PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers enjoyed a thrilling weekend of Big Ten wrestling this past weekend at Jersey Mike’s Arena. The Scarlet Knights delivered a signature 16-15 victory over No. 10 Illinois on Sunday to secure their first top-10 victory since 2019. That result came after RU hosted No. 1 Penn State on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,057 fans – the second-largest crowd for wrestling at the arena in program history.
Match 1: No. 14 Rutgers 16, No. 10 Illinois 15
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling (11-4, 3-2) delivered a thrilling 16-15 win over No. 10 Illinois (8-3, 3-3) on Sunday in front of 3,385 fans at Jersey Mike’s Arena. Down 15-12 ahead of the day’s final bout, No. 7 Yaraslau Slavikouski worked a 4-1 win in sudden victory over No. 10 Luke Luffman to lock up the top-10 dual win thanks to Criteria C, total match points, where the Scarlet Knights held a 38-34 advantage.
Slavikouski, No. 14 Joseph Olivieri (141), No. 19 Dean Peterson (125), No. 22 Jackson Turley (174) and No. 31 Conner Harer (157) all worked decisions against the Illini. Eight of the dual’s 10 bouts were decided by four points or less, with four of RU’s five wins coming against ranked individuals.
Sunday marked the first win over a top-10 opponent since RU defeated No. 10 Wisconsin on criteria, 17-16, on Jan. 11, 2019 in Piscataway. Rutgers now owns two wins over ranked opponents this season, as it also defeated No. 24 Indiana, 28-6, earlier this month in Bloomington.
“I’m fired up. That was a really good dual,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “It was a great crowd and they were into it, so that was excited. For these guys to bounce back from Friday, it shows incredible character and that’s been our team all year long. I’m super, super proud of them.”
After back-to-back losses and trailing 15-12 as a team, it was up to Slavikouski to secure the dual. Down 1-0 in the third period to Luffman, Slavikouski worked a quick escape to force sudden victory. There, Slavikouski turned back in on a scramble and went through underneath for a takedown with 31 seconds left in overtime to earn the 4-1 decision.
Rutgers was energized from the start thanks to Peterson. Fresh off his top-10 win during Friday’s dual with No. 1 Penn State, Peterson worked decisions in the first and third periods against Caelan Riley, collecting more than a minute of riding time for an 8-2 decision and a quick 3-0 team lead.
No. 9 Dylan Shawver (133) followed and went toe-to-toe with No. 2 Lucas Byrd. Down 4-1 late in the second period, Shawver landed a takedown on Byrd to tie the match. Byrd added an escape point at the end of the period and used the riding time point after a third-period escape from Shawver for his 6-5 decision.
Oliveri was next against No. 12 Danny Pucino, finishing a scramble for a 4-1 lead through two periods. Olivieri added another takedown in the third for an 8-4 decision and his third ranked win of the season.
A tough loss from No. 20 Andrew Clark (149) to No. 12 Kannon Webster tied the team score once against before Harer provided Rutgers with a lead at the midpoint. Harer scored a takedown on No. 22 Jason Kraisser in the opening period, rode out his opponent in the second and collected more than two minutes of riding time for the biggest individual win of his young career. The 4-0 decision provide the Scarlet Knights with a 9-6 lead at intermission.
No. 26 Anthony White (165) lost to No. 13 Braeden Scoles before Turley faced No. 21 Dan Braunagel in arguably the most thrilling match of the afternoon. Up 1-0 in the third period, Turley worked off his back, spun behind and took down Braunagel for the 4-1 decision. Turley’s thrilling win once again put the Scarlet Knights out in front, 12-9 with three bouts left.
Back-to-back close loses from No. 19 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 16 John Poznanski (197) to top-20 opponents followed, giving Illinois its first lead in the dual before Slavikouski put the bow on Rutgers’ marquee victory of the season.
