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#RWrestling: Boppin' the Beavers and movin' up!

This team is pretty good. And I'm getting excited for the Big Ten portion of the season.

By rvc73
Roy DeBoer - used with permission

Go west, young man.  The words of Horace Greeley (from an editorial in the New York Tribune on July 13, 1865: "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.")  Well, Rutgers Wrestling went west on Saturday and showed a few people that they had, indeed, grown up.

The then-No. 15 Rutgers squad took on its fourth ranked team this season in the 18th-ranked Oregon State Beavers - the four time defending PAC 12 champions - and delivered a body blow that told the wrestling community that Rutgers was in the building.  Winning seven bouts, the Knights took down the home standing Beavers, 24-12.  In the second match of the day, the Knights topped Utah Valley, 30-9, a team that received votes in this week's USA Today/NWCA Coaches poll.  The Knights are now 7-1 with the only loss being a one-point loss to current No. 8 Oklahoma at the Northeast Duals.

The OSU match garnered attention even before it was wrestled as Iowa wrestling writer Tony Hager identified the match as more than a cross-country intersectional match up.

Building the program, head coach Scott Goodale has been able to redshirt experienced wrestlers this year and still put on the mat a nationally ranked squad.  And win.

"It was a great challenge," said head coach Scott Goodale. "We were excited to come out west and face a nationally ranked program that's been good for a really long time. These guys are wrestling really, really well right now. It was a business trip, that's the way we treated it. We're exited to be heading back home with two big wins."

A statement win was recorded by 197-pound Hayden Hrymack as he topped No. 15/12/16 Cody Crawford, 5-2.  Anthony Ashnault (141) and Richie Lewis (157) remained undefeated, each going 2-0 on the day.  At 165, Anthony Perrotti took down No. 12/NR/16 Seth Thomas, 14-6.

Full day's results here.

Individual Rankings

Rutgers continues to have four wrestlers ranked nationally in the various polls.  With the various services ranking wrestlers, a tweet is worth a thousand words.

The redshirt life

Goodale redshirted several wrestlers, but that doesn't mean they sit at home and work out.  On any given weekend, a number of wrestlers will be competing "unattached" in open tournaments.  This past weekend, the site was Lock Haven, PA.  Senior Ken Theobold won his first open title of the season Sunday, going 5-0 en route to a Mat Town Open championship at 149 pounds.  Junior Scott Delvecchio took a third at 157 pounds, while Redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Anthony Messner, sophomore heavyweight Ralph Normandia, and freshman 197-pounder heavyweight Kyle Kremiller all finished fourth.

Team Rankings

USA Today Coaches Poll  Nov 24
RANK SCHOOL PREV
1 Penn State (11) 1
2 Iowa 2
3 Ohio State (1) 5
4 Oklahoma State 4
5 Nebraska 7
6 Virginia Tech 6
7 Cornell 8
8 Oklahoma 14
9 Missouri 9
10 Michigan 3
12 Illinois 11
14 Rutgers 15
15 Wisconsin 13
18 Minnesota 19
23 Oregon State 18


Around the Big Ten

Wrestler of the Week

Bo Nickal, Penn State, 174 pounds - Fr.

  • Went 2-0 on the weekend, including wins over CSU Bakersfield's Bryce Hammond (No. 16) and Stanford's Keaton Sujbeck, making him 4-0 in his first collegiate campaign
  • Pin at the 1:57 mark over Hammond and 12-4 major decision over Sujbeck led undefeated Penn State to team victories over CSU Bakersfield and Stanford

Sunday, Nov. 29
Illinois/Maryland/Nebraska/Northwestern/Rutgers in Grapple at the Garden, 10 a.m.
Iowa at Iowa State, 3 p.m.
Minnesota at Oklahoma State, 3 p.m.

Grapple at the Garden: An idea for Sunday

The Jets and Giants are both scheduled to play at 1 pm on Sunday.  So here's an idea.  Go to the city, because Rutgers returns to the mat this Sunday, Nov. 29 in the fourth annual "Grapple at the Garden." The Scarlet Knights will wrestle No. 8 Cornell (10 a.m.) and George Mason (Noon) at Madison Square Garden.  After that, find a sports bar around the Garden, watch the games, come home by train.  Perfect.