PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers wrestling announced its team awards for the 2023-24 season at its annual end-of-the-year banquet, held on Wednesday, May 1 at the Rutgers Club. Dylan Shawver (133) and Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) shared the Ted Petty Most Valuable Wrestler Award after both earned All-America finishes at the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri.
Shawver delivered 27 victories this past season, which included a dominant 23-8 tech fall over Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) to claim the program’s first individual Big Ten title since Anthony Ashnault and Nick Suriano both won in 2019. Shawver followed with a 4-2 mark at the 2024 NCAA Championships en route to a seventh-place finish and All-America laurels at 133 pounds. Shawver lead the team with 53 team points during the dual campaign and finished 2023-24 with a team-high 11 victories over ranked foes.
Slavikouski shined in his first season at Rutgers after he arrived as a graduate transfer from Harvard, posting 19 wins in 2023-24. Slavikouski finished fourth at Big Tens and earned the No. 13 seed at the national tournament, where he ripped off five victories to become a NCAA All-American for the first time in his collegiate career. With his seventh-place finish, Slavikouski became the first heavyweight since Edward Scharer (1964) to earn All-America laurels for the Scarlet Knights. Slavikouski also secured NWCA All-America honors twice during his time with the Crimson.
Rutgers wrapped up another successful season, finishing No. 14 in the final NWCA Coaches Poll and producing multiple All-Americans for the eighth time in nine seasons under head coach Scott Goodale. Shawver and Slavikouski finished seventh in their respective weight classes at the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships, as Rutgers has produced at least one All-American in 10 of the past 11 years. Eight Scarlet Knights qualified for nationals, our most since all 10 starters qualified in 2016. RU also finished sixth at the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which included an individual title from Shawver, seven conference placewinners and 87.5 team points – its best team result since 2016.
Rutgers finished 12-5 during the dual season and earned a final No. 14 ranking in the NWCA Coaches Poll – its 12th top-25 finish in the poll under Goodale. The Scarlet Knights once again finished in the top six in national home attendance as it averaged more than 4,000 per home dual in 2023-24. Twelve student-athletes earned Winter Academic All-Big Ten recognition, while three individuals – Slavikouski, John Poznanski and Anthony White – were named NWCA Scholar All-Americans.
A full list of 2023-24 award winners can be found below.
Ted Petty Award (Most Valuable Wrestler): Dylan Shawver and Yaraslau Slavikouski
Top GPA: Hadyn Packer
Sam Cali Award (Top Redshirt): Shane Cartagena-Walsh
Dual Scoring Champion: Dylan Shawver (53 team points)
Josh Gross Coach’s Award: Joseph Olivieri
Most Improved: Michael Cetta
Matches of the Year: Dean Peterson over Matt Ramos at Big Tens; Dylan Shawver over Dylan Ragusin at Big Tens
Clutch Performances of the Year: Yaraslau Slavikouski over Yonger Bastida at NCAAs, Jackson Turley over Andre Sparks at Big Tens
Comebacks of the Year: Dylan Shawver over Brode Teske at NCAAs, John Poznanski over Mac Stout at NCAAs
Pins of the Year: Mitch Moore over Vance Vombauer at Big Tens, Brian Soldano over Ryder Rogotzke in Ohio State dual
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