TULSA, Okla. – Three from No. 22 Rutgers wrestling are alive on the backside of the bracket after the first day of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. No. 13 seed Dean Peterson (125), No. 16 seed Joe Heilmann (133) and No. 18 seed Brian Soldano (184) will all wrestle Friday when Session III begins at noon ET at the BOK Center.
 
After winning his opening-round match against No. 15 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) by fall Thursday morning to advance to the Round of 16, Soldano lost to No. 2 seed Trent Hidlay (NC State) to drop to wrestlebacks. Heilmann, Peterson and Soldano will each need to win three matches Friday to earn All-America status. No. 31 seed Tony White (149), No. 21 seed Andrew Clark (157), No. 30 seed Jackson Turley (174) and No. 24 seed Boone McDermott (HWT) were eliminated after the first day of action.
 
Day 1 Attendance
Session 1: 15,199
Session 2: 15,342
Championships total: 30,541
 
Session III Matchups
125: (13) Dean Peterson vs. (19) Braxton Brown (Maryland)
133: (16) Joe Heilmann vs. (15) Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa)
184: (18) Brian Soldano vs. (16) Reece Heller (Pittsburgh)
 
Turley was the first to go on Thursday night in his consolation pigtail against No. 32 seed Will Miller (Appalachian State). Turley scored throughout the bout with five takedowns for a 12-6 decision. Turley then faced No. 14 seed Benjamin Pasiuk (Army) in the consolation first round, going back-and-forth with Pasiuk throughout. Down in the third period, Turley hit two takedowns but ran out of time in a 12-9 loss.
 
Heilmann and Peterson worked back-to-back decisions to both advance to Friday morning. Peterson registered a 4-1 win over No. 30 seed Nico Provo (Stanford), riding out his opponent in the second period and landing a takedown in the third. Heilmann trailed against No. 33 seed Ethan Oakley in the third period before reversing Oakley and adding two near fall for an 8-4 decision.
 
Meeting for the third time this season, Clark faced No. 28 seed Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) after defeating the Buckeye at the Big Ten Championships two weeks prior. Clark forced sudden victory with an escape in the third period, but Gallagher was able to land the takedown in overtime for the win.
 
White lost a tough 3-0 decision to No. 18 seed Mitch Moore (Oklahoma), while McDermott dropped a 6-3 decision to No. 25 seed Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia) to finish out their first trip to the national tournament.
 
Session I Recap
No. 18 seed Brian Soldano (184) pinned in his opening-round matchup to highlight action for No. 22 Rutgers wrestling during Session I of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday morning in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Working from his back, Soldano reversed No. 15 seed Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) in the first period and pinned the Spartan to advance on the championship side of the bracket.
 
Soldano faces No. 2 seed Trent Hilday (NC State) tonight in the second round when wrestling begins at 7 p.m. ET at the BOK Center. No. 13 seed Dean Peterson (125), No. 16 seed Joe Heilmann (133), No. 31 seed Tony White (149), No. 21 seed Andrew Clark (157), No. 30 seed Jackson Turley (174) and No. 24 seed Boone McDermott (HWT) all wrestle Thursday night on the backside of the bracket after losing their opening-round matchups.
 
Peterson opened the session against No. 20 seed Jarrett Trombley (NC State) and trailed 3-1 after two periods. Beginning the final period on bottom, Peterson reversed Trombley with 1:44 on the clock to tie the bout. With Trombley owning 1:01 of RT, Peterson then looked to land a takedown with 30 seconds left in the match to earn a 5-4 decision, but his takedown was taken off the board, giving a 4-3 decision to Trombley.
 
Heilmann faced No. 17 seed Brayden Palmer (UT-Chattanooga) and landed a takedown in the second period to make it a 3-2 match in favor of Palmer. With a neutral start in the third, Palmer was able to hold off multiple shots and scrambles from Heilmann for the 4-2 decision.
 
Clark and White faced a pair of top-12 opponents in their opening-round matchups. White suffered a 10-2 major decision to No. 2 seed Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), while Clark wrestled tough in a 9-4 loss to No. 12 seed Kendall Coleman (Purdue).
 
Turley nearly pulled off the upset of the opening round against 2019 national champion No. 3 seed Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech). Trailing just 2-1 in the third period, Turley forced several scrambles and forced a stall call on Lewis, who was able to hold on for the 2-1 decision.
 
McDermott closed out the session with a tough 6-1 loss to No. 9 seed Lucas Davison (Northwestern).
 
125: (13) Dean Peterson (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(20) Jarrett Trombley (NC State)	L-D, 4-3
Conso. Round 1	(29) Nico Provo (Stanford)	W-D, 4-1
Conso. Round 2	(19) Braxton Brown (Maryland)

 
133: (16) Joe Heilmann (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(17) Brayden Palmer (UT-Chattanooga)	L-D, 4-2
Conso. Round 1	(33) Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State)	W-D, 8-4
Conso. Round 2	(15) Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa)

 
149: (31) Tony White (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(2) Sammy Sasso (Ohio State)	L-MD, 10-2
Conso. Round 1	(18) Mitch Moore (Oklahoma)	L-D, 3-0

 
157: (21) Andrew Clark (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(12) Kendall Coleman (Purdue)	L-D, 9-4
Conso. Round 1	(28) Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State)	L-SV1, 3-1

 
174: (30) Jackson Turley (1-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(3) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)	L-D, 2-1
Conso. Pigtail	(32) Will Miller (Appalachian State)	W-D, 12-6
Conso. Round 1	(14) Benjamin Pasiuk (Army)	L-D, 12-9

 
184: (18) Brian Soldano (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(15) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State)	W-Fall (1:40)
Round 2	(2) Trent Hidlay (NC State)	L-MD, 12-4
Conso. Round 2	(16) Reece Heller (Pittsburgh)

 
HWT: (24) Boone McDermott (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(9) Lucas Davison (Northwestern)	L-D, 6-1
Conso. Round 1	(25) Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia)	L-D, 6-3