Knights dismantle Golden Eagles with bonus points

The Rutgers wrestling team emphasized gaining bonus points as essential to success given its youth.

The Scarlet Knights stuck to that plan Friday night against Clarion, as the Knights (3-0) downed the Golden Eagles (2-3), 30-12, in Clarion, Pa.

Senior 133-pounder Vincent Dellefave was Rutgers’ catalyst.

The Toms River, N.J., native captured a 15-6 major decision against Clarion’s Sam Sherlock for his second dual victory of the season.

“There’s still areas to improve, but I just stuck to the game plan,” Dellefave said. “We knew the dude was going to come out hard for the first period, but I just kept wearing at him and eventually he caved in.”

It was Dellefave’s first major decision as a senior while he continues to recover from a wrist injury that kept him out of the Knights’ first match Nov. 3 against Hofstra.

With a performance the likes of Friday’s against Sherlock, he is on the right track.

Sherlock, ranked No. 18 in his weight class according to Intermat, transferred from Penn State last season and made an immediate impact for the Golden Eagles since moving from 141 pounds.

Down to begin the match, Dellefave rallied back for the win in an outing that will likely earn him his first individual ranking this season.

“A week earlier, he was the one protecting his lead,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “The whole theme of the week was to keep scoring and he never stopped wrestling.”

When it comes to grappling against ranked opponents, Dellefave supports it.

“You want to wrestle the guys who are either behind or ahead of you. It’s always good to wrestle ranked guys,” Dellefave said.

Though Clarion’s other ranked wrestler, 149-pounder Justin Arthur, won by fall against sophomore Ken Theobold, Rutgers collected four major decisions en route to the victory.

Redshirt freshman 174-pounder Phil Bakuckus, freshman 125-pounder Scott Delvecchio, sophomore 197-pounder Hayden Hrymack and Dellefave all posted major decisions.

Hrymack’s win may have been the most impressive of all for Rutgers.

Hrymack earned a win by fall against Daniel Sutherland, moving Hrymack’s dual record to 3-0 this season.

Bonus points will be important this season for Rutgers, which features five new starters in the dual roster and mostly sporting freshmen and sophomores as contributing wrestlers.

It played a big factor in Rutgers’ first dual win of the season against Hofstra, when the Knights won, 22-21 Nov. 3 thanks to a bonus points tiebreaker.

Though deciding the rest of their matches that way may not be the most dominant method to win, none of Rutgers’ dual meet losses this season came because of bonus points.

Things might change for the Knights this Friday at the Northeast Duals when they play No. 15 Virginia and Michigan State. But Dellefave believes his team is moving in the right direction.

“Boston is a good team, Clarion is a good team and Hofstra is a good team. They’re all good,” Dellefave said. “… It’s not the prettiest 3-0, but we haven’t lost yet.”

For updates on the Rutgers wrestling team, follow Bradly Derechailo on Twitter @Bradly_D. For general Rutgers sports updates, follow @TargumSports.