PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling (10-5, 3-4) returns to Piscataway for its final two duals of the season, beginning with Maryland (4-6, 2-5) on Friday at Jersey Mike's Arena. The conference dual is set for 7 p.m. and will stream on Big Ten Plus, with Nick Kosko and Matt Howe on the call.
Friday is Youth Wrestling Night, with single-match tickets available here. The Scarlet Knights will recognize both Frankie Edgar and Sebastian Rivera during the match. Edgar, who served as an assistant coach at RU during the 2008-09 season, was announced as a UFC Hall of Fame inductee earlier this year. Rivera, a five-time All-American and 2022 NCAA bronze medalist for Rutgers, will represent Team Puerto Rico at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
- Wrestling its fourth consecutive top-12 program, Rutgers lost to No. 1 Penn State on Monday night in State College, Pennsylvania. No. 10 Dylan Shawver (133) picked up his biggest win of the season with his overtime decision against No. 6 Aaron Nagao to highlight action for the Scarlet Knights in front of 12,049 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Shawver landed three takedowns against Nagao, including one in sudden victory for the 9-6 decision. It was Shawver's second consecutive top-12 win after he defeated No. 12 Nic Bouzakis by 5-4 decision during last weekend's dual against No. 7 Ohio State in Piscataway.
- Despite being down three starters due to illness, the Scarlet Knights wrestled PSU tough, with the first four bouts of the night decided by three points or less. No. 19 Dean Peterson (125) took No. 2 Braeden Davis to overtime before he lost by 4-1 decision, while Max Hermes (141) wrestled No. 1 Beau Bartlett to a 4-1 loss by decision. No. 26 Michael Cetta (149) worked a reversal late, but lost to No. 10 Tyler Kasak, 7-5.
No. 14 Rutgers (10-5, 3-4)
125: 19/18
Dean Peterson (9-5)
133: 9/7
Dylan Shawver (19-5)
141: 21/16
Mitch Moore (11-3)
149: 25/33
Michael Cetta (12-6)
157: Al DeSantis (5-10) -OR-
Dylan Weaver (6-6)
165: Anthony White (9-11) -OR-
Luke Gayer (9-9)
174: 14/16
Jackson Turley (9-4) -OR-
Shane Cartagena-Walsh (9-6)
184: 19/22
Brian Soldano (11-7)
197: 22/19
John Poznanski (12-2) -OR-
Michael Toranzo (3-3) -OR-
Hadyn Packer (11-8)
HWT: 10/10
Yaraslau Slavikouski (14-3)
Maryland (4-6, 2-5)
125: Tommy Capul (4-9)
133: 16/14 Braxton Brown (15-6) -OR- Conner Quinn (2-6)
141: 28/21 Kal Miller (11-5)
149: 12/18 Ethen Miller (13-5)
157: NR/32 Michael North (12-11) -OR- Kevin Schork (2-5)
165: Gaven Bell (2-10) -OR- AJ Rodrigues (7-11)
174: Dom Solis (6-6)
184: Chase Mielnik (6-14) -OR- Kevin Makosy (8-4)
197: 4/3 Jaxon Smith (13-3)
HWT: 26/32 Seth Nevills (11-6) -OR- Sam O'Brian (1-6)
Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling
- Rutgers has produced 10 or more dual wins in a season for the 15th time under head coach Scott Goodale.
- The Scarlet Knights have wrestled four consecutive top-12 opponents in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, which includes No. 1 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 10 Michigan and No. 12 Minnesota. In total, RU has competed against six ranked opponents, which includes a win over No. 23 Indiana. Rutgers is one of eight Big Ten programs in the latest rankings.
- The first NCAA coaches' ranking was released late last month. Rutgers features nine wrestlers within the top 33 of their respective weight classes, including six in the top 16 – No. 5 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT), No. 7 Dylan Shawver (133), No. 8 John Poznanski (197), No. 11 Mitch Moore (141), No. 13 Jackson Turley (174) and No. 16 Dean Peterson (125).
- Shawver owns back-to-back top-12 victories over No. 6 Nagao and No. 12 Bouzakis. Shawver leads the team with five ranked wins and 19 wins overall.
- With his 12-2 record, Poznanski leads the team with 51 team points and six tech falls during the dual season.
- Cetta entered the national rankings last week for the first time in his career. Cetta is currently ranked No. 25 by Intermat and owns a top-10 win over Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State).
- The Terrapins enter Friday's match with a 4-6 record and a 28-15 win over Michigan State on Sunday in their last time out. UMD used a six-four match split with three tech falls and a major decision to defeat the Spartans for their second Big Ten win of the season.
- Maryland features five ranked individuals in the latest Intermat rankings, including No. 4 Jaxon Smith at 197 pounds.
- The Terrapins sent five to nationals last season under head coach Alex Clemsen.
- Maryland will host this year's Big Ten Championships, held March 9-10 at the Xfinity Center in College Park.
- Rutgers leads the all-time series with Maryland, 14-5-1. The Scarlet Knights have won the past eight meetings, which includes a 28-7 victory last season in College Park. The programs first met on February 22, 1940 – a 26-8 win for Rutgers.
- Rutgers host Bloomsburg on Wednesday, February 21 at Jersey Mike's Arena. The dual is set for 7 p.m. and will stream on Big Ten Plus. The match will serve as the program's Senior Night.
