KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling finished the first day of the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held Thursday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. No. 4 seed Dylan Shawver (133) advanced to Friday morning's quarterfinals, while six Scarlet Knights remained in the field on the backside of their respective brackets.
 
Shawver defeated No. 13 seed Kurt Phipps (Bucknell) in the second round and will face No. 5 seed Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) tomorrow for All-America status. This will be the fourth matchup between the two this season, with Shawver defeating Ragusin by 23-8 tech fall to earn his 2024 Big Ten individual title two weeks ago in College Park, Maryland.
 
No. 13 seed Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT), No. 14 seed John Poznanski (197), No. 15 seed Mitch Moore (141), No. 16 seed Jackson Turley (174) and No. 33 seed Michael Cetta (141) all remain in action on the backside of the bracket. After he suffered an injury in the opening round, No. 21 seed Brian Soldano (184) was withdrawn from competition as a precaution.
 
After two sessions, RU is tied for 19th with 9.0 team points. Session III of the championships begins at noon ET and will broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN+.
 
Session III Matchups (Friday, Noon ET on ESPNU)
Championship Quarterfinals
133: (4) Dylan Shawver vs. (5) Dylan Ragusin (Michigan)
 
Consolation Second Round (Friday, Noon ET on ESPN+)
125: (16) Dean Peterson vs. (2) Luke Stanich (Lehigh)
141: (15) Mitch Moore vs. (16) Dylan Chappell (Bucknell)
149: (33) Michael Cetta vs. (18) Cody Bond (Appalachian State)
174: (16) Jackson Turley vs. (15) MJ Gaitan (Iowa State)
197: (14) John Poznanski vs. (29) Justin Rademacher (Oregon State)
HWT: (13) Yaraslau Slavikouski vs. (30) Seth Nevills (Maryland)
 
Shawver faced No. 13 seed Kyle Phipps (Bucknell) in his second-round match. Tied 0-0 after the first period, Shawver rode out Phipps in the second, elected neutral in the third and avoided giving up a point to muscle a 1-0 win. The victory secured a Big Ten Championship rematch against No. 5 seed Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), with the winner of tomorrow morning's quarterfinal earning All-America status and a trip to the championship semifinals.
 
Wrestling No. 2 seed Beau Bartlett (Penn State), Moore earned an escape point in the third period to tie his match 1-1 before Bartlett worked a last-minute fall to send Moore to wrestlebacks. Turley lost by 5-2 decision in his rematch with No. 1 seed Mekhi Lewis (Virgina Tech), Poznanski dropped a 14-4 major decision to No. 3 seed Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State), and Slavikouski lost to No. 4 seed Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State), 3-1.
 
On the backside of the bracket, Peterson opened the night against No. 33 seed Tristan Lujan (Michigan State). Also finding himself tied 0-0 in the second period, Peterson rode out Lujan for the duration of period two and then added two takedowns in the third for an 8-1 win.
 
After he went 1-1 during the first session, Cetta matched up with No. 16 seed Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh). Cetta muscled take downs in the first and third periods and collected more than a minute of riding time to advance with a 7-1 decision.
 
Session I Recap
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 seven 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.
 
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 (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(17) Brett Ungar (Cornell)	L-TB2, 2-1
Conso. Rd. 1	(33) Tristan Lujan (Michigan State)	W-D, 8-1
Conso. Rd. 2	(2) Luke Stanich (Lehigh)	Friday, Noon ET.

 
133: (4) Dylan Shawver (2-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(29) Jace Koelzer (Oklahoma)	W-MD, 10-0
Round 2	(13) Kurt Phipps (Bucknell)	W-D, 1-0
Quarterfinals	(5) Dylan Ragusin (Michigan)	Friday, Noon ET.

 
141: (15) Mitch Moore (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(18) Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh)	W-D, 7-2
Round 2	(2) Beau Bartlett (Penn State)	L-Fall (4:49)
Conso. Rd. 2	(16) Dylan Chappell (Bucknell)	Friday, Noon ET.

 
149: (33) Michael Cetta (2-1)

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)	W-D, 7-1
Conso. Rd. 2	(18) Cody Bond (Appalachian State)	Friday, Noon ET.

 
174: (16) Jackson Turley (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(17) Max Maylor (Wisconsin)	W-D, 7-3
Round 2	(1) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)	L-D, 5-2
Conso. Rd. 2	(15) MJ Gaitan (Iowa State)	Friday, Noon ET.

 
184: (21) Brian Soldano (0-2)

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

 
197: (14) John Poznanski (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(19) Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa)	W-D, 4-2
Round 2	(3) Tanner Sloan (SDSU)	L-MD, 14-4
Conso. Rd. 2	(29) Justin Rademacher (Oregon State)	Friday, Noon ET.

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

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(20) Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State)	W-D, 4-2
Round 2	(4) Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)	L-D, 3-1
Conso. Rd. 2	(30) Seth Nevills (Maryland)	Friday, Noon ET.