KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling wrapped up the first session of the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held Thursday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. No. 4 seed Dylan Shawver (133), No. 13 seed Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT), No. 14 seed John Poznanski (197), No. 15 seed Mitch Moore (141), and No. 16 seed Jackson Turley (174) all earned first-round victories to advance on the championship side of the bracket.
 
Through the opening round, the Scarlet Knights are tied for 14th with Stanford with 7.5 team points. Session II of the championships begins tonight at 7 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+. No. 16 seed Dean Peterson (125), No. 21 Brian Soldano (184) and No. 33 seed Michael Cetta (149) all dropped to the wrestlebacks, with Cetta opening the championships with a win in his pigtail bout.
 
Session II Matchups (7 p.m. ET on ESPN)
Championship Second Round
133: (4) Dylan Shawver vs. (13) Kurt Phillips (Bucknell)
141: (15) Mitch Moore vs. (2) Beau Bartlett (Penn State)
174: (16) Jackson Turley vs. (1) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
197: (14) John Poznanski vs. (3) Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)
HWT: (13) Yaraslau Slavikouski vs. (4) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
 
Consolation First Round
125: (16) Dean Peterson vs. (33) Tristan Lujan (Michigan State)
149: (33) Michael Cetta vs. (16) Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh)
184: (21) Brian Soldano vs. (28) Caleb Hopkins (Campbell)
 
Cetta opened the session with a championship pigtail match against No. 32 seed Jeffery Boyd (Citadel), scoring first with a takedown in the first period. Both wrestled tough to force overtime, with Cetta riding out Boyd in the first tiebreaker and landing a takedown in the second for an 8-5 decision. His win secured a first-round matchup with No. 1 seed Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), which he lost by fall to drop to the wrestlebacks.
 
Shawver was in full control against No. 29 seed Jace Koelzer (Oklahoma), landing one takedown in each period to cruise to a 10-0 major decision with almost four minutes of riding time. His bonus-point victory secured his second-round matchup with No. 13 seed Kurt Phillips (Bucknell) during tonight's second session.
 
Moore faced 2022 All-American No. 18 seed Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) and was also in control throughout. Moore landed a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the match and closed the first-round bout with a two-point near fall to claim the 7-2 decision.
 
In a rematch from the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago, Turley faced No. 17 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) and started with a takedown in the opening period. Turley then caught Maylor in a back headlock in the third period to secure the 7-3 decision and advance to face No. 1 seed Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) in the night session.
 
Rutgers closed the session with back-to-back decisions from Poznanski and Slavikouski. Poznanski landed a third-period takedown to leave the opening round with a 4-2 win over No. 19 seed Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa), while Slavikouski took down No. 20 seed Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State) in the third period for a 4-2 result.
 
Peterson lost by 2-1 decision in tiebreakers to No. 17 seed Brett Ungar (Cornell), while Soldano sustained an injury in the third period in his match with No. 12 seed Jaden Bullock (Michigan).
 
125: (16) Dean Peterson (0-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(17) Brett Ungar (Cornell)	L-TB2, 2-1
Conso Rd. 1	(33) Tristan Lujan (Michigan State)	Thursday, 7 p.m. ET

 
133: (4) Dylan Shawver (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(29) Jace Koelzer (Oklahoma)	W-MD, 10-0
Round 2	(13) Kurt Phipps (Bucknell)	Thursday, 7 p.m. ET

 
141: (15) Mitch Moore (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(18) Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh)	W-D, 7-2
Round 2	(2) Beau Bartlett (Penn State)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
149: (33) Michael Cetta (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Championship Pigtail	(32) Jeffery Boyd (Citadel)	W-TB2, 8-5
Round 1	(1) Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)	L-Fall (1:30)
Conso Rd. 1	(16) Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
174: (16) Jackson Turley (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(17) Max Maylor (Wisconsin)	W-D, 7-3
Round 2	(1) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
184: (21) Brian Soldano (0-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(12) Jaden Bullock (Michigan)	L-Inj. Def. (6:42)
Conso. Rd. 1	(28) Caleb Hopkins (Campbell)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
197: (14) John Poznanski (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(19) Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa)	W-D, 4-2
Round 2	(3) Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
HWT: (13) Yaraslau Slavikouski (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(20) Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State)	W-D, 4-2
Round 2	(4) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)	Thursday, 7 p.m.