LINCOLN, Neb. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling secured seven national qualifiers to wrap up action at the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska. Dylan Shawver (125), Joseph Olivieri (133), Sebastian Rivera (141), Michael VanBrill (149), Connor O'Neill (174), John Poznanski (184) and Greg Bulsak (197) all earned automatic bids to the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held from March 17-19 in Detroit.
 
The Scarlet Knights registered five placewinners at the Big Ten Championships en route to a ninth-place finish with 41 points. Their five podium finishes were the most at the conference tournament since it had five in 2018. Rivera and VanBrill finished sixth, Bulsak and Shawver placed seventh and O'Neill closed out his first Big Ten Championships in eighth. Olivieri and Poznanski finished ninth in their respective weight classes.

Rutgers has now secured five or more qualifiers to NCAAs for the eighth consecutive season under head coach Scott Goodale. The Scarlet Knights will have their most NCAA qualifiers since it brought seven to nationals in 2017 out in St. Louis.

"There were some opportunities that we left out there, but ultimately we're really pleased with getting seven guys through to the national tournament," Goodale said. "The Big Ten Championships is the hardest tournament in the country, so to have five of our guys place is a testament to the hard work they have put in throughout the season."

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 suffered a tough loss to No. 4 seed Max Murin (Iowa) in his consolation semifinal bout and medical forfeited out of his fifth-place bout to finish sixth, the third placement at Big Tens of his career.

Bulsak avenged a loss from earlier in the season with his seventh-place victory over No. 9 seed Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State). Bulsak used a takedown and two near-fall points in the second period to secure his win over Hoffman, who beat him last month when the Buckeyes visited Piscataway.

Shawver also earned a win in his seventh-place match via a medical forfeit from No. 6 seed Drake Ayala (Iowa), while O'Neill lost by 10-4 decision to No. 9 seed Dom Solis (Maryland) to place eighth.

Needing a win in his first match of the morning to secure an automatic spot to the NCAA Tournament, Olivieri opened his match against No. 10 Dominick Serrano (Nebraska) with a takedown for a 2-1 lead after one. Olivieri added a takedown in the third to exit with a 6-3 decision in the important consolation bout. The true freshman followed with a 3-2 decision against No. 6 seed Brock Hudkins (Indiana) to finish ninth. Poznanski added two wins by medical forfeit to also finish ninth at 184 pounds.
 
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 muscled 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 (Seventh, 3-2)

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)	W-MFF

 
133: (8) Joseph Olivieri (2-2)

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)	W-D, 6-3
Ninth-Place Match	(6) Brock Hudkins (Indiana)	W-D, 3-2

 
141: (3) Sebastian Rivera (Sixth, 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 (Sixth, 3-2)

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)	L-D, 6-1
Fifth-Place Match	(10) Michael Blockhus (Minnesota)	MFF

 
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 (Eighth, 2-3)

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)	L-D, 10-4

 
184: (7) John Poznanski (1-2)

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	(11) Christopher Weiler (Wisconsin)	W-MFF
Ninth-Place Match	(6) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State)	W-MFF

 
197: (7) Greg Bulsak (Seventh, 3-2)

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)	W-D, 6-1

 
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