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It’s the offseason, but there’s a lot going on concerning Rutgers Wrestling.
The Division 1 dual meet attendance numbers were released and Rutgers came in ranked No. 5 in the country in average attendance with 5,038 fans per meet. They had a total of 40,306 fans in eight home meets.
The top four were Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma State.
D1 Dual attendance remains strong: @Hawks_Wrestling and @pennstateWREST continue to top the chart compiled by @jasonmbryant and @AlexSteenUNAT https://t.co/rC5ruIVuwX pic.twitter.com/aDDRxoKchE
— Trackwrestling (@trackwrestling) April 16, 2019
He’s Back!
In wrestler news, Jordan Pagano was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and will compete in one more season in Piscataway.
I’m not leaving.... #6thYear pic.twitter.com/xkqNU3pm1P
— Jordan Pagano (@jordypagano) April 15, 2019
Pagano, who missed the majority of the past two seasons due to injury, owns 59 varsity victories during his collegiate career. In his last full season in 2016-17, Pagano went 27-12 and 6-1 in Big Ten dual action, earning an at-large selection to the 2017 NCAA Championships in St. Louis at 174 pounds. He is also a 2016 Midlands Championships place-winner.
How old is Jordan?
— lucci gang (@cjcolucci) April 16, 2019
-#1 song when he started Rutgers: “Hello” by Adele
-Obama was President
-I was at applying to Lehigh for the 100th time
-50 Shades of Grey was released to theaters
-McDonalds decided to serve all day breakfast
Kid eats a bowl of nails with no milk every morning for breakfast. Get ready @RUWrestling he’s coming. #titleszn #mugsforblood #mugsoup #shakermonday pic.twitter.com/kJ2YWYm0hG
— lucci gang (@cjcolucci) April 16, 2019
With some shifts in the lineup for the coming 2019-20 season, Pagano will likely be in the mix for 184 or 197. Billy Janzer and Willie Scott are expected to compete for 184, while Matt Correnti is the favorite to keep his spot at 197. Jackson Turley, an incoming freshman, is expected to go 174 for college, but could be in the mix for 184 as well.
Pagano, who qualified for NCAA’s at 174, would have to cut back down and beat out Joe Grello, who just went 2-2 at NCAA’s in Pittsburgh last month. Of course, there’s always the possibility of Grello cutting down to 165 where he actually certified last season.
Anthony Ashnault set for 2019 Pan-Am Championships
This weekend’s Pan Am Championships serve as a qualifier for both next month’s World Team Trials in Raleigh, North Carolina and the 2019 Pan American Games held in August in Lima, Peru.
Anthony Ashnault will wrestle at 70 kg (154 pounds roughly).
Ashnault is part of a stacked Team USA squad that features four-time World champion and 2012 Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs, as well as two-time world champion and 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Snyder, 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist J’den Cox, 2018 Pan American champion David Taylor and world medalists Joe Colon and Nick Gwiazdowski.
More Final X News
In addition to J’Den Cox and David Taylor confirming their appearances at Final X at Rutgers in June, Kyle Dake has also accepted his bid and will compete in the event.
.@kyledake444 accepts #FinalX berth, and will compete for U.S. World Team at Final X: Rutgers on June 8@wrestling @titan_mercury @BigRedWrestling @RUWrestling
— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) April 16, 2019
: https://t.co/kvIUgdWGAl pic.twitter.com/UnOyCu8Ls8