LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling punched six through to the national tournament after the first two sessions of the 2022 Big Ten Championships on Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska. No. 3 seed Sebastian Rivera (141), No. 6 seed Michael VanBrill (149), No. 9 seed Dylan Shawver (125), No. 13 seed Connor O'Neill (174), No. 7 seed Greg Bulsak (197) and No. 7 seed John Poznanski (184) all secured automatic bids to the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held from March 17-19 in Detroit.
 
With two sessions remaining, Rutgers is ninth in the team race with 37.0 points. In addition to RU's five guaranteed placewinners and six national qualifiers, No. 8 seed Joseph Olivieri (133) is still alive for an automatic bid after receiving a bye in his ninth-place bracket.
 
RU's five placewinners are its most at the conference tournament since it had five in 2018. Rutgers has now secured five or more qualifiers to NCAAs for the eighth consecutive season under head coach Scott Goodale. If Olivieri wins his ninth-place semifinal bout, the Scarlet Knights will have their most NCAA qualifiers since it brought seven to nationals in 2017 out in St. Louis.
 
Rivera muscled back-to-back wins on Saturday morning to advance to the 141-pound semifinal match against No. 2 seed Jayden Eierman (Iowa), where he registered a medical forfeit to finish his final Big Ten Championships in sixth. The four-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Champion enters nationals with a 24-0 record and 23 wins by bonus.
 
VanBrill won both of his matches on Saturday night to advance to Sunday morning's consolation semifinal bout, as VanBrill can finish as high as third. Poznanski, O'Neill and Shawver will wrestle for seventh tomorrow morning.
 
Session II
VanBrill was victorious in back-to-back rematches from the regular season. Tied 3-3 in the third period against No. 13 seed Peyton Omania (Michigan State), VanBrill notched a last-minute takedown and two near-fall points en route to a 9-3 decision. VanBrill then followed with an overtime win against No. 7 seed Beau Bartlett (Penn State) as he grinded out a 2-1 decision in TB1. His wins secured his third Big Ten placement, as he also collected podium finishes in 2020 and 2021.
 
Bulsak won his third matchup of the season with No. 8 seed Braxton Amos (Wisconsin), using an escape and takedown in the third period for the 5-3 decision. Bulsak then lost a tough 4-3 decision in the final seconds to No. 6 seed Thomas Penola (Purdue) to drop to his seventh-place match.
 
O'Neill and Shawver outwrestled their seeds on Saturday to lock up auto bids to nationals. Shawver's first-period takedown against No. 10 seed Justin Cardani (Illinois) proved to be the difference in his 3-2 decision. O'Neill, who defeated No. 12 seed Nick South (Indiana) Saturday morning, received a medical forfeit from Minnesota to advance in his consolation bracket.
 
Olivieri and Poznanski lost their consolation matches, while Robert Kanniard (157), Andrew Clark (165) and Boone McDermott (HWT) all dropped out of the tournament on Saturday night.
 
Session I
Rutgers picked up four wins in the first round, as Shawver provided the Scarlet Knights their first victory of the championships with a 7-4 decision over No. 8 seed Patrick McKee (Minnesota). Shawver used two takedowns in the first period, a ride out in the second and 3:30 of riding time to take out the reigning NCAA bronze medalist and advance to the championship quarterfinals. It also marked the second consecutive tournament Shawver upset McKee, as he opened the 2021 Big Ten Championships with a 6-5 decision over the Gopher.
 
Rivera registered his third fall of the season when he caught No. 14 seed Danny Bertoni (Maryland) on his back midway through the third period in his first-round match. VanBrill followed with a second-period pin against No. 11 seed Kanen Storr (Michigan) to give RU two falls in its first four matches of the day.
 
Bulsak registered the fourth and final win of the opening round four Rutgers with his 9-2 decision over No. 10 seed Andrew Davison (Northwestern). Trailing 2-1 in the first period, Bulsak landed a takedown at the buzzer to regain the lead and never looked back, as he added takedowns in each of the final two periods to advance.
 
Shawver opened the quarterfinals with a loss by major decision to No. 1 seed Nick Suriano (Michigan), but Rivera followed with a dominant 15-5 major over 11-seed Parker Filius (Purdue). Up 5-3 in the second period, Rivera added a takedown in the second and seven points in the third to advance to the championship semifinals.
 
