Rutgers Wrestling Improves to 5-0 After West Coast Trip: Observations

Rutgers took out Fresno State and CSU Bakersfield over the weekend 23-13 and 24-12, respectively.

There were some pleasant results from this young squad which is giving everyone Piscataway some good vibes as the first Big Ten dual meet approaches vs. Maryland on December 7th.

Here are some observations from the weekend:

Sammy Alvarez is For Real, Just Young

Alvarez was recently bumped up to No. 11 at 133 in the Flo Wrestling rankings and started the weekend with a major decision over No. 23 Gary Joint of Fresno State. However, he was pinned against CSU Bakersfield. Alvarez has some room to grow considering he’s a true freshman wrestling for a Big Ten school. There’s way more excitement than concern. He’ll continue to improve.

197 is Going to be a Hard Decision

Jordan Pagano, who’s ranked No. 14 at 197 in Flo’s rankings, and Matt Correnti, who’s currently undefeated, give Rutgers a great problem at this weight. They’re both exploding out of the gate and looked impressive this weekend. However, only one can wrestle in the postseason. It’ll be a shame for the guy that doesn’t. But hey, this is what happens when your program continues to grow and wants to be on par with Penn State, Iowa, and others.

JoJo Aragona Suffers Surprising Loss

Again, he’s a true freshman so we’ll give him a break. After a 3-0 start at the quad meet to open the season and a nice showing at the Journeymen Classic, Aragona lost 4-2 to unranked DJ Llehman of Fresno State. This was Aragona’s first official match after being pegged No. 24 according to Flo Wrestling at 141. Zach Firestone stepped in at 141 against CSU Bakersfield but lost 18-12.