COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The SKWC has a lot to be proud of! Dylan Shawver (133) secured an individual conference title to close out the 2024 Big Ten Championships on Sunday in College Park, Maryland. Shawver downed No. 1 seed Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) with a dominant 23-8 tech fall to claim the program’s first individual conference championship since Anthony Ashnault and Nick Suriano both won in 2019.
Shawver was one of seven placewinners for No. 14 Rutgers wrestling at the conference championships, as Shawver, Dean Peterson (125), Mitch Moore (141), Jackson Turley (174), Brian Soldano (184), John Poznanski (197) and Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) all qualified for the 2024 NCAA Championships, held March 21-23 in Kansas City, Missouri. It is the third consecutive season RU will send seven to the national tournament under head coach Scott Goodale.
Slavikouski and Turley wrestled in third-place matches, with both finishing fourth in their respective weight classes. Peterson earned a win in sudden victory over No. 7 seed Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) to finish fifth, while Moore and Soldano placed sixth. Poznanski teched No. 8 seed Evan Bates (Northwestern) in his seventh-place match for the second top-eight finish of his career.
Sunday capped an historic championships for the Scarlet Knights, who finished sixth with 87.5 team points – their best result at Big Tens since they placed fifth in 2016 with 106.5 points in Iowa City. RU’s seven placewinners were also its most since all 10 starters earned podium positions during the 2016 installment of the championships.
“Top to bottom, it was a really good effort from us this weekend,” Goodale said. “I’m super pumped for Shawver. This was a really hard tournament to win and he delivered. I like where we are at and we’ll get back in the room in a few days and see if we can do this all again at the national tournament.”
2024 Big Ten Championships Placewinners/NCAA Qualifiers (7)
- 1st: Dylan Shawver (133)**
- 4th: Jackson Turley (174)***
- 4th: Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT)***
- 5th: Dean Peterson (125)**
- 6th: Mitch Moore (141)*****
- 6th: Brian Soldano (184)**
- 7th: John Poznanski (197)***
* denotes previous NCAA Championships qualification
After losing to Ragusin twice earlier this season, Shawver was the aggressor throughout in their championship rematch. Shawver landed the first takedown within the first 45 seconds of the bout and followed with a takedown and four-point near fall on the edge of the circle in the second period for a 7-3 lead after two. Ragusin would get it to within four points before Shawver put the match away with a seven-point combo in the final seconds. Shawver’s riding-time point gave him the 23-8 tech fall to cap his championships with an exclamation point.
With his 3-0 showing this weekend, Shawver enters nationals on a six-match winning streak against ranked opponents.
“Tonight was amazing,“ Shawver said. “It shows just how important hard work and dedication are to being successful in this sport. It feels amazing to do it for Rutgers. We haven’t had a championship since Ashnault and Suriano, so it means a lot for me to have my name associated with those special guys.”
Peterson also won during the night session in his rematch to DeAugustino, who he lost to back in January in RU’s dual with the Wolverines. Down 5-2 with just over a minute to go in the second period, Peterson worked out of a single leg and delivered one of his own to tie the match at 5-5. Down 6-5 in the third, Peterson would then force overtime thanks to a DeAustino stall call, where he worked out of a scramble on the edge of the mat to finish of DeAugustino with a takedown and a 9-6 win.
Peterson’s fifth-place finish capped an impressive weekend after he opened the tournament with a 7-1 win over 2023 national runner-up and No. 1 seed Matt Ramos (Purdue). Peterson also added a victory over No. 8 seed Brendan McCrone (Maryland) during his run to the podium.
Slavikouski and Turley both earned consolation semifinal victories earlier in the day to advance to their respective bronze-medal matches. Turley lost a tough 4-2 decision to No. 5 seed Rocco Welsch (Ohio State), while Slavikouski lost by 6-3 to No. 3 seed Lucas Davison. Moore and Soldano also lost to higher seeds in their fifth-place matches.
