No. 17 Rutgers wrestling delivered two wins over the weekend, including a home victory over Lock Haven, 34-6, on Friday at Jersey Mike’s Arena and a road win at in-state rival Princeton, 32-7, on Sunday at Jadwin Gym. In total, the Scarlet Knights won 16 of their 20 matches during their two duals, which included four pins – Brian Soldano (2), Yaraslau Slavikouski and Jackson Turley.
Match 1: No. 17 Wrestling Clips Lock Haven, 34-6
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers wrestling (4-2) defeated Lock Haven (1-1), 34-6, on Friday night in front of 3,434 fans at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
The Scarlet Knights worked an 8-2 match split over the Bald Eagles, which included ranked decisions from No. 20 Jackson Turley (174), Conner Harer (157) and Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184). No. 22 Brian Soldano wrestled up a weight to deliver a fall at 197 pounds, No. 9 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) added a pin and No. 19 Dean Peterson (125) and No. 24 Joseph Olivieri (141) both teched their opponents.
“It was awesome to be back at JMA,” said head coach Scott Goodale, who faced off against his alma mater. “I was able to see some old friends and my former coach, so that was pretty cool. It was just good to see some of our fans back in here. I’m excited.”
With an nontraditional start at 149 pounds, No. 31 Andrew Clark lost a tough 4-1 decision to Lucas Kapusta in sudden victory, as Lock Haven took the first lead of the night at 3-0. But Harer followed with a crucial decision over No. 33 Nick Stampoulos, using a 1-0 victory to get his hand raised at Jersey Mike’s Arena for the first time and tie the team score at 3-3.
White got the nod against Caden Dobbins and muscled 2:45 of riding time and a reversal in the third period for the 4-1 decision. Turley followed with a dominant match against No. 31 Avery Bassett, hitting a four-point near fall on a reversal and collecting more than three minutes of riding time en route to a 10- 3 decision. Turley’s ranked win made it 9-3 Rutgers through the first four bouts of the night.
Cartagena-Walsh earned the start against No. 28 Colin Fegley and landed a takedown in the first period before holding off Fegley for the 4-3 decision. It was Cartagena-Walsh’s second win over a ranked foe in as many matches, as he earned victory over TJ Stewart two weeks prior at No. 7 Virginia Tech.
With four wins in their first five matches, the Scarlet Knights took a 12-3 lead into intermission.
Soldano bumped up a weight out of the break to face Tucker Hogan at 197 pounds, hitting a headlock from his back for the pin in the first period.
“Oh, that’s my classic move. I’ve hit it since I was in second grade,” Soldano said. They call it the Soldano.”
Slavikouski added the second fall of the night, this one coming early in the third period over Ethan Miller to put the dual out of reach at 24-3 with three matches left.
In his first match since November 17, Peterson faced Lucas Fye and landed three takedowns and two near-fall points for a quick 11-3 lead after the first period. Peterson continued to attack and finished off Fye with a 20-5 tech fall.
No. 5 Dylan Shawver (133) faced two-time All-American No. 14 Anthony Noto and wrestled a back-and-forth match with the Bald Eagle. After Noto landed the first takedown, Shawver responded with one of his own for a 4-3 lead in the first period. However, Noto landed an escape and four-near fall at the buzzer for a 9-3 lead after one. Shawver kept at it down the stretch but lost 10-7 for his first defeat of the season.
Olivieri closed the night with Conner Heckman and jumped out to an early 9-2 lead before finishing with a 19-3 tech fall in the third period. RU’s fourth bonus-point victory of the night made it a 34-6 final.
Box Score
No. 17 Rutgers 34, Lock Haven 6
149: Lucas Kapusta (LHU) over 31/25 Andrew Clark (RU) by SV1, 4-1; Lock Haven leads, 3-0
157: Conner Harer (RU) over 33/NR Nick Stampoulos (LHU) by dec., 1-0; match tied, 3-3
165: 31/30 Anthony White (RU) over Caden Dobbins (LHU) by dec., 4-1; RU leads, 6-3
174: 20/20 Jackson Turley (RU) over 33/NR Avery Bassett (LHU) by dec., 10-3; RU leads, 9-3
184: Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) over 28/31 Colin Fegley (LHU) by dec., 4-3; RU leads, 12-3
197: 22/20 Brian Soldano (RU) over Tucker Hogan (LHU) by fall (0:52); RU leads, 18-3
HWT: 9/6 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) over Ethan Miller (LHU) by fall (5:28); RU leads, 24-3
125: 19/13 Dean Peterson (RU) over Lucas Fye (LHU) by TF, 20-5 (4:47); RU leads, 29-3
133: 14/13 Anthony Noto (LHU) over 5/7 Dylan Shawver (RU) by dec., 10-7; RU leads, 29-6
141: 24/32 Joseph Olivieri (RU) over Conner Heckman (LHU) by TF, 19-3 (6:32); RU wins, 34-6
Rankings Intermat/Flo
Match 2: No. 17 Wrestling Tames Princeton, 32-7
PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers wrestling (5-2) delivered a 32-7 win over in-state rival Princeton (2-4) on Sunday at Jadwin Gymnasium.