VanBrill wrestled hard in his quarterfinal bout with No. 3 seed Ridge Lovett (Nebraska). VanBrill conceded a takedown in the first period before he rode out Lovett for the duration of period two. However, Lovett was able to hold VanBrill off the scoreboard in the final three minutes.
 
Bulsak closed out the championship portion of the day with a rematch against No. 2 seed Max Dean and lost by decision, 6-2.
 
Day 1 Results
 
125: (9) Dylan Shawver (2-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(8) Patrick McKee (Minnesota)	W-D, 7-4
Quarterfinals	(1) Nick Suriano (Michigan)	L-MD, 18-6
Consolation Round 2	(10) Justin Cardani (Illinois)	W-D, 3-2
Consolation Quarterfinals	(4) Malik Heinselman (Ohio State)	L-D, 8-4
Seventh-Place Match	(6) Drake Ayala (Iowa)

 
133: (8) Joseph Olivieri (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(9) Matt Ramos (Purdue)	L-D, 7-5
Consolation Round 1	Bye
Consolation Round 2	(7) Chris Cannon (Northwestern)	L-D, 4-2
Ninth-Place Quarterfinals	Bye
Ninth-Place Semifinals	(10) Dominick Serrano (Nebraska)

 
141: (3) Sebastian Rivera (2-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(14) Danny Bertoni (Maryland)	W-Fall (5:32)
Quarterfinals	(11) Parker Filius (Purdue)	W-MD, 15-5
Semifinals	(2) Jayden Eiermann (Iowa)	L-MFF

 
149: (6) Michael VanBrill (3-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(11) Kanen Storr (Michigan)	W-Fall (4:26)
Quarterfinals	(3) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)	L-D, 2-0
Consolation Round 2	(13) Peyton Omania (Michigan State)	W-D, 9-3
Consolation Quarterfinals	(7) Beau Bartlett (Penn State)	W-TB1, 2-1
Consolation Semifinals	(4) Max Murin (Iowa)

 
157: (8) Robert Kanniard (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(9) Bryce Hepner (Ohio State)	L-D, 10-6
Consolation Round 1	Bye
Consolation Round 2	(2) Kaleb Young (Iowa)	L-D, 10-5

 
165: (12) Andrew Clark (1-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(5) Caleb Fish (Michigan State)	L-D, 8-3
Consolation Round 1	(13) Kasper McIntosh (Indiana)	W-D, 2-0
Consolation Round 2	(11) David Ferrante (Northwestern)	L-D, 7-2

 
174: (13) Connor O'Neill (2-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(4) Michael Kemerer (Iowa)	L-Fall (2:31)
Consolation Round 1	(12) Nick South (Indiana)	W-SV1, 3-1
Consolation Round 2	(6) Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota)	W-MF
Consolation Quarterfinals	(7) Troy Fisher (Northwestern)	L-D, 7-4
Seventh-Place Match	(9) Dominic Solis (Maryland)

 
184: (7) John Poznanski (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(10) Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota)	L-D, 8-3
Consolation Round 1	Bye
Consolation Round 2	(8) Kyle Cochran (Maryland)	L-D, 4-0
Ninth-Place Quarterfinals	Bye
Ninth-Place Semifinals	Christopher Weiler (Wisconsin)

 
197: (7) Greg Bulsak (2-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(10) Andrew Davison (Northwestern)	W-D, 9-2
Quarterfinals	(2) Max Dean (Penn State)	L-D, 6-2
Consolation Second Round	(8) Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)	W-D, 5-3
Consolation Quarterfinals	(6) Thomas Penola (Purdue)	L-D, 4-3
Seventh-Place	(9) Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State)

 
HWT: (12) Boone McDermott (1-3)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	(5) Lucas Davison (Northwestern)	L-TF, 15-0
Consolation Round 1	(13) Brad Wilton (Michigan State)	W-Inj. (0:45)
Consolation Round 2	(6) Christian Lance (Nebraska)	L-D, 7-4
Ninth-Place Quarterfinals	(14) Zach Schrader (Maryland)	L-D, 5-2