Pennsylvania State Champion Ryan Vulakh Commits to Rutgers Wrestling

Pennsylvania state champion Ryan Vulakh has committed to Rutgers University and will be on campus this Fall as apart of the class of 2019 recruiting class.

Vulakh, who won a state title in PA at 152 pounds in 2019, finished ranked No. 3 in the country according to Intermat at 152 pounds. His college weight projects to be 149/157 depending upon if head coach Scott Goodale and staff want him to maintain his physique or bulk up.

Vulakh finished his high school career with 107 wins, including a 35-0 record as a senior in 2018-19 that included a state title and a Beast of the East title.

With JoJo Aragona, fresh off his Beat the Streets victory, coming in and likely going 141, Peter Lipari might bump up depending upon wrestle-offs or the redshirt decision for Aragona.

Below is a hypothetical if Lipari bumps up, but the man continues to put me in my place when I speculate and have fun:

Let’s go with the assumption that Aragona goes 141 and Lipari bumps up: that opens up a competition for the weight between Lipari, a 2019 NCAA qualifier, Mike Van Brill if he goes there instead of 157, and Vulakh. The staff has also been high on Nick Santos in the past, so he could be a wild card at some of these weights.

Should Vulakh bulk and go up to 157, I can see the redshirt coming into play for him as that weight will be occupied by either incoming freshman Robert Kanniard, Stephan Glasgow, or even Mike Van Brill.

Incoming freshman Devon Britton, also a Pennsylvania native, will be in the running for a spot or at least provide depth and competition around 141 and/or 149.

There will be a lot of options in the middle weights for the 2019-20 season and we will take a dive into those projections as we move into the summer.