PHILADELPHIA – No. 12 seed
Dean Peterson (125) pinned defending national champion Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) to advance to the quarterfinals at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday night in Philadelphia. Peterson is one win away from locking up All-America laurels for the first time in his career when wrestling resumes Friday morning at the Wells Fargo Center.
Along with Peterson in the championship quarterfinals, No. 10 seed
Dylan Shawver (133), No. 15 seed
Joseph Olivieri (141), No. 19 seed
Andrew Clark (149), No. 16 seed
Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 16 seed
Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) all went 1-1 on Thursday to remain alive on the backside of the bracket.
No. 29
Jackson Turley (174), a 2021 All-American and just the seventh four-time national qualifier in program history, wrapped up his collegiate career with two losses against top 20 seeds.
Session III of the championships begins on Friday at 12 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN, with all eight mats streamed on ESPN+. The remaining five Scarlet Knights on the backside of the bracket will need two wins during the morning session to lock up spots in Friday Night's 'Blood Round.
With four sessions remaining, No. 11 Rutgers wrestling is tied for 18th with 9.0 team points.
"There were a lot of up and downs, but that's the national tournament," said head coach
Scott Goodale. "We wrestled three national champions, but that's what this tournament is all about. We have a new day tomorrow and we have to get right back after it."
Session II Attendance: 18,088
Session III Matchups (12 p.m. on ESPNU/ESPN+)
Championship Quarterfinals
125: (12)
Dean Peterson vs. (4) Vincent Robinson (NC State)
Consolation Second Round
133: (10)
Dylan Shawver vs. (9) Braxton Brown (Maryland)
141: (15)
Joseph Olivieri vs. (16) Wyatt Henson (Lehigh)
149: (19)
Andrew Clark vs. (4) Paniro Johnson (Iowa State)
184: (16)
Shane Cartagena-Walsh vs. (18) Maximus Hale (Penn)
HWT: (16)
Yaraslau Slavikouski vs. (18) Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa)
Peterson opened the night session with Figueroa, the reigning 125-pound NCAA Champion and No. 5 overall seed in the field. Peterson trailed the Sun Devil 4-1 in the second period before landing his first takedown of the match late in the second for a 4-4 tie. Peterson then used an escape in the third for his first lead, but Figueroa followed with his second takedown to regain the lead at 7-5.
The theatrics followed, as Peterson reversed Figueroa, then caught him on his back for the pin. The third-period fall sent the arena into a frenzy, as Peterson walked off with a spot in the championship quarterfinals for the first time in his career.
Olivieri and Shawver followed with overtime wins in their first wrestleback bouts. In a rematch from last year's seventh-place match, Shawver took No. 26 seed Kai Orine (NC State) to overtime before landing a takedown for a 4-1 decision. Olivieri faced No. 31 seed Jordan Titus and also locked up his match in sudden victory courtesy of a takedown.
Cartagena-Walsh, Clark and Slavikouski all lost their championship second-round matches to top-three seeds, as Cartagena-Walsh and Slavikouski lost to national championships Carter Starocci and Gable Steveson, respectively.
125: (12)
Dean Peterson (2-0)
| Round |
Opponent |
Result |
| Round 1 |
(21) Antonio Lorenzo (Oklahoma) |
W-D, 6-5 |
| Round 2 |
(5) Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) |
W-Fall (5:42) |
| Quarterfinals |
(4) Vincent Robinson (NC State) |
Friday, 12 p.m. |
133: (10)
Dylan Shawver (1-1)
| Round |
Opponent |
Result |
| Round 1 |
(23) Sean Spidle (Central Michigan) |
L-D, 4-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 1 |
(26) Kai Orine (NC State) |
W-SV1, 4-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 |
(9) Braxton Brown (Maryland) |
Friday, 12 p.m. |
141: (15)
Joseph Olivieri (1-1)
| Round |
Opponent |
Result |
| Round 1 |
(18) Julian Tagg (South Dakota State) |
L-MD, 13-3 |
| Conso. Rd. 1 |
(31) Jordan Titus (West Virginia) |
W-SV1, 4-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 |
(16) Wyatt Henson (Lehigh) |
Friday, 12 p.m. |
149: (19)
Andrew Clark (1-1)
| Round |
Opponent |
Result |
| Round 1 |
(14) Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) |
W-D, 8-3 |
| Round 2 |
(3) Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) |
L-MD, 11-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 |
(4) Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) |
Friday, 12 p.m. |
174: (29)
Jackson Turley (0-2)
| Round |
Opponent |
Result |
| Round 1 |
(4) Garrett Thomas (Ohio) |
L-TF, 16-1 (4:11) |
| Conso. Rd. 1 |
(20) Dan Braunagel (Illinois) |
L-MD, 18-9 |
184: (16)
Shane Cartagena-Walsh (1-1)
| Round |
Opponent |
Result |
| Round 1 |
(17) Gavin Kane (North Carolina) |
W-MD, 11-3 |
| Round 2 |
(1) Carter Starocci (Penn State) |
L-TF, 15-0 (4:24) |
| Conso. Rd. 2 |
(18) Maximus Hale (Penn) |
Friday, 12 p.m. |
HWT: (16)
Yaraslau Slavikouski (1-1)
| Round |
Opponent |
Result |
| Round 1 |
(17) Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield) |
W-D, 4-0 |
| Round 2 |
(1) Gable Steveson (Minnesota) |
L-DQ |
| Conso. Rd. 2 |
(18) Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) |
Friday, 12 p.m. |
'.
Session I Recap
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).
