PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling (11-4, 3-2) delivered a thrilling 16-15 win over No. 10 Illinois (8-3, 3-3) on Sunday in front of 3,385 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena. Down 15-12 ahead of the day's final bout, No. 7 Yaraslau Slavikouski worked a 4-1 win in sudden victory over No. 10 Luke Luffman to lock up the top-10 dual win thanks to Criteria C, total match points, where the Scarlet Knights held a 38-34 advantage.
 
Slavikouski, No. 14 Joseph Olivieri (141), No. 19 Dean Peterson (125), No. 22 Jackson Turley (174) and No. 31 Conner Harer (157) all worked decisions against the Illini. Eight of the dual's 10 bouts were decided by four points or less, with four of RU's five wins coming against ranked individuals.
 
Sunday marked the first win over a top-10 opponent since RU defeated No. 10 Wisconsin on criteria, 17-16, on Jan. 11, 2019 in Piscataway. Rutgers now owns two wins over ranked opponents this season, as it also defeated No. 24 Indiana, 28-6, earlier this month in Bloomington.
 
"I'm fired up. That was a really good dual," said head coach Scott Goodale. "It was a great crowd and they were into it, so that was excited. For these guys to bounce back from Friday, it shows incredible character and that's been our team all year long. I'm super, super proud of them."
 
After back-to-back losses and trailing 15-12 as a team, it was up to Slavikouski to secure the dual. Down 1-0 in the third period to Luffman, Slavikouski worked a quick escape to force sudden victory. There, Slavikouski turned back in on a scramble and went through underneath for a takedown with 31 seconds left in overtime to earn the 4-1 decision.
 
Rutgers was energized from the start thanks to Peterson. Fresh off his top-10 win during Friday's dual with No. 1 Penn State, Peterson worked decisions in the first and third periods against Caelan Riley, collecting more than a minute of riding time for an 8-2 decision and a quick 3-0 team lead.
 
No. 9 Dylan Shawver (133) followed and went toe-to-toe with No. 2 Lucas Byrd. Down 4-1 late in the second period, Shawver landed a takedown on Byrd to tie the match. Byrd added an escape point at the end of the period and used the riding time point after a third-period escape from Shawver for his 6-5 decision.
 
Oliveri was next against No. 12 Danny Pucino, finishing a scramble for a 4-1 lead through two periods. Olivieri added another takedown in the third for an 8-4 decision and his third ranked win of the season.
 
A tough loss from No. 20 Andrew Clark (149) to No. 12 Kannon Webster tied the team score once against before Harer provided Rutgers with a lead at the midpoint. Harer scored a takedown on No. 22 Jason Kraisser in the opening period, rode out his opponent in the second and collected more than two minutes of riding time for the biggest individual win of his young career. The 4-0 decision provide the Scarlet Knights with a 9-6 lead at intermission.
 
No. 26 Anthony White (165) lost to No. 13 Braeden Scoles before Turley faced No. 21 Dan Braunagel in arguably the most thrilling match of the afternoon. Up 1-0 in the third period, Turley worked off his back, spun behind and took down Braunagel for the 4-1 decision. Turley's thrilling win once again put the Scarlet Knights out in front, 12-9 with three bouts left.
Back-to-back close loses from No. 19 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 16 John Poznanski (197) to top-20 opponents followed, giving Illinois its first lead in the dual before Slavikouski put the bow on Rutgers' marquee victory of the season.
 
Up Next
Rutgers faces No. 8 Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 2 in Minneapolis. The dual is set for a 1 p.m. national broadcast on Big Ten Network.

Box Score
No. 14 Rutgers 16, No. 10 Illinois 15
125: 19/15 Dean Peterson (RU) over Caelen Riley (ILL) by dec., 8-2; RU leads, 3-0
133: 2/3 Lucas Byrd (ILL) over 9/9 Dylan Shawver (RU) by dec., 6-5; Match tied, 3-3
141: 14/13 Joseph Olivieri (RU) over 12/17 Danny Pucino (ILL) by dec., 8-4; RU leads, 6-3
149: 12/15 Kannon Webster (ILL) over 20/24 Andrew Clark (RU) by dec., 8-1; Match tied 6-6
157: 31/NR Conner Harer (RU) over 22/22 Jason Kraisser (ILL) by dec., 4-0; RU leads, 9-6
165: 13/16 Braeden Scoles (ILL) over 26/26 Anthony White (RU) by dec., 4-1; Match tied, 9-9
174: 22/23 Jackson Turley (RU) over 21/20 Dan Braunagel (ILL) by dec., 4-1; RU leads, 12-9
184: 10/12 Edmond Ruth (ILL) over 18/19 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) by SV1, 4-1; Match tied, 12-12
197: 18/13 Zac Braunagel (ILL) over 16/17 John Poznanski (RU) by dec., 4-2; Illinois leads, 15-12
HWT: 7/8 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) over 10/9 Luke Luffman (ILL) by SV1, 4-1; Match tied, 15-15
Rutgers wins 16-15 on total match points, 38-34
Rankings Intermat/Flo