Rutgers wrestling falls short in NCAA Wrestling Championships
The Rutgers wrestling team sent seven wrestlers to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to compete in the NCAA Wrestling Championships this past weekend. This is the second consecutive season that the Scarlet Knights (10-7, 2-6) have sent seven wrestlers to the national tournament.
For the first time in a decade, Rutgers did not secure an All-American finish in the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The Knights struggled in the opening round, as 6 out of the 7 Rutgers wrestlers lost their first-round duals.
The Knights' only first-round winner was No. 18 freshman 184-pounder Brian Soldano, who won his opening-round matchup by working from his back and pinning Michigan State's No. 15 Layne Malczewski in the first period. Soldano's run in the championship side of the bracket would end in defeat to North Carolina State's No. 2 Trent Hidlay in the second round.
After the loss, Soldano competed in consolation matches, winning the first match by pinning Pittsburgh's No. 16 Reece Heller and losing the second match to Michigan's No. 8 Matt Finesilver by a 9-2 decision.
Though No. 13 sophomore 125-pounder Dean Peterson lost his first-round bout, Peterson went the furthest for Rutgers in the tournament. Peterson advanced to the Blood Round by winning back-to-back matches on Friday morning. By entering the Blood Round, he was one win away from becoming an All-American.
Though, Peterson fell just short of this accomplishment, as he was defeated by a score of 3-1 to Lock Haven's No. 8 Anthony Noto.
Three Knights wrestlers failed to secure any victories in tournament play. No. 24 junior 285-pounder Boone McDermott, No. 21 sophomore 157-pounder Andrew Clark and No. 31 sophomore 149-pounder Tony White posted a combined 0-6 record over the weekend, losing both their first matches in the championship and consolation brackets on Thursday.
No. 30 junior 174-pounder Jackson Turley would also be eliminated on Thursday after he lost his second match in the consolation bracket to Army's No. 14 Benjamin Pasiuk.
No. 16 graduate student 133-pounder Joe Heilmann suffered the same fate as Turley, winning his first match of the consolation bracket before falling to Northern Iowa's No. 15 Kyle Biscoglia in the second round of the consolation bracket. With the loss, Heilmann will conclude his collegiate wrestling career.
With the end of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Rutgers will head into the offseason before getting back into training over the summer. The Knights have a lot of young talent who are expected to make big strides in development by the beginning of next season.
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