Rutgers Wrestling Sweeps Opening Quad, Freshmen Shine: Video Reaction Inside

The Scarlet Knights kicked off the 2019-20 campaign by sweeping their quad at the RAC over LIU, Centenary and Pitt-Johnstown. The scores are listed below

Rutgers vs. LIU: W - 43-3

Rutgers vs. Centenary: W - 38-6

Rutgers vs. Pitt-Johnstown: W - 22-9

The full results can be found here.

We’d also like to debut our video recaps of Rutgers Wrestling. I’ll be recapping them with my former radio partner Mike Antosiewicz. You can find the first one below and catch them throughout the season.

Takeaways:

The Debuts

Malcolm Robinson (125)

-Nico Aguilar will wrestle tomorrow at the Princeton Open so Robinson filled in and went 2-1. He looked a bit conservative in his first match and then after building an 8-1 lead in his second, he was caught and pinned. His third match provided the most theatrics as he earned a sudden victory win 3-1. He will provide some nice young depth this season.

Sammy Alvarez (133)

-Alvarez came out swinging with an 18-2 tech fall. He sat out the second dual and wrestled a second time against Pitt-Johnstown. He was caught early and put in a 6-0 hole. He would drop to 1-1 on the day.

JoJo Aragona (141)

-Aragona showed why he can be a star at Rutgers. He finished 3-0 on the day, looked confident, poised, aggressive in neutral, and dominant on top. He’s going to be special.

Jackson Turley (165)

-Turley wrestled against Centenary in the second match of the day. He would go on to win 9-3 after flashing moments and strength and agility. It will remain to be seen whether he or Brett Donner will be the full time starter.

Billy Janzer (184)

-You want to talk about a freight train? Look no further than Janzer. He went 3-0 on the day, although the middle match was a forfeit, and showed why head coach Scott Goodale was raving about him on media day. His brute strength up top is going to be a problem for a lot of wrestlers. His ability to change direction and drop down to low leg singles and utilize trips is fascinating to watch.

New Philosophy?

It was noticeable that Rutgers wrestlers are using a lot of upper body movements. Plenty of guys, especially Janzer, utilized under and over hooks to work trips and low leg singles. Janzer was particularly effective, due to it being his preferred style. But throughout all 30 bouts, the Scarlet Knights seem to be embracing some new techniques.

The Veterans

Mike Van Brill (157)

-This kid looks healthy, strong, and agile at a more natural weight. After struggling to make 141 the last two seasons, Van Brill looked much more effective as he went 3-0 on the day.

Joe Grello (174)

-Grello finished 2-0 on the day, including a 40 second pin in his first match. He is currently No. 17 according to Flo Wrestling and will be an All-American contender this season.

Jordan Pagano (197)

-The return of Pagano after being granted a sixth year of eligibility was a sight to behold. He went 2-0 on the day and will definitely challenge Matt Correnti for the starting spot. Expect an early rotation of these two early on before a concrete decision by the end of the year.

Christian Colucci (HWT)

-Colucci also went 2-0 on the day and looked effective. He showcased some tilts in his first match and will be a force as a Top 25 wrestler. Expect him to hover in the rankings throughout the season.

Next:

Rutgers travels to California and wil take on Fresno State on November 15th.