Up Next
Rutgers faces No. 8 Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 2 in Minneapolis. The dual is set for a 1 p.m. national broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Box Score
No. 14 Rutgers 16, No. 10 Illinois 15
125: 19/15 Dean Peterson (RU) over Caelen Riley (ILL) by dec., 8-2; RU leads, 3-0
133: 2/3 Lucas Byrd (ILL) over 9/9 Dylan Shawver (RU) by dec., 6-5; Match tied, 3-3
141: 14/13 Joseph Olivieri (RU) over 12/17 Danny Pucino (ILL) by dec., 8-4; RU leads, 6-3
149: 12/15 Kannon Webster (ILL) over 20/24 Andrew Clark (RU) by dec., 8-1; Match tied 6-6
157: 31/NR Conner Harer (RU) over 22/22 Jason Kraisser (ILL) by dec., 4-0; RU leads, 9-6
165: 13/16 Braeden Scoles (ILL) over 26/26 Anthony White (RU) by dec., 4-1; Match tied, 9-9
174: 22/23 Jackson Turley (RU) over 21/20 Dan Braunagel (ILL) by dec., 4-1; RU leads, 12-9
184: 10/12 Edmond Ruth (ILL) over 18/19 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) by SV1, 4-1; Match tied, 12-12
197: 18/13 Zac Braunagel (ILL) over 16/17 John Poznanski (RU) by dec., 4-2; Illinois leads, 15-12
HWT: 7/8 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) over 10/9 Luke Luffman (ILL) by SV1, 4-1; Match tied, 15-15
Rutgers wins 16-15 on total match points, 38-34
Rankings Intermat/Flo
Match 2: No. 1 Penn State 35, No. 14 Rutgers 3
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers wrestling (10-4, 2-2) lost to No. 1 Penn State (9-0, 3-0), 35-3, in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,057 fans on Friday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena. No. 19 Dean Peterson (125) delivered a win over previously undefeated No. 6 Luke Lilledahl to highlight action for the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway.
The crowd of 8,057 marked the second-largest for wrestling at the venue in school history and the third sellout for the program since RU began wrestling at Jersey Mike’s Arena full time in 2015-16. Rutgers has drawn 6,000 or more fans to Piscataway six times in its history under head coach Scott Goodale.
Top Wrestling Crowds at Jersey Mike’s Arena
8,321*: Jan. 28, 2018 vs. No. 1 Penn State
8,057*: Jan. 24, 2025 vs. No. 1 Penn State
7,848*: Feb. 10, 2023 vs. No. 1 Penn State
7,545: Jan. 13, 2019 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State
6,754: Dec. 8, 2017 vs. No. 7 Iowa
6,365: Dec. 10, 2021 vs. Army
Peterson opened up the dual against Lilledahl, who entered Friday night with an unblemished 10-0 record. Both traded escapes to enter the third period tied 1-1 before Peterson finished a single-leg shot off the restart with 28 seconds left for the takedown. Peterson rode out Lilledahl to the buzzer, securing his second top 10 individual win in his last three matches to give Rutgers a quick 3-0 lead.
No. 9 Dylan Shawver (133) followed with a good effort against No. 7 Braeden Davis. Davis rode out Shawver in the second period after a scoreless first, but back-to-back stall calls on the Nittany Lion gave Shawver a 1-0 lead through two periods. However, Davis worked an escape and added the riding time point for the 2-1 final.
No. 14 Joseph Olivieri (141), No. 31 Conner Harer (157) and Alex Nini (149) all followed with hard-fought losses before intermission. Olivieri dropped a tight 7-3 decision to No. 3 Beau Bartlett, Nini lost in his Jersey Mike’s Arena debut to No. 4 Shayne Van Ness, and Harer dropped a tight 4-0 decision to No. 3 Tyler Kasak. Penn State took a 14-3 lead into the break.
The Nittany Lions began to pull away in their final five matches of the night, which featured all five individuals ranked four or higher. With its sweep in the second half, Penn State left with a 35-3 dual win.
Box Score
No. 1 Penn State 35, No. 14 Rutgers 3
125: 19/15 Dean Peterson (RU) over 6/6 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) by dec., 4-1; RU leads, 3-0
133: 7/7 Braeden Davis (PSU) over 9/9 Dylan Shawver (RU) by dec., 2-1; match tied, 3-3
141: 3/3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) over 14/13 Joseph Olivieri (RU) by dec., 7-3; PSU leads, 6-3
149: 4/3 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) over Alex Nini (RU) by TF, 17-2 (5:26); PSU leads, 11-3
157: 3/3 Tyler Kasak (PSU) over 31/NR Conner Harer (RU) by dec., 4-0; PSU leads, 14-3
165: 1/1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) over 26/26 Anthony White (RU) by TF, 19-3 (6:30); PSU leads, 19-3
174: 2/2 Levi Haines (PSU) over 22/23 Jackson Turley (RU) by dec., 5-2; PSU leads, 22-3
184: 1/1 Carter Starocci (PSU) over 18/19 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) by TF, 17-2 (6:58); PSU leads, 27-3
197: 4/4 Josh Barr (PSU) over 16/17 John Poznanski (RU) by TF, 22-6 (6:19); PSU leads, 32-3
HWT: 2/2 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) over 7/8 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) by dec., 2-0; PSU wins, 35-3
Rankings Intermat/Flo
Leave a Reply