No. 17 Rutgers wrestling faces lineup questions ahead of mighty dual against No. 7 Virginia Tech
Although the Rutgers wrestling team has only wrestled four duals this season, many storylines have already developed, particularly around the starting lineup.
The Scarlet Knights (3-1, 0-0) split a pair of matches in Toms River on Sunday. They routed LIU 37-3 but fell 24-13 to NC State, ranked No. 6 in the country. No. 17 Rutgers let the opportunity to defeat a top-10 opponent for the first time since 2019 slip away, but it will have another chance to end that four-year drought on the road against Virginia Tech on Friday, ranked No. 7.
The Hokies (2-0, 0-0) are coming off an impressive 23-10 win over Missouri. Virginia Tech has a stacked lineup, with every one of its starters ranked in the top 25 in the country.
Expect this dual to be as entertaining as the one seen in Piscataway last season. The Knights lost 19-12 but picked up ranked wins at 125, 197 and 285 pounds. Wrestling in Blacksburg, Virginia, for the first time since 2008, Rutgers will need every wrestler to step up to earn a statement on Friday night.
"It would mean a lot to beat Virginia Tech," said graduate student 174-pounder Jackson Turley. "I've wanted to beat them my whole life. If we are able to do it in my home state, that would be pretty cool."
It will be a special match for Turley, who grew up in Chester, Virginia. He will likely get the chance to wrestle Lennox Wolak — a 2023 NCAA Championship qualifier — in front of more than 15 family members cheering him on.
"It's going to be awesome," Turley said. "The closest I have wrestled to home is when we wrestle at Maryland, so to get back to Virginia and wrestle is something I am really excited about. It's going to be fun, but I have to also treat it like any other dual on the schedule."
The Knights learned a lot in their defeat to the Wolfpack (4-0, 0-0). With it still being early in the season, questions revolve around who will start at 149, 165 and 184 pounds, but that may have been answered last weekend.
149 pounds
Senior 149-pounders Michael Cetta and Andrew Clark are fighting for the starting spot, but that battle is far from over, according to head coach Scott Goodale.
"That's keeping me up at night for sure, they're two good ones," he said. "It's a hard decision — we gotta figure that out — that again is nowhere near done, we gotta figure that out going forward."
Whoever does end up starting on Friday will likely have to go up against reigning national champion Caleb Henson.
165 pounds
Freshman 165-pounder Andrew Barbosa put on a show on Sunday during his collegiate debut. He won both of his bouts, including an 8-6 decision over then-No. 20 Derek Fields and is competing with senior 165-pounder Anthony White to start.
"You gotta be really smart with it, too," Goodale said. "What's the end goal? I want (Barbosa) to be a national champ and All-American, is he ready to do that yet? I'd have to see him in a couple of bigger spots and that's why we're able to use those five dates, but he's pretty darn good. He's incredibly poised so he's gonna be a good one … When he gets to the legs it's an automatic score."
184 pounds
Junior 184-pounder Brian Soldano seemed to be the clear-cut starter at 184 pounds, but after an up and 2023-2024 season boasting an 11-7 record, sophomore 184-pounder Shane Cartagena-Walsh could very well steal his spot in the lineup.
"Shane is absolutely in play and will wrestle for sure," Goodale said. "Probably till Midlands and we're gonna have a decision by then but Shane's gonna get an opportunity and more opportunities, he's really good and love the way he competes. We need to see him in bigger matches."
Friday night's dual will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACCNX through the ESPN app.
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