No. 14 Rutgers wrestling sends 7 national qualifiers to NCAA Wrestling Championships
The Rutgers wrestling team finished the Big Ten Wrestling Championships last weekend with seven national qualifiers. The championships were held in Lincoln, Nebraska, with Michigan taking home the crown as the winner of the tournament.
The wrestlers from the No. 14 Scarlet Knights (16-5, 3-5) to qualify for the upcoming NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit are graduate student 197-pounder Greg Bulsak, graduate student 141-pounder Sebastian Rivera, fifth-year senior 157-pounder Michael VanBrill, freshman 184-pounder John Poznanski, freshman 174-pounder Connor O'Neill, freshman 133-pounder Joseph Olivieri and freshman 125-pounder Dylan Shawver.
Five place winners were crowned and overall, Rutgers finished at ninth place with 41 points. The Knights had a total of five podium finishes in each of their respective weight classes, the most the team has had since 2018.
Rivera and VanBrill finished sixth individually while Bulsak and Shawver finished seventh. Meanwhile, O’Neill finished eighth in his first Big Ten Championships, and Olivieri and Poznanski finished ninth.
Under head coach Scott Goodale, the program has five or more NCAA qualifiers for the eighth straight season. This season’s seven qualifiers is the most since seven were sent to St. Louis for the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 2017.
Starting with Rivera, in his final Big Ten Championships, the Toms River, New Jersey, native mustered back-to-back wins on Saturday morning. In his semifinal match against second-ranked Jaydin Eierman, Rivera fell in a medical forfeit to wrap up his weekend.
The four-time All-American Rivera enters nationals with a 24-0 record with 23 bonus wins.
VanBrill was the second Rutgers wrestler to medically forfeit to finish in sixth place while Bulsak avenged a loss from earlier in the season against Gavin Hoffman. Shawver won seventh place on a medical forfeit to go along with O’Neill, who lost in a decision to finish in eighth.
For Olivieri, the East Hanover, New Jersey, native registered two victories and a loss before finally falling to Brock Hudkins on a 3-2 decision. Poznanski earned ninth place by two medical forfeits.
These seven wrestlers received automatic bids to wrestle for the Knights at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which will be held from March 17 to March 19.
"There were some opportunities that we left out there, but ultimately we're really pleased with getting seven guys through to the national tournament," Goodale said. "The Big Ten Championships is the hardest tournament in the country, so to have five of our guys place is a testament to the hard work they have put in throughout the season."
For more updates on the Rutgers men's wrestling team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
