“It was a really good day for the Scarlet Knights,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “We started a little flat but we were able to recover and pick up three big wins.”
The Scarlet Knights opened the day with an early morning match against the Stanford Cardinal. RU was able to jump out to an early 12-4 lead behind decisions by Mike Demarco (Lyndhurst, N.J), Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.), No. 11 Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.) and Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.). Stanford rallied to take the next two matches and cut the RU lead to 12-10 before Dan Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) earned an 8-2 decision to push the Rutgers lead back to five. Stanford again cut the lead to two after a decision at 197 setting up a match at 285 to decide the dual. Both wrestlers came out strong to start the first period in the deciding match. No. 5 DJ Russo (Netcong, N.J.) got on the board first when he reversed Dylan Rush but Rush didn’t flinch reversing Russo to even the score at two. Russo then scored another reversal to gain a 4-2 edge. Rush escaped before the end of the first to cut the lead to 4-3 entering the second. Neither wrestler was able to score any points in the second or third and Russo used 2:46 of riding time to clinch the match, 5-3, and the dual, 18-13.
The second matchup of the day featured a battle between two top-25 teams as RU took on No. 16 Missouri. The Tigers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the dual taking matches at 125, 133 and 141. The Scarlet Knights picked up their first win of the dual at 149 where Mason continued his strong wrestling by earning a 10-4 decision. The Mason win seemed to spark Rutgers as it was followed by a major decision by Cocozzo and a pin by Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.) to turn the 10 point disadvantage into a three point lead. The Tigers were able to even the match at 13-13 with a victory at 174 but RU quickly regained its three point edge on a 2-0 decision by Rinaldi. Mizzou bounced back at 197 as Mike Larson picked up a 3-1 decision over Mike Wagner (South Plainfield, N.J.) to retie the score and set up a colossal matchup to decide the match.
The final contest of the dual featured a battle of two top-five heavyweights in No. 5 Russo and No. 2 Dom Bradley of Missouri. After a scoreless first period, Bradley chose to start down in the second eventually earning an escape to open the scoring. The two grapplers went toe to toe for the remainder of the second with neither able to score before the end setting up a deciding third period. In the third, Russo chose down and quickly earned an escape to square the contest at 1-1. Bradley seemed to have the upper hand when he took down Russo to regain the lead at 3-1 but Russo kept his composure and escaped to get within a point. With 13 seconds left in the third, Russo shot low and took Bradley down off a scramble to earn the two points and take the lead at 4-3. From there, Russo was able to ride out Bradley and secure the 4-3 victory to clinch the dual for RU, 16-13.
“The Missouri match was a huge win for our program,” said Goodale. “It was an exciting match against a top program and those are the matches that we need to win to get our program to where we want it to be.”
In their final dual of the day, Rutgers cruised to a 29-9 victory over the Columbia Lions. Picking up victories by decision for RU were Fusco, Jordan Beverly (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Alex Caruso (Green Brook, N.J.) and Wagner. Major decision victories were scored by Cocozzo, 11-0 over Jake O’Hara, and Winston, 10-2 over Eren Civan, while Russo picked up his team-leading sixth fall of the season pinning Kevin Lester in 2:57 to close out the victory for RU.
The Scarlet Knights return to action next Sunday, Dec. 5, when they travel to State College, Pa. for the Nittany Lion Open hosted by Penn State.
No. 24 Rutgers 18, Stanford 13
125: No. 10 Ryan Mango (SU) m. dec. Matt Fusco (RU), 11-2; Stanford leads, 4-0
133: Mike Demarco (RU) dec. Matt Sencenbaugh (SU), 6-0; Stanford leads, 4-3
141: Trevor Melde (RU) dec. Jordan Gray (SU), 2-0; Rutgers leads, 6-4
149: No. 11 Mario Mason (RU) dec. Timmy Boone (SU), 10-4; Rutgers leads, 9-4
157: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) dec. Garrett Schaner (SU), 5-1; Rutgers leads, 12-4
165: Lucas Espericueta (SU) dec. No. 8 Scott Winston (RU), 4-3; Rutgers leads, 12-7
174: No. 4 Nick Amuchastegui (SU) dec. Alex Caruso (RU), 5-1; Rutgers leads, 12-10
184: Dan Rinaldi (RU) dec. Dan Scherer (SU), 8-2; Rutgers leads, 15-10
197: No. 10 Zach Giesen (SU) dec. Mike Wagner (RU), 7-3; Rutgers leads, 15-13
285: No, 5 DJ Russo (RU) dec. Dylan Rush (SU), 5-3; Rutgers wins 18-13
No. 24 Rutgers 19, No. 16 Missouri 16
125: No. 12 Alan Waters (UM) dec. Joe Langel (RU), 5-0; Mizzou leads, 3-0
133: Nate McCormick (UM) dec. Mike Demarco (RU), 5-3; Mizzou leads, 6-0
141: No. 15 Todd Schavrien (UM) maj. Dec. Trevor Melde (RU), 9-1; Mizzou leads, 10-0
149: No. 11 Mario Mason (RU) dec. Kyle Bradley (UM), 10-4; Mizzou leads, 10-3
157: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) maj. Dec. Dan Gonsor (UM), 11-3; Mizzou leads, 10-7
165: No. 8 Scott Winston (RU) pins No. 14 Zach Toal (UM), 2:04; Rutgers leads, 13-10
174: Dorian Henderson (UM) dec. Alex Caruso (RU), 6-4; Match tied, 13-13
184: Dan Rinaldi (RU) dec. Pat Wright (UM), 2-0; Rutgers leads, 16-13
197: Mike Larson (UM) dec. Mike Wagner (RU), 3-1; Match tied, 16-16
285: No. 5 DJ Russo (RU) dec. No. 2 Dom Bradley (UM), 4-3; Rutgers wins, 19-16
No. 24 Rutgers 29, Columbia 9
125: Matt Fusco (RU) dec. Penn Gottfried (CU), 6-2; Rutgers leads, 3-0
133: Kyle Gilchrist (CU) dec. Mike Demarco (RU), 3-1; Match tied, 3-3
141: Jordan Beverly (RU) dec. Josh Houldsworth (CU), 4-1; Rutgers leads, 6-3
149: Steve Santos (CU) pins No. 11 Mario Mason (RU), 6:55; Columbia leads, 9-6
157: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) maj. dec. Jake O’Hara (CU), 11-0; Rutgers leads, 10-9
165: No. 8 Scott Winston (RU) maj. Dec. Eren Civan (CU), 10-2; Rutgers leads, 14-9
174: Alex Caruso (RU) dec. Stephen West (CU), 2-1; Rutgers leads, 17-9
184: Dan Rinaldi (RU) dec. Nicholas Mills (CU), 2-1; Rutgers leads, 20-9
197: Mike Wagner (RU) dec. Mike Pushpack (CU), 9-3; Rutgers leads, 23-9
285: No. 5 DJ Russo (RU) pins Kevin Lester (CU), 2:57; Rutgers wins, 29-9
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