HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Behind an individual title from No. 18 Dean Peterson (125) and a program-record nine placewinners, No. 16 Rutgers wrestling finished second at the 2024 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Monday in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Peterson was one of four individual finalists at Midlands, along with No. 16 Dylan Shawver (133), No. 20 Joseph Olivieri (141) and No. 29 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184). No. 5 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) wrestled back to a bronze medal, while No. 33 Andrew Clark (149) and Brian Soldano (184) both finished fourth. No. 22 Jackson Turley (174) placed fifth, and No. 14 John Poznanski (197) finished sixth.
With their nine placewinners and 147 team points, the Scarlet Knights finished only behind Stanford, who claimed the team trophy with 157 points. Penn finished third with 131. It marked the most team points scored at the championships in school history and matched its best team result recorded in 2017.
2024 Midlands Championships Placewinners
1st: No. 18 Dean Peterson (125)
2nd: No. 16 Dylan Shawver (133)
2nd: No. 20 Joseph Olivieri (141)
2nd: No. 29 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184)
4th: No. 33 Andrew Clark (149)
4th: Brian Soldano (184)
3rd: No. 5 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT)
5th: No. 22 Jackson Turley (174)
6th: No. 14 John Poznanski (197)
Intermat Rankings
Peterson defeated No. 26 Blake West (Northern Illinois) in his championship bout, using two takedowns and a reversal for an 8-7-decision. Peterson finished a team-best six victories across the two-day tournament, which included three tech falls and two decisions over ranked foes.
Shawver wrestled in his second consecutive Midlands title match after he lost to Dylan Ragusin in the finals a year prior. This time Shawver faced No. 10 Tyler Knox (Stanford), staying tied with Knox deep into the third period before Know used a takedown and back points for the 10-3 final.
Cartagena-Walsh and Olivieri both lost close decisions to ranked foes. Olivieri took No. 11 CJ Composto (Penn) to sudden victory before the Quaker used a takedown for the 4-1 final. Cartagena-Walsh was tied with No. 19 Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) 5-5 in the third period before Heller landed a last-second takedown for the 8-5 final.
After he lost is semifinal bout during the morning session, Slavikouski wrestled back a third-place match against Logan Shephard (Bucknell), muscling a 10-2 major decision to finish with a bronze medal.
Rutgers went 3-for-3 in its first semifinal bouts of the morning session. Peterson used a first-period takedown en route to a 4-0 decision over No. 25 Jacob Moran. Shawver followed with a tough 3-2 decision in the first tiebreakers against Ben Davino (Ohio State), and Olivieri continued his winning streak with a pin in the third period over No. 18 Dylan Chappell (Bucknell).
Cartagena-Walsh was the fourth to earn a win in his semifinal bout. Facing No. 33 Nathan Haas (Cal Baptist), Cartagena-Walsh took his opponent to sudden victory tied 1-1 before landing a takedown in overtime for the 4-1 final.
Clark, Poznanski, Slavikouski and Soldano all lost tight decisions in their respective semifinal bouts to ranked foes. Clark and Soldano closed their championships with fourth-place finishes, Turley came back to place fifth, and Poznanski closed out the weekend with a sixth-place result
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