No. 11 Wrestling Closes 2026 NCAA Championships

CLEVELAND – No. 11 Rutgers wrestling finished action at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland. Remy Cotton (197) and Hunter Catka (HWT) advanced to the Blood Round – the third consecutive year multiple Scarlet Knights competed on Friday night at the national tournament under head coach Scott Goodale.

Cotton lost a tough 4-3 decision to No. 27 seed Gabe Arnold (Iowa) in his Round of 12 match, while Catka forced overtime before suffering an 8-5 loss in sudden victory to No. 18 seed Christian Carroll (Wyoming).

The championships capped an impressive season for Rutgers, which finished No. 11 in the final NWCA Coaches Poll for the second consecutive year. The Scarlet Knights closed the regular season on a six-match winning streak, which included the program’s first-ever win over then-No. 6 Minnesota to help RU to its best regular-season Big Ten finish ever.

The nine national qualifiers were the second most in program history, only trailing the full 10 Rutgers brought to Madison Square Garden in 2016. The Scarlet Knights have qualified seven or more student-athletes to the national tournament in five consecutive seasons dating back to 2021-22.

Catka and Cotton advanced on the front side of the bracket with huge wins over higher seeds on Thursday. Cotton landed three takedowns en route to a 12-4 major decision over No. 2 seed Rocky Elam (Iowa State). Competing in his fourth NCAA Championships, Catka took out back-to-back top-12 seeds, including a 6-3 decision in sudden victory over No. 6 seed Nathan Taylor (Lehigh) in the opening round.

Five Scarlet Knights – Catka, Cotton, Joseph Olivieri (141), Lenny Pinto (174) and Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) – competed on Friday after wins during opening night. Cartagena-Walsh posted two victories at the championships, including an impressive 7-2 decision over No. 12 seed Dylan Fishback (Ohio State).

Ayden Smith (125) and Andrew Barbosa (165) made their NCAA Championships debuts. Olivieri, Dylan Shawver (133) and Andrew Clark (149) wrapped up their collegiate careers with a combined 10 appearances at the national tournament. Shawver, a Lorian, Ohio, native, wrapped up his time at Rutgers as a four-time NCAA qualifier and 2024 NCAA All-American.