PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 23 Rutgers wrestling (10-5, 2-4) wraps up its dual season this weekend, beginning with a home matchup against No. 1 Penn State (13-0, 6-0) on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. The Scarlet Knights will then head west to face No. 10 Nebraska (9-3, 5-1) on Sunday in Lincoln.
Friday's matchup with the top ranked Nittany Lions has been announced as a sellout, the second in program history. The dual will stream on Big Ten Plus at 7 p.m., with Nick Kosko and Matt Howe handling broadcast duties. WRSU (88.7 FM) will provide radio coverage. Sunday's dual against the Cornhuskers will also stream on Big Ten Plus at 1 p.m. ET.
After this weekend, Rutgers will have faced seven consecutive teams either ranked or receiving votes in the NWCA Coaches Poll to end the season, including four top-10 opponents – No. 1 Penn state, No. 3 Michigan, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 10 Nebraska.
- 8,321 (Jan. 28, 2018 vs. No. 1 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)
RU enters the final weekend of the dual season after it pounded Maryland, 28-7, last Saturday in College Park. Rutgers worked an 8-2 match split against the Terrapins, which included wins in its final six bouts of the afternoon.
Andrew Clark (157) and
Boone McDermott (HWT) picked up ranked victories, while
Joe Heilmann (133) added bonus points to highlight action against UMD.
125: 16/18
Dean Peterson (19-6)
133: 15/14
Joe Heilmann (20-6)
141: 19/HM
Joseph Olivieri (13-3)
149: NR/HM
Tony White (11-9)
157: NR/HM
Andrew Clark (17-11)
165:
Robert Kanniard (4-3) -OR-
Luke Gayer (14-7)
174:
Jackson Turley (8-8)
184: 14/15
Brian Soldano (18-6)
197: NR/HM
Billy Janzer (6-8)
HWT: 21/21
Boone McDermott (13-3) -OR-
Kyle Epperly (5-4)
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling
125: Gary Steen (5-10)
133: 1/1 Roman Bravo-Young (11-0)
141: 6/3 Beau Bartlett (16-1)
149: 13/12 Shayne Van Ness (12-4)
157: 8/8 Levi Haines (15-1)
165: 9/10 Alex Facundo (13-2)
174: 1/1 Carter Starocci (13-0)
184: 1/1 Aaron Brooks (8-1)
197: 3/2 Max Dean (15-2)
HWT: 2/2 Greg Kerkviliet (10-1)
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling
125: 5/3 Liam Cronin (15-3) -OR- Jacob Van Dee (2-3)
133: NR/HM Kyle Burwick (11-5)
141: 5/4 Brock Hardy (22-3)
149: Dayne Morton (5-9)
157: 1/1 Peyton Robb (20-0) -OR- Antrell Taylor (5-3)
165: NR/HM Bubba Wilson (10-10)
174: 2/2 Mikey Labriola (20-0)
184: 15/14 Lenny Pinto (13-7)
197: 10/10 Silas Allred (19-5)
HWT: Cale Davidson (8-14) -OR- Harley Andrews (7-2)
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling
- Saturday's win over Maryland secured double-digit dual victories for the 14th season under head coach Scott Goodale. Rutgers has also secured 14 winning dual seasons during Goodale's tenure.
- With Janzer entering FloWrestling's rankings last week, Rutgers has eight ranked wrestlers in this weekend's projected lineup. That includes No. 14 Brian Soldano (184), No. 15 Joe Heilmann (133), No. 16 Dean Peterson (125) and No. 19 Joseph Olivieri (141). The quartet is a combined 36-11 in duals this season.
- No. 21 Boone McDermott (HWT) wrestled for the first time this past weekend since sustaining an injury in the Scarlet Knights' road win at Rider on January 8 in Lawrenceville. McDermott is 13-3 this season with wins over two ranked individuals – No. 24 Ben Goldin (Penn) and No. 27 Jaron Smith (Maryland).
- Soldano is the highest ranked individual heading into the final week of the regular season with an 18-6 record. Soldano has secured 51 team points to lead the program. Heilmann leads the team with 20 wins this season.
- Olivieri owns a 5-1 Big Ten Conference dual record this season after his redshirt was pulled last month.
- Janzer owns a three-match winning streak in Big Ten action, which includes a 3-1 win over No. 28 Andrew Davison (Northwestern) this past weekend. Janzer is the only two-time national qualifier on the roster this season.
- Head coach Scott Goodale picked up his 200th career win as a head coach when RU defeated Clarion in its season opener. The program's all-time wins leader, Goodale owns 209 victories during his 16-year tenure "On the Banks."
- Rutgers has produced 62 pins this season, including 14 in dual action. Devon Britton (133/141) leads the team with five falls, which includes a third period fall against Bloomsburg on Jan. 6 in RU's 45-0 dual victory.
- The Scarlet Knights have generated 143 wins by bonus this season. In dual action, Rutgers has produced 17 wins by major, 14 by fall and three by tech fall.
- Joe Heilmann and Brian Soldano lead the team with 11 bonus-point victories this season.
- Rutgers has averaged 4,075 fans per home match at Jersey Mike's Arena this season. The Scarlet Knights have finished in the top five in national attendance the past six seasons.
- Friday's matchup with the Nittany Lions will be the 24th meeting between the two schools and the sixth as Big Ten Conference foes. Penn State is 23-0 all-time against Rutgers.
- PSU features ranked wrestlers at nine weights, including consensus No. 1s in Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184).
- Penn State is the reigning NCAA team champions after it went five-for-five in individual titles matches last March in Detroit.
- RU lost 27-11 at PSU in last year's matchup in University Park, with current student-athlete Robert Kanniard earning a decision over Tony Negron in sudden victory at 157 pounds during the dual.
- Sunday will be the seventh meeting between Rutgers and Nebraska and the fifth as Big Ten Conference members. The Scarlet Knights lost the last meeting, 31-9, on February 1, 2019 in Piscataway.
- RU's last win in the series came on December 12, 2015, when it picked off the then-No. 4 Cornhuskers, 17-16, by criteria at the RAC.
- Nebraska features eight ranked individuals, including No. 1 Peyton Robb (157) and No. 2 Mikey Labriola (174). Both are undefeated this season with identical 20-0 records.
- Rutgers heads to the 2023 Big Ten Wrestling Championships from March 4-5 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
