"I was happy that the seniors were able to go out with a victory," said Goodale. "Steve, Dan and Jaime were all able to wrestle on senior night and I know that meant a lot to them. Although Robert and Ryan couldn't wrestle because of injuries, I know this night was special for them."
Rutgers' junior Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) kicked off the match with a 3-1 overtime win over Billy Haydt at 165-pounds, setting the tone for the rest of the evening. After Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) defeated Scott Hunter 8-3 at 174, Keith Dobish (Lodi, N.J.) dropped a tight 3-1 decision at 184-pounds. Junior Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) got the Scarlet Knights back on track with his third consecutive victory, a 12-3 major decision over Brian Stouffer at 197. Heavyweight Karim Mahmoud (Wallington, N.J.) earned a 10-5 decision over Kyle Frey before No. 13 Steve Mytych defeated Mike DeMarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.) 12-0 at 125-pounds to bring the Dragons to within six, at 13-7.
In the most exciting bout of the night, Hilt earned a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over John McDermott at 133 to give RU a 16-7 lead. Trailing 6-5 with under 10 seconds to go in the third period, Hilt pushed hard and put McDermott on the mat to earn a takedown with three seconds left in the bout, giving him the one-point victory. Adamcsik followed with his 23rd win of the season, a 10-2 major decision over Morgan Remillard at 141, and Jack Barrett (Metuchen, N.J.) finished the scoring for the Scarlet Knights with a 10-2 major decision over Lewis Baker at 149-pounds. The nation's No. 14 157-pound wrestler, Drexel's Ryan Hluschak, pinned Lijo at 3:48 to make the final score 24-13.
"Hilt did a tremendous job for us," said Goodale. "He hasn't had a come-from-behind win all season, but he really came through tonight. He got the crowd fired up and that was big for us."
"I never expected my last bout at Rutgers to be that hard," said Hilt. "When it was over I turned around and saw my teammates and the crowd all standing up and cheering. It was the most memorable match I have ever had, and I know I will never forget that moment."
Rutgers has two weeks off before the EIWA Championships begin on March 8, on the campus of Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pa.
"The EIWA's and the National Tournament is what this sport is all about," said Goodale. "We are going to take a few days off before we start training hard for the EIWA tournament. Our season comes down to how well we do in this tournament, and our guys know that we expect them to wrestle hard."
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