COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling continued to make history after the first day of the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday in College Park, Maryland. No. 2 seed Dylan Shawver (133) earned a dramatic 12-6 win over No. 14 Brody Teske (Iowa) during the night session to become the program's first Big Ten finalist since 2019, while six Scarlet Knights punched tickets to the 2024 NCAA Championships, held March 21-23 in Kansas City, Missouri. In total, nine student-athletes are still in play for trips to the national tournament when wrestling resumes Sunday at the XFINITY Center.
 
Shawver wrestles No. 1 seed Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) tomorrow night for a chance to become the program's first Big Ten champion since Anthony Ashnault and Nick Suriano earned individual titles in 2019. Tomorrow night's championship bout will air at 4:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

No. 4 seed Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) and No. 9 seed Dean Peterson (125) also wrestled in semifinal bouts, dropping to tomorrow's consolation semifinals when wrestling resumes Sunday. 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.
 
The three semifinalists were the most for Rutgers at a single Big Ten Championships in its history. With two sessions to go and seven wrestlers left in the field, the Scarlet Knights' 71.5 team points are the most they have scored at the conference tournament since they set a program record with 106.5 at the 2016 installment of the championships in Iowa City, Iowa.
 
Thanks to strong performances on the backside of the bracket from No. 6 seed Jackson Turley (174), No. 7 seed Mitch Moore (141) and No. 8 seed Brian Soldano (184), five Scarlet Knights will wrestle in consolation semifinal matches Sunday morning and can finish as high as third. A win from No. 7 seed John Poznanski (197) in tomorrow morning's seventh-place match will secure seven or more national qualifiers for the third consecutive season under head coach Scott Goodale.
 
No. 10 seed Michael Cetta (149) and No. 11 seed Al DeSantis (157) will also wrestle for automatic bids based on the conference's allocations at each weight. Both will need to finish 10th or higher to lock up a spot at nationals.
 
"There was a lot to be proud of today," Goodale said. "Up and down the lineup, we wrestled really well. I loved the way we competed. We were stingy and looked to score back points. Our success was not just on the front side, but on the back side of the bracket as well. Winning those matches are huge to get to the national tournament.:"
 
Shawver, who entered the championships on a three-match winning streak against ranked opponents, continued his torrid stretch with a 9-6 win in sudden victory over No. 7 seed Braxton Brown (Maryland) to advance to his semifinal bout with Teske. Shawver scored first against the Hawkeye before both went back and forth into the third period. Shawver outscored Teske 9-1 in the final two minutes, which included two takedowns and three near-fall points with 15 seconds to go for the 12-6 win.
 
"This [moment] means a lot. It is a stepping stone to where I want to be," Shawver said after his semifinal win. "I am grateful for where I am at and the coaches I have. But I am not finished yet. There is more to go."
 
RU was electric on the backside of the bracket, picking up eight wins in wrestlebacks. Moore and Turley each produced two pins, with Moore's falls coming in at 30 and 32 seconds, respectively. Turley pinned No. 7 seed Max Maylor (Wisconsin) and No. 12 seed Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) to add to RU's bonus streak.
 
Soldano picked off back-to-back wins over No. 6 seed Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) and No. 10 seed Roman Rogotzke (Indiana). Soldano's 11-1 major decision over the Spartan secured his trip to the consolation semifinals for the second consecutive season.
 
After he electrified the arena with his upset over Ramos, Peterson faced No. 4 seed Patrick McKee (Minnesota) in a rematch from earlier in the season – a 6-4 Peterson win. Peterson looked to have won the bout with a last-second reversal at the buzzer of his semifinal match with the Gopher, but the call was changed to a loss of control call, pushing the 3-3 bout into sudden victory. McKee was able to get the quick takedown in overtime for the win.
 
Slavikouski picked up back-to-back wins to advance against No. 1 seed Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), losing 9-0 to move to the consolation semifinals.
 
Rutgers opens Session III tomorrow at 12 p.m., with select matches televised on Big Ten Network and all matches streamed on Big Ten Plus. First, third and fifth-place matches will commence at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow night.
 
Session I Recap
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 left and nine wrestlers left in the field, the Scarlet Knights are sixth in the team standings with 31.5 points.
 
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 (2-1)

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)	L-SV1, 6-3
Conso. Semifinals	(2) Drake Ayala (Iowa)

 
133: (2) Dylan Shawver (2-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	Bye
Quarterfinals	(7) Braxton Brown (Maryland)	W-SV1, 9-6
Semifinals	(14) Brody Teske (Iowa)	W-D, 12-6
Finals	(1) Dylan Ragusin (Michigan)

 
141: (7) Mitch Moore (3-1)

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)	W-D, 10-4
Conso. Rd. 3	(6) Danny Pucino (ILL)	W-Fall (0:32)
Conso. Semifinals	(5) Sergio Lemley (Michigan)

 
149: (10) Michael Cetta (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(7) Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin)	L-MD, 15-6
Conso. Rd. 1	Bye
Conso. Rd. 2	(8) Graham Rooks (Indiana)	L-D, 16-10
9th-Place Quarter.	Bye
9th-Place Semi.	(13) Aiden Vandenbush (Northwestern)

 
157: (11) Al DeSantis (1-2)

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)	L-TF, 15-0 (4:12)
9th-Place Quarter.	Bye
9th-Place Semi.	(12) Michael North (Maryland)

 
165: (13) Anthony White (0-3)

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
9th-Place Quarter.	(12) Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern)	L-D, 4-2

 
174: (6) Jackson Turley (3-1)

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)	W-Fall (6:25)
Conso. Rd. 3	(7) Max Maylor (Wisconsin)	W-Fall (3:16)
Conso. Semifinals	(9) Andrew Sparks (Minnesota)

 
184: (8) Brian Soldano (2-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(9) Troy Fisher (Northwestern)	L-D, 9-7
Conso. Rd. 1	Bye
Conso. Rd. 2	(10) Roman Rogotzke (Indiana)	W-D, 9-3
Conso. Rd. 3	(6) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State)	W-MD, 11-1
Conso. Semifinals	(5) Jaden Bullock (Michigan)

 
197: (7) John Poznanski (2-2)

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)	W-D, 5-1
Conso. Rd. 3	(6) Luke Geog (Ohio State)	L-D, 4-2
7th-Place Match	(8) Evan Bates (Northwestern)

 
HWT: (4) Yaraslau Slavikouski (2-1)

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)	L-MD, 9-0
Conso. Semifinals	(7) Bradley Hill (Iowa)