125: (9) Dean Peterson (Fifth Place, 3-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (8) Brendan McCrone (Ohio State) | W-D, 3-2 |
| Quarterfinals | (1) Matt Ramos (Purdue) | W-D, 7-1 |
| Semifinals | (4) Patrick McKee (Minnesota) | L-SV1, 6-3 |
| Conso. Semifinals | (2) Drake Ayala (Iowa) | L-D, 4-1 |
| 5th-Place Match | (7) Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) | W-SV1, 9-6 |
133: (2) Dylan Shawver (First Place, 3-0)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | Bye | |
| Quarterfinals | (7) Braxton Brown (Maryland) | W-SV1, 9-6 |
| Semifinals | (14) Brody Teske (Iowa) | W-D, 12-6 |
| Finals | (1) Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) | W-TF, 23-8 (7:00) |
141: (7) Mitch Moore (Sixth Place, 3-3)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (10) Vance Vombauer (Minnesota) | W-Fall (0:30) |
| Quarterfinals | (2) Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) | L-Fall (4:22) |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (9) Danny Fongaro (Indiana) | W-D, 10-4 |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (6) Danny Pucino (ILL) | W-Fall (0:32) |
| Conso. Semifinals | (5) Sergio Lemley (Michigan) | L-D, 11-6 |
| 5th-Place Match | (4) Brock Hardy (Nebraska) | L-Fall (2:38) |
149: (10) Michael Cetta (1-3)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (7) Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) | L-MD, 15-6 |
| Conso. Rd. 1 | Bye | |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (8) Graham Rooks (Indiana) | L-D, 16-10 |
| 9th-Place Quarter. | Bye | |
| 9th-Place Semi. | (13) Aiden Vandenbush (Northwestern) | W-MFF |
| 9th-Place Match | (9) Drew Roberts (Minnesota) | L-D, 5-3 |
157: (11) Al DeSantis (2-3)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (6) Chase Saldate (Michigan State) | L-MD, 9-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 1 | (14) Logan Swaw (Illinois) | W-MD, 14-4 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (5) Peyton Robb (Nebraska) | L-TF, 15-0 (4:12) |
| 9th-Place Quarter. | Bye | |
| 9th-Place Semi. | (12) Michael North (Maryland) | W-D, 8-4 |
| 9th-Place Match | (10) Isaac Wilcox (Ohio State) | L-D, 5-1 |
165: (13) Anthony White (0-3)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (4) Caleb Fish (Michigan State) | L-Fall (4:31) |
| Conso. Rd. 1 | (12) Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) | L-D, 8-2 |
| 9th-Place Quarter. | (12) Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) | L-D, 4-2 |
174: (6) Jackson Turley (Fourth Place, 4-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (11) Dominic Solis (Maryland) | W-D, 17-14 |
| Quarterfinals | (3) Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) | L-MD, 12-2 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (12) Bubba Wilson (Nebraska) | W-Fall (6:25) |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (7) Max Maylor (Wisconsin) | W-Fall (3:16) |
| Conso. Semifinals | (9) Andrew Sparks (Minnesota) | W-D, 10-9 |
| 3rd-Place Match | (5) Rocco Welsh (Ohio State) | L-D, 4-2 |
184: (8) Brian Soldano (Sixth Place, 2-3)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (9) Troy Fisher (Northwestern) | L-D, 9-7 |
| Conso. Rd. 1 | Bye | |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (10) Roman Rogotzke (Indiana) | W-D, 9-3 |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (6) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) | W-MD, 11-1 |
| Conso. Semifinals | (5) Jaden Bullock (Michigan) | L-MD, 12-4 |
| 5th-Place Match | (4) Ryder Rogotzke (Ohio State) | L-MD, 15-3 |
197: (7) John Poznanski (Seventh Place, 3-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (10) Gabe Sollars (Indiana) | W-D, 6-2 |
| Quarterfinals | (2) Jaxon Smith (Maryland) | L-SV1, 8-5 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (9) Ben Vanadia (Purdue) | W-D, 5-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (6) Luke Geog (Ohio State) | L-D, 4-2 |
| 7th-Place Match | (8) Evan Bates (Northwestern) | W-TF, 15-0 (7:00) |
HWT: (4) Yaraslau Slavikouski (Fourth Place, 3-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (13) Peter Marinopoulos (Illinois) | W-MD, 13-1 |
| Quarterfinals | (5) Seth Nevills (Maryland) | W-D, 6-1 |
| Semifinals | (1) Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) | L-MD, 9-0 |
| Conso. Semifinals | (7) Bradley Hill (Iowa) | W-D, 5-1 |
| 3rd-Place Match | (3) Lucas Davison (Michigan) | L-D, 6-3 |
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