The Rutgers University wrestling begins its Big Ten Conference dual-meet season this weekend with matches at Indiana on Friday night and at Ohio State Sunday night with most of its lineup questions having appeared to be answered.
The Indiana match will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus beginning at 7 p.m. The Ohio State match will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network beginning at 6 p.m.
Rutgers (8-2, 0-0) is ranked No. 17 by intermatwrestle.com. Indiana (4-1, 0-1) is ranked 28th by intermat and Ohio State (8-0, 0-0) is ranked fourth by intermat.
Rutgers has lost 20 straight matches against top 10 teams since a 17-16 win over No. 10 Wisconsin on Jan. 11, 2019. It is also 0-55-1 all-time, 0-33 since it joined the Big Ten before the 2014-15 season against the conference’s Big Five of Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan.
The nonconference portion of the schedule appear to have resolved the lineup questions at 149 and 165 pounds.
It would appear Andrew Clark, a 2023 NCAA qualifier at 157,, will be the starter at 149. Anthony White, a 2023 national qualifier at 149, appears to be the starter at 165.
The major question is who will get the nod at 184 between junior and two-time NCAA qualifier Brian Soldano and redshirt freshman Shane Cartagena-Walsh.
Where the Rutgers lineup stands
125
Dean Peterson
A two-time NCAA qualifier, Peterson has won 11 straight bouts since two defeats on Nov. 17. The run includes winning the Midlands Championship on Dec. 30. He defeated Indiana’s Jacob Moran 4-0 in the semifinal and Northern Illinois’ Blake West 8-7 in the final.
Peterson has accumulated six wins by technical fall and a major decision during his run. One of Peterson’s defeats was by injury default due to a concussion to North Carolina State’s talented Vince Robinson in a bout Robinson was winning 11-4 at the time of the injury default.
The other defeat was 7-5 to Long Island University’s unheralded Robbie Sagaris.
133
Dylan Shawver
The NCAA seventh-place finisher last year and the defending Big Ten champion, Shawver is 11-3 overall, 10-3 on the mat.
Two of his defeats are to ranked wrestlers – Lock Haven’s two-time national 125-pound top four finisher Anthony Noto and Stanford redshirt freshman Tyler Knox in the Midlands final when Knox took Shawver down to his back for a seven-point move in the closing seconds of a bout Shawver was going to win 4-3 on the riding time point before Knox’s winning move.
The other defeat was a surprising 11-6 setback to Gardner-Webb’s Takeo Davis.
141
Joey Olivieri
Olivieri, who finally has the chance to be a starter from the beginning of season after being a mid-season replacement at 133 and 141 in 2022 and 2023 for current Rider 149-pounder Sammy Alvarez due to Alvarez’s weight issues, has been solid.
He is 11-3 with the defeats to past All-American’s Kai Orine of North Carolina State (2-1 on the riding time point), 4-1 to Virginia Tech’s Sam Latona on a takedown in the final seconds and 4-1 in sudden victory to Penn’s C.J. Composto in the Midlands final.
He has three pins, including ones in the quarterfinal and semifinal of the Midlands, and four wins by technical fall, including two in the Midlands.
149
Andrew Clark
Clark was competing with 2024 NCAA qualifier Michael Cetta early in the season for the spot. He defeated Cetta 2-1 in tiebreaker period No. 1 in a Black Knight Invitational semifinal. Since that bout, Cetta missed time due to injury and wrestled at 157 at the Midlands.
Clark is 15-6 with four of the defeats to nationally-ranked wrestlers.
157
Conner Harer
A freshman, Harer can not be redshirted because he has already wrestled in more than the five events allocated to freshmen before a redshirt decision has to be made.
He is 10-4 with three of the defeats to nationally-ranked wrestlers. He went 2-2 on the mat in the Midlands. Harer has shown he can be tough on top.
Cetta went 1-2 at this weight at the Midlands.
165
Anthony White
White had won seven bouts in a row before he was defeated 2-1 in sudden victory period No. 1 by Indiana’s eventual Midlands champion Tyler Lilliard.
