The #29 Rutgers Scarlet Knights will be taking on the U.R. Indiana Hoosiers this Friday in dual action. Despite the Hoosiers being unranked, there will still be a lot of good matches in this meet. Indiana is consistently getting better as a program and I believe this will be another opportunity for them to prove it. Six matches stick out in particular, with some favoring Rutgers, some favoring Indiana & others being tossups.
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| #16 Dean Peterson Vs #25 Jacob Moran 125 |
This matchup between these talented lightweights favors the Scarlet Knights. Dean Peterson, a Midlands champion has defeated Jacob Moran (who was 4th at the Midlands himself) on two occasions, by 8-4 & 4-0 decisions. While he has had to work hard and earn his points against Moran, he's been able to shut Moran's offense down, and that has been the key in his two victories against the Hoosier. Predict a similar outcome this weekend, although I do see Moran trying new strategies to break past Peterson's stellar defense.
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| #16 Dylan Shawver Vs U.R. Angelo Rini 133 |
Even more so than 125, 133 also favors the Scarlet Knights. Dylan Shawver made the Midlands finals, while Angelo Rini came up a match short of a medal. With that said, this is NCAA DI wrestling, upsets happen, and they happen often. While Angelo Rini is currently unranked, he was an NCAA qualifier in 2023. I think this one will be better on the mat, than what it suggests it'll be on paper.
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| #27 Tony White Vs #24 Derek Gilcher Or U.R. Tyler Lillard 165 |
Here's where things get, very, very interesting. Check this out. Tyler Lillard, Midlands champ, has defeated Tony White on two occasions, in very close scores of 4-1 & 2-1 tiebreaker decisions. Lillard's teammate, Derek Gilcher has defeated him on two occasions, also by very close decisions. Any guesses as to the scores? Try 4-1 & 2-1 tiebreaker. Not sure who the Hoosiers will go with in this one, but either way, we've got a good match on our hands.
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| #28 Shane Cartagena-Walsh Vs #32 D.J. Washington 184 |
When you've been watching wrestling as long as I have, you realize that past results don't matter as much as you'd think they would. Shane Cartagena-Walsh, took 2nd to D.J. Washington's 7th at the Midlands championships, but I'm still very confident, this will be a good match. SCW, is a redshirt freshman looking to move up in the rankings & earn his first NCAA qualification this season. D.J. Washington is a three time NCAA qualifier, who barely missed out on qualification last season, looking to earn the fourth qualification he was shafted out of last year. As we all know the BIG 10's can be notoriously tough. As a result, seeding is crucial. A head to head victory is something both of these guys want going forward.
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| #18 John Poznanski Vs #23 Gabe Sollars 197 |
Gabe Sollars had perhaps the biggest win of his career, when he upset John Poznanski 9-5 at the Midlands. As he made the finals, Poznanski medical forfeited to 6th place. As we examine their last meeting, it's also important to note that Poznanski won their other two meetings by scores of 6-2 & 7-1. Based on Midlands results, the next rankings to be posted would most likely reflect Sollars ahead of Poznanski. Yet if Poznanski wins here, we're back to Poznanski being ahead of Sollars. It can often be chaos, hence why in 23 years of covering collegiate wrestling, I've only done rankings once. (And I never will again ;).....)
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| #8 Yaraslau Slavikouski Vs #22 Jacob Bullock HWT |
Rather ironic, but like teammate Gabe Sollars, Jacob Bullock pulled off the biggest win of his career to date, when he defeated a Rutgers opponent. Bullock knocked off All American Yaraslau Slavikouski by a 4-1 decision, eventually making the Midlands finals, while Slavikouski came back to take 3rd. If the Hoosier was to once again defeated the Scarlet Knight, it'd be huge to BIG 10 seedings. Slavikouski who guns to once again earn a top 8 showing at the NCAA's, of course wants to avenge the loss.
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