No. 14 Rutgers wrestling routed on road against No. 1 Penn State
The Rutgers wrestling team lost 35-3 to Penn State on Monday night. The Scarlet Knights (10-5, 3-4) only won 1 of their 10 bouts against the Nittany Lions (10-0, 7-0) and suffered their biggest defeat of the season.
No. 14 Rutgers started off the dual with a loss, as No. 19 junior 125-pounder Dean Peterson fell in a 4-1 defeat to No. 2 Braeden Davis in sudden victory.
Coming off a strong ranked win against Ohio State, No. 10 junior 133-pounder Dylan Shawver battled with No. 6 Aaron Nagao and earned a 9-6 decision in sudden victory to tie the dual at 3-3. Shawver has now won back-to-back matches against ranked opponents.
Freshman 125-pounder Max Hermes filled in for No. 19 graduate student 141-pounder Mitch Moore in the 141-pound weight class. Hermes kept his bout with No. 1 Beau Bartlett close until the very end, but a last-second takedown from Bartlett helped him retain his undefeated record.
No. 1 Penn State would emerge victorious in the next bout. No. 26 junior 149-pounder Michael Cetta, who was ranked for the first time this season, fell 7-5 to No. 10 Tyler Kasak.
The Knights were trailing 9-3 after four bouts but were able to keep every bout close with the Nittany Lions.
Junior 157-pounder Dylan Weaver struggled in his contest with No. 1 Levi Haines as Haines was able to land the pin over Weaver at the 1:31 mark of the first period.
Rutgers trailed Penn State 15-3 heading into the intermission.
The Nittany Lions came out of the locker room on the front foot, as No. 7 Mitchell Mesenbrink secured an 18-3 technical fall win over junior 165-pounder Anthony White. White has now lost six straight matches.
No. 13 senior 174-pounder Jackson Turley suffered an upset defeat to Terrell Barraclough in a 4-3 decision to extend Penn State's lead to 23-3 and all but seal the dual win.
Freshman 174-pounder Shane Cartagena-Walsh filled in for No. 19 sophomore 184-pounder Brian Soldano and was shut out 7-0 by No. 6 Bernie Truax.
The Knights' night went from bad to worse, as No. 1 Aaron Brooks quickly pinned sophomore 184-pounder Michael Toranzo. Brooks, the reigning national champion for his respective weight class, is now 11-0 on the season.
No. 8 graduate student 285-pounder Yaraslau Slavikouski ended the dual with an 8-3 loss to Lucas Cochran. Slavikouski has now lost back-to-back matches.
Rutgers will look to return to its winning ways on Friday against Maryland at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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