Dylan Shawver, Yaraslau Slavikouski finish 7th at NCAA Championships to cap off 2023-2024 season
The Rutgers wrestling team competed in Session V of the NCAA Championships at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The Scarlet Knights (12-5, 4-4) finished the 2023-2024 season with a Big Ten champion and two All-Americans who placed seventh at the NCAA Championships.
Here is a rundown on how No. 14 Rutgers did in Session V.
Session V
With every other wrestler besides No. 4 seed junior 133-pounder Dylan Shawver and No. 13 seed graduate student 285-pounder Yaraslau Slavikouski eliminated, the Knights had only two wrestlers see action on Saturday.
Shawver defeated No. 3 seed Kai Orine 10-5 to finish in seventh place. He landed two first-period takedowns and one more in the third en route to the victory.
"It feels amazing. I came a long way and just for me to be the guy — it means a lot to me," Shawver said. "I was finally able to do something I've dreamed of."
Slavikouski faced No. 7 seed Taye Ghadiali and grinded out a 4-3 win to finish seventh. He is the second All-American at heavyweight in program history, with the last one dating back to 1964.
"I feel good. It wasn't the goal I set for myself at the beginning of the season, but it's a tough tournament," Slavikouski said. "I know what I need to improve, and with the help of the great coaching staff, my family, my brother and everyone around me, I'm sure I'll be able to achieve my goals. I got another year left."
With one year of college eligibility remaining, Slavikouski plans to wrestle for the team next season.
"That's the plan," Slavikouski said on returning to the Banks next season. "Right now, I'm finishing the Master's in Supply Chain Analytics. I'm doing it in one year, and then I'm gonna try to do a Master's in Financial Analysis next year, so that's the plan."
Rutgers will likely return all of its NCAA qualifiers next season besides graduate student 141-pounder Mitch Moore. Junior 141-pounder Joseph Olivieri will return from injury next year and will likely return to the starting lineup. Olivieri qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2022.
"I'm excited," said head coach Scott Goodale on the team returning many key wrestlers next season. "You know what we have coming in from a recruit standpoint — it's one of the best classes we've ever had. We know what we have coming back, still have a really good shot to get Jackson (Turley) back ... We can bring everybody back."
The Knights had 18 wins at the tournament and 22.5 team points. With the season now finished, Rutgers will look ahead to the 2024-2025 season.
"You never leave here totally, totally satisfied," Goodale said. "I would have loved to see Mitch Moore in last night's round, so there's spots there we felt we could have win some matches. We left some out there, but that's this tournament. We also won some close ones."
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