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    Rutgers finishes second at Midlands behind Suriano's title

    HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- In an iconic night for the program, No. 17 Rutgers wrestling finished second at the 55th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Saturday night in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Nick Suriano (125) became the first individual champion ever for the Scarlet Knights at the tournament, while Scott DelVecchio (133), John Van Brill (157) and Richie Lewis (165) recorded third-place results and Nicholas Gravina (184) finished sixth to help RU secure its best team result in program history.

    With 109.5 team points, Rutgers finished only behind No. 6 Iowa, who claimed the team title with 156.5 points. No. 21 Central Michigan placed third with 108 points.

    In total, Rutgers collected 16 bonus-point victories -- seven pins, five major decisions and four tech falls -- and defeated five ranked Intermat foes at the Midwest tournament.

    "What a great way to close out this tournament," said head coach Scott Goodale. "Our guys were prepared to close this weekend out the right way and it showed with us going four-for-four tonight. We picked up a lot of victories over ranked guys, so this was a great team effort all around."

    Suriano registered a gritty 2-1 victory over No. 3 seed Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) for his first major championship in a RU singlet. After a scoreless first period, the sophomore opened period two with a quick escape. With both wrestlers in a neutral position in the final period, Bresser was called for stalling, which proved to be the deciding factor in Suriano's title win.

    "[My strategy] was a little different," Suriano said of the match. "I had a guy who could move, is fast and can shoot from the outside, which is a little bit like myself. It was a good style for me to compete against. I'm used to guys coming at me more so I can get underneath them."

    The individual championship capped off a dominate run for Suriano, who outscored his opponents, 49-16, with two tech falls and two decisions to lead Rutgers with 24 team points during the two-day tournament. In his final two bouts of the event, Suriano defeated back-to-back ranked opponents in No. 10 Besser and No. 12 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern).

    The night started at 165 pounds, as Lewis faced No. 1 overall seed Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) in his third-place bout. Lewis scored first, courtesy of a takedown in period one, while his second takedown of the match in the third period sealed the win for Lewis over Valencia, who entered the match ranked No. 13 by Intermat.

    DelVecchio continued the strong night for Rutgers with his 3-1 decision over No. 7 seed Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh-Unattached) in sudden victory overtime. With the score tied, 1-1, at the end of regulation, the redshirt senior used a takedown in the closing seconds of the bonus period for the win.

    Van Brill closed out his tournament with a 7-4 decision over 11-seed Mike D'Angelo (Princeton), which game RU three third-place finishers on the night. Van Brill wrestled all the way back after a loss on day one, with victories over No. 11 Luke Zilverburg (South Dakota State), No. 18 Larry Early and Jake Danishek (Indiana), who qualified for NCAAs in 2017.

    Van Bill scored 23 team points off his four bonus-point victories and seven win overall, which included two pins, an tech fall and a major decision.

    Gravina, who entered the tournament as a No. 2 seed, placed sixth after taking a medical forfeit in his fifth-place match. Gravina finished with three wins at Midlands after advancing to the championship semifinal at 184 pounds, where he lost to No. 3 Emmery Parker (Illinois), 2-1, after being injured in the final period.

    Michael Van Brill (141), Jordan Pagano (174) and Kevin Mulligan (197) were all eliminated during their Round of 12 matches Saturday morning, while No. 8 Eleazar DeLuca (149) was forced to forfeit his consolation match. Matthew Correnti, who wrestled unattached at the tournament, also lost in the blood round to close out his Midlands Championships at 4-2.

    Rutgers returns to action next Sunday, when it hosts No. 2 Ohio State at noon at the RAC. The match will broadcast nationally on BTN.

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