PHILADELPHIA – No. 11 Rutgers wrestling wrapped up action at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday in Philadelphia. Dean Peterson (125), Dylan Shawver (133) and Joseph Olivieri (141) all advanced to Session IV before losing to higher seeds in the Blood Round at Wells Fargo Center.
Friday marked the second consecutive season and third time in five championships the program had three individuals compete during the Friday evening session of the NCAA Championships. Peterson lost a wild, back-and-forth decision to No. 10 seed Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado), Shawver dropped a 5-1 decision to No. 6 seed Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech), and Olivieri fell to No. 6 seed Vance VomBaur (Minnesota), 5-3.
RU’s seven qualifiers – Olivieri, Peterson, Shawver, Andrew Clark (149), Jackson Turley (174), Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) – combined for 13 victories, including wins over top 10 seeds by Peterson and Shawver.
Peterson faced Poulin in the first match of the night, quickly landing a takedown five seconds in for a 3-1 lead. Peterson held a 4-2 lead midway through the third period before a move from Poulin was changed to a takedown after a UNCO challenge, resulting in a 5-4 lead for Poulin with 46 seconds remaining. With Poulin up over a minute of riding time, Peterson scrambled from bottom for the remainder of the match before losing by 6-4 decision.
It marked Peterson’s second Blood Round match of his career, as the redshirt junior finished the season with 22 victories, a sixth-place finish at Big Tens and a 2024 individual Midlands title. Peterson picked up arguably the biggest win for the program at this year’s championships when he pinned defending NCAA Champion Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) in the second round on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals.
Shawver faced Connor McGonagle in his Round of 12 match, going toe-to-toe with the Hokie before losing by decision. Olivieri worked a reversal in the second period of his bout with Vombaur for a 2-1 lead through two periods. However, VomBaur earned an escape point to begin the final period and followed with the match-sealing takedown.
Shawver and Olivieri each posted three wins at this year’s championships. After an opening-round loss, Shawver ripped off three consecutive wins, including an overtime decision against No. 9 seed Braxton Brown (Maryland). Olivieri also worked three wins on the backside of the bracket, defeating No. 16 Wyatt Henson (Lehigh), No. 26 Eligh Rivera (Princeton) and No. 31 Jordan Titus (West Virginia).
Cartagena-Walsh, Clark and Slavikouski all picked up wins on the front side of the bracket to open the championships on Thursday, with Clark earning a win over No. 14 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) in his first-round match. Cartagena finished his first NCAA Championships with two wins, while reigning All-American Slavikouski capped his collegiate career with two wins in Philadelphia.
Turley finished his collegiate career as a 2021 All-American and just the seventh four-time qualifier in program history,
Rutgers enjoyed another successful season under head coach Scott Goodale, as it sent seven or more individuals to the national tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Rutgers finished No. 11 in the final NWCA Coaches Poll – its highest final team ranking since 2015-16. The Scarlet Knights posted a 14-5 dual record, went 5-1 at Jersey Mike’s Arena and earned its first win over a top 10 opponent (No. 10 Illinois) in six seasons.
125: (12) Dean Peterson (2-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (21) Antonio Lorenzo (Oklahoma) | W-D, 6-5 |
| Round 2 | (5) Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) | W-Fall (5:42) |
| Quarterfinals | (4) Vincent Robinson (NC State) | L-D, 4-2 |
| Blood Round | (10) Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado) | L-D, 6-4 |
133: (10) Dylan Shawver (3-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (23) Sean Spidle (Central Michigan) | L-D, 4-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 1 | (26) Kai Orine (NC State) | W-SV1, 4-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (9) Braxton Brown (Maryland) | W-SV1, 4-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (15) Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) | W-TB1, 9-5 |
| Blood Round | (6) Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech) | L-D, 5-1 |
141: (15) Joseph Olivieri (3-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (18) Julian Tagg (South Dakota State) | L-MD, 13-3 |
| Conso. Rd. 1 | (31) Jordan Titus (West Virginia) | W-SV1, 4-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (16) Wyatt Henson (Lehigh) | W-D, 5-2 |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (26) Eligh Rivera (Princeton) | W-D, 7-2 |
| Blood Round | (6) Vance VomBaur (Minnesota) | L-D, 5-3 |
149: (19) Andrew Clark (1-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (14) Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) | W-D, 8-3 |
| Round 2 | (3) Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) | L-MD, 11-1 |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (4) Paniro Johnson (Iowa State) | L-D, 4-3 |
174: (29) Jackson Turley (0-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (4) Garrett Thomas (Ohio) | L-TF, 16-1 (4:11) |
| Conso. Rd. 1 | (20) Dan Braunagel (Illinois) | L-MD, 18-9 |
184: (16) Shane Cartagena-Walsh (2-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (17) Gavin Kane (North Carolina) | W-MD, 11-3 |
| Round 2 | (1) Carter Starocci (Penn State) | L-TF, 15-0 (4:24) |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (18) Maximus Hale (Penn) | W-D, 6-4 |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (23) Aidan Brenot (North Dakota St.) | L-SV1, 4-1 |
HWT: (16) Yaraslau Slavikouski (2-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Round 1 | (17) Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield) | W-D, 4-0 |
| Round 2 | (1) Gable Steveson (Minnesota) | L-DQ |
| Conso. Rd. 2 | (18) Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa) | W-D, 4-3 |
| Conso. Rd. 3 | (8) Luke Luffman (Illinois) | L-SV1, 4-1 |