Freshman Andrew Barbosa has had some big moments in his seven bouts, including a win over North Carolina State’s returning NCAA qualifier Derek Fields. He has only wrestled in three events and can wrestle in two more before a redshirt decision has to be made.
But, it would appear White will be the starter.
174
Jackson Turley
Turley, in his sixth and final season of collegiate wrestling and the national eighth-place finisher in 2021, is 10-4 on the mat with the defeats to nationally-ranked wrestlers. He is always capable of going on a bonus point run.
184
Here is the major intrigue.
A strong case can be made for both Soldano and Cartagena-Walsh.
They both lost to the same wrestler – Pitt’s two-time national qualifier Reece Heller – in the Midlands. Heller defeated Cartagena-Walsh 9-6 in the final and majored Soldano 16-7 in the semifinal.
The other common opponent the two have is Princeton’s nationally-ranked Mike Squires. Soldano majored Squires 8-0 in a Midlands quarterfinal. Squires defeated Cartagena-Walsh 3-0 on Dec. 8.
Soldano, who was a three-time NJSIAA champion at High Point and was one of the nation’s most highly-rated recruits in 2022, is capable of the spectacular because of his unorthodox style.
He has 12 pins, including seven in a row from Nov. 24-Dec. 29. Two of those pins came when he filled in for the injured John Poznanski at 197 in matches against Lock Haven and Princeton.
One of his pins at 184 came in sudden victory against Illinois’ Edmond Ruth, who was an All-American and Big Ten champion at 174 last year.
However, Soldano, because of his style, can give up a lot of points, too.
Cartagena-Walsh is solid, but not flashy. He is 3-2 against nationally-ranked wrestlers, including a 5-1 win over Virginia Tech’s 2024 national seventh-place finisher T.J. Stewart.
It is a tough call for Rutgers head coach Scott Goodale and his assistant coaches. It is possible this plays out for a bit.
197
John Poznanski
Poznanski is 8-4 with two of the defeats by medical forfeit in the Midlands after he was defeated 9-5 by Indiana’s Gabe Sollars in the semifinal.
The other defeat was 4-3 to Virginia Tech’s nationally-ranked Andy Smith. He has six wins by technical fall and a pin.
Heavyweight
Yaraslau Slavikouski
The NCAA seventh-place finisher last season, Slavikouski is 10-2 with the defeats to North Carolina State’s two-time NCAA qualifier Isaac Trumble (2-0) and to Indiana’s nationally-ranked Jason Bullock (4-1 on a late takedown) in the Midlands semifinal.
He also has a 4-1 win in sudden victory over Virginia Tech’s nationally-ranked Jimmy Mullen. Mullen was a three-time NJSIAA champion at St. Joseph (Montvale).
Rutgers vs. Indiana possible lineups
Rutgers wrestlers listed first
Rankings are from intermatwrestle.com and flowrestling.org
125: 16/15 Dean Peterson (12-2) or Ayden Smith (4-4) vs. 23/21 Jacob Moran (16-4)
133: 17/14 Dylan Shawver (11-3) vs. NR/28 Angelo Rini (11-5)
141: 16/14 Joey Olivieri (11-3) vs. Henry Porter (9-5)
149: 24/26 Andrew Clark (15-6) vs. Anthony Bahl (2-7)
157: 31/NR Conner Harer (10-4) vs. Ryan Garvick (5-6) or Aidan Torres (6-7)
165: 23/22 Anthony White (11-4) or Andrew Barbosa (4-3) vs. NR/16 Tyler Liliard (14-4)
174: 23/22 Jackson Turley (11-4) vs. Nick South (4-5) or Roman Rogotzke (5-5)
184: NR/18 Brian Soldano (16-6) or 27/NR Shane Cartagena-Walsh (14-5) vs. 32/NR D.J. Washington (7-3)
197: 18/22 John Poznanski (8-4) or P.J. Casale (7-8) vs. 23/28 Gabe Sollars (11-5)
HWT: 8/10 Yaraslau Slavikouski (10-2) or John O’Donnell (7-3) vs. 23/24 Jacob Bullock (11-5)
