COLLEGE PARK, Md. – For the first time in program history, Rutgers wrestling has three Big Ten Championships semifinalists after Session I of the conference tournament on Saturday in College Park, Maryland. No. 2 seed Dylan Shawver (133), No. 4 seed Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) and No. 9 seed Dean Peterson (125) all secured spots in their respective semifinal matches when wrestling resumes tonight at the XFINITY Center.
 
With three sessions to go and nine wrestlers left in the field, the Scarlet Knights are sixth in the team standings with 31.5 points.
 
Semifinal Matchups
125: (9) Dean Peterson vs. (4) Patrick McKee (Minnesota)
133: (2) Dylan Shawver vs. (14) Brody Teske (Iowa)
HWT: (4) Yaraslau Slavikouski vs. (1) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
 
Peterson delivered the biggest win of the opening round, defeating No. 1 seed Matt Ramos (Purdue), 7-1, to advance. Ramos, who was last year's NCAA runner-up at 125 pounds, was the highest-ranked win for a Scarlet Knight at the conference tournament since RU joined the league in 2014-15.
 
Peterson, Shawver and Slavikouski also secured top-six finishes and automatic bids to the national tournament. Shawver used a first-round bye and a tough 9-6 win in sudden victory over No. 7 seed Braxton Brown (Maryland) to move to the semifinals, while Slavikouski added victories over No. 5 seed Seth Nevills (Maryland) and No. 13 seed Peter Marinopoulos (Illinois) to secure his spot in tonight's feature bouts.
 
No. 6 seed Jackson Turley (174), No. 7 seed Mitch Moore (141) and No. 7 seed John Poznanski (197) all added wins in the opening round, while No. 11 seed Al DeSantis (157) picked up a victory on the backside of the bracket to highlight action during the morning session.
 
With No. 8 seed Brian Soldano (184) and No. 10 seed Michael Cetta (149) also alive in wrestlebacks, nine Scarlet Knights are still in play for top-eight finishes and automatic bids to the NCAA Championships ahead of Session II. No. 13 seed Anthony White (165) is also in play for a trip to Kansas City, with the rest of the bracket wrestling to 10 spots due to the conference's allocations for that weight.
 
125: (9) Dean Peterson (2-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(8) Brendan McCrone (Ohio State)	W-D, 3-2
Quarterfinals	(1) Matt Ramos (Purdue)	W-D, 7-1
Semifinals	(4) Patrick McKee (Minnesota)

 
133: (2) Dylan Shawver (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	Bye
Quarterfinals	(7) Braxton Brown (Maryland)	W-SV1, 9-6
Semifinals	(14) Brody Teske (Iowa)

 
141: (7) Mitch Moore (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(10) Vance Vombauer (Minnesota)	W-Fall (0:30)
Quarterfinals	(2) Jesse Mendez (Ohio State)	L-Fall (4:22)
Conso. Rd. 2	(9) Danny Fongaro (Indiana)

 
149: (10) Michael Cetta (0-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(7) Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin)	L-MD, 15-6
Conso. Rd. 1	Bye
Conso. Rd. 2	(8) Graham Rooks (Indiana)

 
157: (11) Al DeSantis (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(6) Chase Saldate (Michigan State)	L-MD, 9-1
Conso. Rd. 1	(14) Logan Swaw (Illinois)	W-MD, 14-4
Conso. Rd. 2	(5) Peyton Robb (Nebraska)

 
165: (13) Anthony White (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(4) Caleb Fish (Michigan State)	L-Fall (4:31)
Conso. Rd. 1	(12) Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern)	L-D, 8-2

 
174: (6) Jackson Turley (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(11) Dominic Solis (Maryland)	W-D, 17-14
Quarterfinals	(3) Patrick Kennedy (Iowa)	L-MD, 12-2
Conso. Rd. 2	(12) Bubba Wilson (Nebraska)

 
184: (8) Brian Soldano (0-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(9) Troy Fisher (Northwestern)	L-D, 9-7
Conso. Rd. 1	Bye
Conso. Rd. 2	(10) Roman Rogotzke (Indiana)

 
197: (7) John Poznanski (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(10) Gabe Sollars (Indiana)	W-D, 6-2
Quarterfinals	(2) Jaxon Smith (Maryland)	L-SV1, 8-5
Conso. Rd. 2	(9) Ben Vanadia (Purdue)

 
HWT: (4) Yaraslau Slavikouski (2-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(13) Peter Marinopoulos (Illinois)	W-MD, 13-1
Quarterfinals	(5) Seth Nevills (Maryland)	W-D, 6-1
Semifinals	(1) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)