No. 16 Rutgers wrestling comes inches away from knocking off No. 4 Ohio State, drops heartbreaker in final bout
The last time the Rutgers wrestling team defeated a top-10 team was on Jan. 11, 2019, against then-No. 10 Wisconsin. Up against Ohio State on Sunday night, the Scarlet Knights (9-3, 1-1) were in a prime position to earn a statement win. No. 16 Rutgers led 15-14 with one bout to go, but the Buckeyes (10-0, 2-0) won at heavyweight to grab a 17-15 victory.
It was a promising performance from the Knights – they took No. 4 Ohio State to the final bout and were inches away from earning their first-ever win over one of the Big Ten blue-blood programs.
No. 16 senior 125-pounder Dean Peterson started things fast against No. 10 Brendan McCrone, jumping out to an 11-2 lead after the first period. Peterson ultimately won 11-4, earning his 13th straight win, fourth-ranked victory of the season and second consecutive top-10 win.
No. 17 senior 133-pounder Dylan Shawver followed with his toughest bout of the season so far against No. 9 Nic Bouzakis, who Shawver defeated 5-4 in last season’s dual meet match at Jersey Mike’s Arena. The bout was just as intense this time around, with Shawver landing a crucial takedown late in the third period to win 4-3 for his second-ranked win of the season.
Sophomore 141-pounder Max Hermes filled in for No. 16 senior 141-pounder Joseph Olivieri and had to face No. 1 Jesse Mendez, the reigning national champion last season at 149 pounds. The bout was extremely one-sided, as Mendez claimed a third-period tech fall to give the Buckeyes their first victory of the dual, but still trailed after three bouts.
No. 12 Dylan D’Emilio was upset by senior 149-pounder Michael Cetta in last year’s match. This time around, No. 24 senior 149-pounder Andrew Clark kept it close with D’Emilio for three periods. The bout went to tiebreakers, but D’Emilio’s late escape proved decisive in his 2-1 win, handing the Buckeyes their first lead of the night.
The tough bouts continued for Rutgers as No. 31 freshman 157-pounder Conner Harer faced Sammy Sasso, who was ranked No. 11 at 165 pounds before moving down to the 157-pound weight class. Sasso won 3-2, but Harer battled until the final seconds of the bout.
With five bouts down, Ohio State led 11-6 at the intermission. Goodale spoke on Peterson’s and Shawver’s upset win and was impressed with what he saw.
“They’re just wrestling really, really hard right now, incredible competition,” he said. “We know that those are two huge matchups – those two wins go a long way come postseason so just fired up for the way they competed.”
Up next at 165 pounds, freshman 165-pounder Andrew Barbosa made his first start since Nov. 17, 2024. It was Barbosa versus e’Than Birden, a battle of the freshman. In his Big Ten debut, Barbosa won 2-1 in the second period of tiebreakers – the fourth bout that was decided by 1 point.
No. 23 graduate student 174-pounder Jackson Turley couldn’t build off of Barbosa’s win – he lost 3-2 to No. 9 Carson Kharchla in a tight bout.
Down 14-9 with three bouts left, the Knights needed to win their last three matches to earn a statement victory.
No. 27 sophomore 184-pounder Shane Cartagena-Walsh again got the starting nod at 184 pounds over junior 184-pounder Brian Soldano for the match against No. 14 Ryder Rogotzke. Soldano pinned Rogotzke last season at Jersey Mike’s Arena, but Cartagena-Walsh defeated Rogotzke via a 6-4 decision this season. It was Cartagena Walsh’s fifth-ranked win and 16th overall.
Rutgers trailed 14-12 with two bouts to go, meaning No. 18 senior 197-pounder John Poznanski needed to beat Seth Shumate to keep his team alive. Poznanski did just that in dramatic fashion, landing a last-second takedown to defeat Shumate 5-4.
With one bout to go, the Knights led 15-14. No. 8 graduate student 285-pounder Yaraslau Slavikouski versus No. 7 Nick Feldman would decide the winner of the dual meet. But Feldman landed a late third-period takedown to defeat Slavikouski and give the Buckeyes a narrow 17-15 victory.
Rutgers will return home to wrestle Wisconsin on Sunday. The match will begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"We competed our tails off and we were a takedown away from winning tonight," Goodale said. "I am so into the effort from our guys and I know how bad they wanted to win that one. There are a lot of good things to take out of tonight. We're absolutely getting better, and that's pretty cool to see."
For more updates on the Rutgers wrestling team, follow @TargumSports on X.
To view more of Matthew Mangam's work, follow @MatthewMangam on X.
