No. 12 Wrestling Splits Weekend Matches

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 12 Rutgers wrestling split its matches over the weekend, losing to No. 20 Oklahoma before defeating Drexel at Jersey Mike's Arena.

Sunday Match: No. 12 Wrestling Defeats Drexel, 28-12

Rutgers wrestling (6-2) defeated Drexel (2-2), 28-12, on Sunday afternoon in front of 2,940 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena. Down 12-6 at intermission, the Scarlet Knights won their final five bouts to secure their sixth dual victory of the season.

RU muscled a 7-3 match split with Drexel, as No. 9 Lenny Pinto (174) pinned No. 18 Jasiah Queen and No. 18 Remy Cotton worked a ranked major decision over No. 31 Ibrahim Ameer. No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 22 Hunter Catka (HWT) added bonus points, while No. 29 Ayden Smith (125), No. 27 Andrew Clark (149) and Andrew Barbosa (165) contributed decisions.

"It was good to bounce back with this one, but we still have a lot to figure out, said head coach Scott Goodale. I'm glad the back half did its job and scored a lot of points. It was great to see Lenny with the fall and hopefully that gets him going here."

Smith opened the dual with a back-and-forth matchup against Piscataway native Desmond Pleasant. Smith produced takedowns in all three periods, getting back points in the third and adding the riding-time point for a 16-11 decision.

Drexel won its next two matches, including a pin at 141 pounds to go up 9-3 through three matches. Clark answered with a 4-1 decision, but a loss from No. 26 Anthony White (157) to Luke Nichter gave the Dragons a 12-6 lead at the midpoint.

Rutgers took control of the dual after the break, beginning with Barbosa, who landed takedowns in the first and second periods en route to a 7-2 decision over Cody Walsh. Pinto followed against Queen and caught the Dragon on his back for the first-period fall. Pinto's first pin of the season put the Scarlet Knights back ahead for good at 15-12 with three matches remaining.

RU added three more bonus-point wins, as Cartagena-Walsh majored Ethan Wilson and Cotton collected four near fall points to cruise to a 15-7 major decision over Ameer to lock up the dual.

Catka closed out the afternoon in style, landing seven takedowns and adding back points to put an exclamation point on a 25-5 tech fall over Dom Petracci. The five wins to close the dual made it a 28-12 final in favor of Rutgers.

Box Score

No. 12 Rutgers 28, Drexel 12

125: 29/31 Ayden Smith (RU) over Desmond Pleasant (DREX) by dec., 16-11; RU leads, 3-0

133: Kyle Waterman (DREX) over 13/9 Dylan Shawver (RU by dec., 5-4; match tied, 3-3

141: Jordan Soriano (DREX) over Tahir Parkins (RU) by fall (4:52); DREX leads, 9-3

149: 27/24 Andrew Clark (RU) over Patrick Kelly (DREX) by dec., 4-1; DREX leads, 9-6

157: Luke Nichter (DREX) over 26/28 Anthony White by SV1, 4-1; DREX leads, 12-6

165: Andrew Barbosa (RU) over Cody Walsh (DREX) by dec., 7-2; DREX leads, 12-9

174: 9/4 Lenny Pinto (RU) over 18/13 Jasiah Queen (DREX) by fall (2:29); RU leads, 15-12

184: 15/18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) over NR/33 Ethan Wilson by MD, 14-4; RU leads, 19-12

197: 18/16 Remy Cotton (RU) over 31/31 Ibrahim Ameer (DREX) by MD, 15-7; RU leads, 23-12

HWT: 22/19 Hunter Catka (RU) over Dom Petracci (DREX) by TF, 25-5 (3:38); RU wins, 28-12

Saturday Match: No. 12 Wrestling Loses to No. 20 Oklahoma

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers wrestling (5-2) lost to No. 20 Oklahoma (3-1), 19-14, on Saturday in front of 3,619 fans at Jersey Mike's Arena. With the Scarlet Knights up 14-6 through six bouts, the Sooners won their final four to secure the dual win.

No. 13 Dylan Shawver (133) and No. 26 Anthony White (157) picked up major decisions, while No. 27 Andrew Clark (149) and Ryan Ford (165) worked decisions. Five of RU's six losses came by four points or fewer to ranked opponents.

After a tough 3-1 loss from No. 29 Ayden Smith (125) to No. 25 Conrad Hendriksen, Shawver jumped out to an early 9-1 lead on Carter Schmidt, landing two takedowns with backs in the first period. After an escape to begin the third, Shawver closed his bout with a takedown in the final seconds to secure bonus points. His major decision put RU up 4-3 after two matches.

Tahir Parkins (141) held No. 24 Tyler Wells to a 5-2 decision in his Jersey Mike's Arena debut, setting up Clark against Hunter Hollingsworth. With a 1-0 lead in the third period, Clark rode out Hollingsworth for most of the final period en route to a 2-1 decision. Clark's win made it 7-6 in favor of the Scarlet Knights.

White registered an 8-0 major decision over Layton Schneider, landing takedowns in the first and third periods as Rutgers took a 11-6 lead into intermission.

Ford earned the start against Bryce Burkett, forcing sudden victory before finishing a single-leg takedown for a 4-1 decision. Ford's fifth win of the season put the Scarlet Knights up 14-6 with four matches to go.

Oklahoma closed out the dual with four consecutive wins, with three of those coming by just four points or less to ranked foes. No. 9 Lenny Pinto (174) lost to No. 7 Carter Schubert by 5-1 decision, as the Sooners moved the team score to 14-9.

No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) followed with a back-and-forth matchup with former teammate No. 11 Brian Soldano. Cartagena landed the first takedown and tied the match at 6-6 in the third before Soldano landed a takedown off a scramble with 10 seconds remaining. Rutgers challenged, but the call was upheld, as the team score favored RU by just 14-12.

Oklahoma took its second lead of the night after a major decision at 197 pounds, setting up No. 22 Hunter Catka (HWT) versus No. 25 Juan Mora for a winner-take-all match at heavyweight. Catka forced Mora to sudden victory, but Mora worked a takedown for a 5-2 final and the dual win.

No. 20 Oklahoma 19, No. 12 Rutgers 14

125: 25/23 Conrad Hendriksen (OU) over 29/31 Ayden Smith (RU) by dec., 3-1; OU leads, 3-0

133: 13/9 Dylan Shawver (RU) over Carter Schmidt (OU) by MD, 13-3; RU leads, 4-3

141: 24/29 Tyler Wells (OU) over Tahir Parkins (RU) by dec., 5-2; OU leads, 6-4

149: 27/24 Andrew Clark (RU) over Hunter Hollingsworth (OU) by dec., 2-1; RU leads, 7-6

157: 26/28 Anthony White (RU) over Layton Schneider (OU) by MD, 8-0; RU leads, 11-6

165:Ryan Ford (RU) over Bryce Burkett (OU) by SV1, 4-1; RU leads, 14-6

174: 7/15 Carter Schubert (OU) over 9/4 Lenny Pinto (RU) by dec., 5-1; RU leads, 14-9

184: 11/11 Brian Soldano (OU) over 15/18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU) by dec., 9-6; RU leads, 14-12

197: 9/11 DJ Parker (OU) over 18/16 Remy Cotton (RU) by MD, 16-3; OU leads, 16-14

HWT: 25/26 Juan Mora (OU) over 22/19 Hunter Catka (RU) by SV1, 5-2; OU wins, 19-14