No. 15 Wrestling Opens Season Friday with Cal Poly, Duke

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 15 Rutgers wrestling opens its 2023-24 dual season out west with duals against Cal Poly and Duke on Friday, November 3 in San Luis Obispo, California. The Scarlet Knights face the Blue Devils at 7 p.m. ET and follow with the Mustangs at 10:30 p.m. ET. RU’s dual with Cal Poly will stream on Cal Poly’s athletic website and on X. Friday’s first match with Duke will not be streamed.

Rutgers enters the first week of the season ranked No. 15 in the initial NWCA Coaches Poll and No. 14 by Intermat. Individually, the Scarlet Knights are one of just seven programs with student-athletes ranked at all 10 weight classes by Intermat, which includes top-12 ranked wrestlers No. 6 Dean Peterson (125), No. 6 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT), No. 10 Brian Soldano (184) and No. 12 John Poznanski (197).

This season’s roster features 12 NCAA qualifiers and two All-Americans – Poznanski and Jackson Turley (174). Rutgers has also added three student-athletes – Slavikouski (Harvard), Jacob Butler (Oklahoma) and Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) – with NCAA Championships experience. Moore and Slavikouski competed at last year’s NCAA Championships, with Slavikouski advancing to the Round of 12 at heavyweight for the Crimson.

Projected Lineup: No. 15 Rutgers (0-0, 0-0)

125: 6/9 Dean Peterson -OR- Brandon Chletsos

133: 16/19 Dylan Shawver

141: 17/16 Mitch Moore -OR- Joe Fongaro

149: 25/NR Jacob Butler -OR- Michael Cetta

157: 21/19 Andrew Clark -OR- Al DeSantis

165: 24/NR Anthony White -OR- Luke Gayer

174: 28/NR Jackson Turley -OR- Shane Cartagena-Walsh

184: 10/8 Brian Soldano

197: 12/13 John Poznanski

HWT: 6/11 Yaraslau Slavikouski -OR- Kyle Epperly

Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling

Projected Lineup: RV Cal Poly (0-0, 0-0)

125: Dom Mendez

133: Zeth Romney

141: Abe Hinrichsen

149: 8/7 Chance Lamer

157: 26/NR Legend Lamer

165: Michael Goldfeder

174: 23/19 Adam Kemp

184: Kendall La Rosa

197: Jarad Priest

HWT: 25/25 Trevor Tinker -OR- Josh Harkey

Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling

Projected Lineup: Duke (0-0, 0-0)

125: Logan Agin

133: Raymond Adams

141: Peter Chacon

149: Jarred Papcsy

157: Logan Ferrero -OR- Nick Tattini

165: Gaetano Console -OR- Aidan Wallace

174: Jack Wimmer

184: Connor Becker

197: Kwasi Bonsu

HWT: Connor Barket

Rankings Intermat/FloWrestling

What to Know

• Rutgers has nine home dates on its schedule and seven duals against ranked opponents in 2023-24. The challenging slate includes top-10 matchups with No. 1 Penn State (February 12), No. 4 Virgina Tech (November 17), No. 7 Ohio State (February 4), and No. 9 Michigan (January 21).
• RU finished No. 22 in the final 2022-23 NWCA Coaches Poll, the 10th final top-25 finish under head coach Scott Goodale. Rutgers produced seven NCAA qualifiers for the second consecutive season and qualified five or more student-athletes to the national tournament for the ninth consecutive season.
• Four wrestlers – Clark, Soldano, Peterson and White – made their NCAA Championships debut last season, with Peterson finishing one win shy of All-America status.
• The Scarlet Knights finished fourth in the country in home attendance average last season, with 5,018 fans per home match at Jersey Mike’s Arena during the 2022-23 campaign. It marked the seventh consecutive season Rutgers finished top five nationally in attendance.

Scouting Cal Poly & Series History

• Cal Poly finished 8-6 last season, including a 5-0 conference record en route to the 2023 Pac-12 dual meet title. The Mustangs sent four to the 2023 NCAA Championships in Tulsa, where Bernie Truax finished fourth in the country at 197 pounds to claim his third consecutive All-America laurel.
• Cal Poly features four ranked wrestlers, according to Intermat. Chance Lamer (149) is the team’s highest-ranked student-athlete at No. 8 in the country.
• Rutgers is 1-1 all-time against Cal Poly. The Scarlet Knights defeated the Mustangs, 38-4, on November 11, 2016, out in California and lost to Cal Poly, 24-22, on February 11, 2012, at the College Avenue Gym.

Scouting Duke & Series History

• Duke finished 3-12 in dual action last season. Jonah Niesenbaum (HWT) represented the Blue Devils at last season’s NCAA Championships.
• Rutgers is 1-0 all-time against Duke, winning the only previous meeting, 28-6, on February 7, 2004, during a neutral-site dual in College Park, Maryland.

Potential Ranked-vs.-Ranked Matchups

• 149: 8/7 Chance Lamer (Cal Poly) vs. 25/NR Jacob Butler
• 157: 26/NR Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) vs. 21/19 Andrew Clark
• 174: 23/19 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) vs. 28/NR Jackson Turley
• HWT: 25/25 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) vs. 6/11 Yaraslau Slavikouski

Up Next

• Rutgers opens its 2023-24 home schedule on Friday, November 17 against No. 4 Virginia Tech. The out-of-conference dual is set for 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Plus. Season and single-match tickets are on sale now.
• The Scarlet Knights will also have wrestlers compete in the Princeton Open on Sunday, November 5 at Jadwin Gymnasium. Six student-athletes will wrestle attached, with the remaining appearing unattached in the single-day tournament.