PHILADELPHIA – No. 11 Rutgers wrestling wrapped up the opening session of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held Thursday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. No. 12 seed Dean Peterson (125), No. 16 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), No. 16 seed Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) and No. 19 seed Andrew Clark (149) all advanced out of the first round to highlight action for the Scarlet Knights.
 
Session II of the championships begins at 7 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN, with all eight mats streamed on ESPN+. With wins in their respective second-round matches, Cartagena-Walsh, Clark, Peterson and Slavikouski will advance to tomorrow's quarterfinals.
 
No. 10 seed Dylan Shawver (133), No. 15 seed Joseph Olivieri (141) and No. 29 seed Jackson Turley (174) all lost in their opening matches and will compete on the backside of the bracket later tonight.
 
With four on the front side of the bracket and seven wrestlers still in the field, RU is tied for 18th with 8.0 team points.
 
Session I Attendance: 18,085
Session II Matchups (7 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN+)
Championship Second Round
125: (12) Dean Peterson vs. (5) Richard Figueroa (Arizona State)
149: (19) Andrew Clark vs. (3) Shayne Van Ness (Penn State)
184: (16) Shane Cartagena-Walsh vs. (1) Carter Starocci (Penn State)
HWT: (16) Yaraslau Slavikouski vs. (1) Gable Steveson (Minnesota)
 
Consolation First Round
133: (10) Dylan Shawver vs. (26) Kai Orine (NC State)
141: (15) Joseph Olivieri vs. (31) Jordan Titus (West Virginia)
174: (29) Jackson Turley vs. (20) Dan Braunagel (Illinois)
 
Peterson opened the championships against No. 21 seed Antonio Lorenzo (Oklahoma). After conceding a takedown in the first period, Peterson went to work with a takedown of his own with 1:08 remaining in the bout for a 6-4 lead. Lorenzo escaped 20 seconds later, but Peterson held on for the 6-5 decision.
 
Clark faced No. 14 seed Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) and trailed the Mustang 3-0 before hitting a takedown and four-point near fall in the third period. Clark rode out Lamer for the duration of the final period, securing an 8-3 decision to advance on the front side of the bracket.
 
Cartagena-Walsh looked confident in his bout with No. 17 seed Gavin Kane (North Carolina), landing three takedowns across his final two periods with the Tar Heel. Cartagena-Walsh's third takedown late in the third period, along with the riding time point, locked up the 11-3 major decision to move on to his second-round bout.
 
Slavikouski closed out the session with a 4-2 decision over No. 17 seed Jake Andrews (Cal State Bakersfield), using a takedown in the second period for the opening-round result.
 
Olivieri and Shawver suffered first-round losses to lower seeds. Shawver fought hard in a 4-1 loss to No. 23 seed Sean Spidle (Central Michigan), while Olivieri lost by 13-3 major decision to No. 18 seed Julian Tagg (South Dakota State). Moved up to the No. 29 seed yesterday, Turley lost by 16-1 tech fall to No. 4 seed Garrett Thompson (Ohio).
 
125: (12) Dean Peterson (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(21) Antonio Lorenzo (Oklahoma)	W-D, 6-5
Round 2	(5) Richard Figueroa (Arizona State)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
133: (10) Dylan Shawver (0-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(23) Sean Spidle (Central Michigan)	L-D, 4-1
Conso. Rd. 1	(26) Kai Orine (NC State)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
141: (15) Joseph Olivieri (0-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(18) Julian Tagg (South Dakota State)	L-MD, 13-3
Conso. Rd. 1	(31) Jordan Titus (West Virginia)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
149: (19) Andrew Clark (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(14) Chance Lamer (Cal Poly)	W-D, 8-3
Round 2	(3) Shayne Van Ness (Penn State)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
174: (29) Jackson Turley (0-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(4) Garrett Thomas (Ohio)	L-TF, 16-1 (4:11)
Conso. Rd. 1	(20) Dan Braunagel (Illinois)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
184: (16) Shane Cartagena-Walsh (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(17) Gavin Kane (North Carolina)	W-MD, 11-3
Round 2	(1) Carter Starocci (Penn State)	Thursday, 7 p.m.

 
HWT: (16) Yaraslau Slavikouski (1-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
Round 1	(17) Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield)	W-D, 4-0
Round 2	(1) Gable Steveson (Minnesota)	Thursday, 7 p.m.