No. 13 Rutgers wrestling prepares for road slate against Michigan State, No. 11 Michigan
The Rutgers wrestling team has a busy weekend away from Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. The Scarlet Knights (9-1, 2-0) will face off against Michigan State on Friday and Michigan on Sunday.
No. 13 Rutgers is coming off strong conference wins against Indiana and Purdue. The Knights are currently on a seven-game winning streak and remain undefeated on the road.
No. 11 graduate student 141-pounder Mitch Moore and junior 157-pounder Andrew Clark have both been injured but will likely return to the mat this weekend.
"It's nothing that will keep them out for a long period of time, hopefully," said head coach Scott Goodale on their injuries. "We just gotta get them back healthy, but we're being really smart."
Up first for Rutgers is a match against the Spartans (7-1, 0-1). Michigan State lost its Big Ten opener against the Wolverines (4-1, 2-0) 29-12, ending its undefeated start to the season.
Moore and Clark will have difficult matchups if they wrestle. Moore will likely take on No. 33 Jordan Hamdan on Friday and then No. 25 Sergio Lemley on Sunday. Clark would go up against No. 21 Chase Saldate and then No. 9 Will Lewan later this weekend.
The Spartans have other ranked wrestlers in No. 33 Jordan Hamdan, No. 10 Caleb Fish, No. 22 Layne Malczewski and No. 29 Kael Wisler.
Junior 165-pounder Anthony White will have some of his toughest bouts of the season, as he will match up against Fish and then No. 7 Cameron Amine two days later.
The Knights will then go up against No. 11 Michigan on Sunday.
The Wolverines have a high-powered lineup, with seven wrestlers currently in the top 10 national rankings for their respective weight classes.
No. 13 junior 125-pounder Dean Peterson, who fell to No. 2 Matt Ramos last weekend, will continue his recent set of ranked bouts against No. 5 Michael DeAugustino on Sunday.
No. 8 junior 133-pounder Dylan Shawver has been climbing up the national rankings and will also face a top-10 opponent in No. 6 Dylan Ragusin. Shawver has landed a team-leading 50 takedowns this season and will look to add to that this weekend.
No. 19 senior 174-pounder Jackson Turley, who defeated No. 13 Donnell Washington last Friday, should be set to wrestle No. 4 Shane Griffith. Turley has been one of the most impressive wrestlers for Rutgers and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.
No. 20 sophomore 184-pounder Brian Soldano will also have a ranked contest against No. 15 Jaden Bullock. Soldano will look to build off his 10-4 record.
The dual with Michigan will end with No. 9 junior 197-pounder John Poznanski and No. 7 graduate student 285-pounder Yaraslau Slavikouski taking on No. 32 Bobby Striggow and No. 4 Lucas Davison, respectively.
The Knights have the possibility of earning their first win against the Wolverines in program history, but it will not be easy, as they will need their entire team to step up.
The contest against Michigan State will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in East Lansing, Michigan. Sunday's match against Michigan will start at 1 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Both duals will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
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