No. 17 Rutgers wrestling dominates Lock Haven in home opener, ends 2-match losing streak
The always humble head coach Scott Goodale didn’t let his emotions get the best of him on Friday night. Going up against his alma mater, Lock Haven, Goodale focused on the match before him as the Rutgers wrestling team defeated the Bald Eagles (1-1, 1-0) 34-6 to snap a two-match losing streak. The Scarlet Knights (4-2, 0-0) won 8 of their 10 bouts, winning seven straight after dropping the first one.
The dual untraditionally started at 149 pounds, with No. 31 senior 149-pounder Andrew Clark against Lucas Kapusta. It was a narrow bout, but Kapusta came out on top 4-1 in sudden victory to hand Clark his third defeat of the season.
The slow but intense energy from the opening bout continued into the next as freshman 157-pounder Conner Harer edged out a 1-0 shutout decision over No. 33 Nick Stampoulos – an NCAA qualifier last season – to end his two-bout losing streak and pick up his first career ranked win.
No. 27 senior 165-pounder Anthony White gave No. 17 Rutgers a 6-3 lead over Lock Haven with a 4-1 decision over Caden Dobbins. White amassed more than 2 minutes of riding time and was dominant on top from start to finish.
No. 20 graduate student 174-pounder Jackson Turley got the crowd at Jersey Mike’s Arena on their feet with a thrilling bout against No. 33 Avery Bassett, winning 10-3 for his first ranked win of the season. Turley also snapped his two-match losing skid.
After upsetting then-No. 12 Thomas Stewart, Jr. two weeks ago, sophomore 184-pounder Shane Cartagena-Walsh picked up his second straight ranked win, defeating No. 28 Colin Fegley 4-3. Cartagena-Walsh landed the Knights’ first takedown of the night and avenged a 4-2 defeat to Fegley at the Princeton Open in early November.
“I thought he over-wrestled to be honest with you,” Goodale said. “He has such a great motor and such a great pace, sometimes you just gotta wrestle instead of trying to get somebody tired … I know he didn’t like the performance … There’s a lot we can get better at that weight and we know that.”
After the first five bouts, Rutgers led 12-3.
After missing weight at 184 pounds, No. 22 junior 184-pounder Brian Soldano got the start at 197 and put on a show, pinning Tucker Hogan in less than 1 minute. Soldano now has a team-high five falls this season. No. 9 graduate student 285-pounder Yaraslau Slavikouski followed with a pin of his own to give the Knights a 24-3 lead with three bouts to go.
“I felt good, I felt healthy,” Soldano said on competing at 197 pounds. “If I can get a pin, I wanna get a pin. There’s nothing like hearing JMA get up on their feet, so I’m looking for the fall.”
Soldano comedically called his signature pin move "The Soldano" and said he's used it since second grade.
The dominance continued, with No. 19 senior 125-pounder Dean Peterson landing the 20-5 tech fall over Lucas Fye to erase a two-bout losing skid. Peterson missed the last dual against Virginia Tech after picking up an injury in the loss to NC State.
Up next was the marquee bout of the dual: No. 5 senior 133-pounder Dylan Shawver against No. 14 Anthony Noto, a three-time NCAA qualifier and the third-place 125 pounds weight class finisher at the NCAA Championships last season.
Shawver trailed 9-4 after the first period but only scored 1 point in the second via an escape. He ultimately could not overcome the first-period deficit and suffered his first defeat of the season, a 10-7 loss to Noto.
No. 24 senior 141-pounder Joseph Olivieri closed the match against Conner Heckman, securing a 19-3 technical fall to erase a two-match losing streak.
Rutgers will have a quick turnaround, wrestling Princeton on Sunday in the 87th installment of the New Jersey rivalry. The match will start at noon and will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
“I have so much respect,” Goodale said. “It’s a small school (Lock Haven), and they don’t have the resources we have at Rutgers and they do just an incredible job so I would just love to continue to wrestle those guys. They’re hard-nosed and really good, this’ll set us up going forward – you kinda saw that up and down the lineup.”
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