The Scarlet Knights won eight out of 10 matches against the Tigers, as No. 9 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT), No. 20 Jackson Turley (174), No. 22 Brian Soldano (197) and Conner Harer (157) all delivered bonus-point victories.
Sunday marked the 87th meeting all-time between the two programs – RU’s longest-running series in school history. The win moved the all-time series to 48-34-5 in favor of Rutgers, who has won the last four meetings and 28 of the last 29 matchups dating back to 1993.
“I thought it was a good win,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “I know they were banged up a bit, but it was a great atmosphere and great to see everyone come out for this one. It was a good weekend for us.”
With a match start at 141 pounds, Olivieri faced Drew Heethuis and landed a takedown in the opening period en route to a 5-2 decision. Clark followed with a 5-0 decision over Chris Martino, using a takedown in the second period, 2:32 of riding time and plenty of mat returns to help Rutgers to a quick 6-0 lead through two bouts.
Harer wasted no time in his match with Cody Tavoso, landing a takedown early and collecting 2:42 of riding time in the opening period for a 3-0 lead. Harer added a takedown and reversal in the second and muscled a takedown in the third for the 13-4 major decision.
White faced Hudson Hightower at 165 pounds, earning a takedown in the first period with an escape in the second to secure an 8-4 decision. Turley was the last to go before the midpoint, landing four takedowns on Xavier Giles before sticking the Tiger later in the third period for the fall.
Turley’s pin made it five wins in five matches for Rutgers before intermission, with the Scarlet Knights up 19-0 at the break.
A tough 3-0 loss from Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) to No. 27 Michael Squires gave Princeton its first win of the day before Soldano wrestled up for the second consecutive dual at 197 pounds. Soldano landed a quick takedown on Diego Costa before he caught Costa in a headlock for an eventual pin in the first period. The fall made it 25-3 Rutgers with three bouts left.
Slavikouski landed four takedowns in his bout with Sebastian Garibaldi to add a 16-3 major decision to his resume. Peterson scored a 5-1 decision over Ethan Rivera, while Brandan Chletsos (133) wrestled hard in a 9-1 loss to Dan Jones to close the dual.
Up Next
Rutgers is on the road once again next week with a dual at Clarion on Friday, December 13 at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights will then wrestle Kent State (2 p.m.) and Gardner-Webb (4 p.m.) on Saturday, December 14 in Kent, Ohio.
Box Score
No. 17 Rutgers 32, Princeton 7
141: 24/32 Joseph Olivieri (RU) over Drew Heethuis (PU) by dec., 5-2; RU leads, 3-0
149: 31/25 Andrew Clark (RU) over Chris Martino (PU) by dec., 5-0; RU leads, 6-0
157: Conner Harer (RU) over Cody Tavoso (PU) by MD, 13-4; RU leads, 10-0
165: 31/30 Anthony White (RU) over Hudson Hightower (PU) by dec., 8-4; RU leads, 13-0
174: 20/20 Jackson Turley (RU) over Xavier Giles (PU) by fall (6:18); RU leads, 19-0
184: 27/29 Michael Squires (PU) over Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) by dec., 3-0; RU leads, 19-3
197: 22/20 Brian Soldano (RU) over Diego Costa (PU) by fall (1:34); RU leads, 25-3
HWT: 9/6 Yaraslau Slavikouski (RU) over Sebastian Garibaldi (PU) by MD, 16-3; RU leads, 29-3
125: 19/13 Dean Peterson (RU) over Ethan Rivera (PU) by dec., 5-3; RU leads, 32-3
133: Dan Jones (PU) over Brandan Chletsos (RU) by MD, 9-1; RU wins, 32-7
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