second ranked individual win of the season.
• Heilmann followed with some theatrics against Colaiocco. Down 2-1 with 20 seconds left in the match, Heilmann caught Colaiocco with a double a drove him to the mat for two points and a 3-2 final. The win over No. 10 Colaiocco was the first win over a top-10 opponent for Rutgers this season.
• Alvarez muscled a 3-1 victory in sudden victory thanks to an ankle pick on Carmen Ferrante, as RU took a 10-0 lead on the Quakers in the dual.
• Penn followed with four consecutive wins from 149 through 174 pounds, as No. 24 Nick Incontrera's win over No. 28 Jackson Turley (174) gave the Quakers a 12-10 lead with three bouts to go.
• No. 12 Brian Soldano began RU's closeout with his 10-3 decision over Maximus Hale, and Janzer followed with a tough 2-1 decision over No. 27 Cole Urbas. Tied 0-0 towards the end the second period, Janzer completed an underhook for a 2-0 lead. Janzer would then hold Urbas off in the final two minutes for the win.
• McDermott closed out the dual with an 11-5 decision over No. 24 Ben Goldin, using two takedowns in the final period for the win.

Drexel Recap

• Rutgers won its first four bouts against the Dragons, as No. 20 Dylan Shawver (125) delivered a win over Antonio Mininno and Heilmann added a fall in the first period to five the Scarlet Knights a quick 9-0 lead.
• Alvarez delivered RU its only tech fall of the day with an 18-3 result over Deon Pleasant, while No. 32 Anthony White fought back for a 7-2 decision over Gabe Onorato.
• With a comfortable 17-0 lead, Rutgers dropped its next three bouts before Soldano registered his second decision of the day to make it 20-10 in favor of the Scarlet Knights.
• Janzer suffered a tough 3-0 loss to Sean O'Malley before McDermott put a pin in the dual thanks to a 13-second fall.

Up Next

• Rutgers faces Princeton on Sunday, December 11 at Jadwin Gymnasium. The dual is set for a 2 p.m. start and will broadcast on ESPN+ and CBS Sports Philadelphia.

Box Scores

Dual 1: No. 19 Rutgers 19, No. 21 Penn 12
125: Dean Peterson (RU) over 17/23 Ryan Miller (PENN) by MD, 10-2; RU leads, 4-0
133: 14/21 Joe Heilmann (RU) over 10/10 Michael Colaiocco (PENN) by decision, 3-2; RU leads, 7-0
141: 8/19 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over Carmen Ferrante (PENN) by SV1, 3-1; RU leads, 10-0
149: 10/10 Doug Zapf (PENN) over 32/HM Tony White (RU) by decision, 7-2; RU leads, 10-3
157: 17/14 Anthony Artalona (PENN) over NR/HM Andrew Clark (RU) by decision, 4-1; RU leads, 10-6
165: Lucas Revano (PENN) over Connor O'Neill (RU) by decision, 9-8; RU leads, 10-9
174: 24/NR Nick Incontrera (PENN) over 28/HM Jackson Turley (RU) by decision, 7-4; Penn leads, 12-10
184: 12/15 Brian Soldano (RU) over Maximus Hale (Penn) by decision, 10-3; RU leads, 13-12
197: Billy Janzer (RU) over 27/HM Cole Urbas (PENN) by decision, 2-1; RU leads, 16-12
HWT: 26/HM Boone McDermott (RU) over 24/24 Ben Goldin (PENN) by decision, 11-5; RU wins, 19-12
 
Dual 2: No. 19 Rutgers 26, Drexel 13
125: 20/16 Dylan Shawver (RU) over Antonio Mininno (DREX) by decision, 10-5; RU leads, 3-0
133: 14/21 Joe Heilmann (RU) over Jaxon Maroney (DREX) by fall (2:23); RU leads, 9-0
141: 8/19 Sammy Alvarez (RU) over Deon Pleasant (DREX) by tech fall, 18-3 (7:00); RU leads, 14-0
149: 32/HM Tony White (RU) over Gabe Onorato (DREX) by decision, 7-2; RU leads, 17-0
157: Dom D'Agostino (DREX) over Al DeSantis (RU) by decision, 7-6; RU leads, 17-3
165: No. 24 Evan Barczak (DREX) over Connor O'Neill (RU) by decision, 7-1; RU leads, 17-6
174: Cody Walsh (DREX) over Eric Freeman (RU) by MD, 12-2; RU leads, 17-10
184: 12/15 Brian Soldano (RU) over Brian Bonino (DREX) by decision, 9-3; RU leads, 20-10
197: Sean O'Malley (DREX) over Billy Janzer (RU) by decision, 3-0; RU leads, 20-13
HWT: 26/HM Boone McDermott (RU) over Liam Dietrich (DREX) by fall (0:13); RU wins, 26-13