No. 17 Wrestling Claims Team Title at Midlands Championships

EVANSTON, Ill. – Despite not sending a full roster, No. 17 Rutgers wrestling claimed its first Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Team Title in school history on Tuesday in Evanston, Illinois.

Behind individual titles from No. 15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 25 Hunter Catka (HWT), along with runner-up results from No. 18 Remy Cotton (197) and No. 32 Andrew Barbosa (165), the Scarlet Knights finished with 93 team points, ahead of No. 14 Pittsburgh (92.5) and Bucknell (83).

With it being an unofficial date on its competition calendar, RU was only able to send six student-athletes to compete attached at the championships. With two attached entrants at both 165 and 197 pounds, only four of those scores counted towards the team title.

"Winning a team title at this historic tournament is a pretty cool achievement," said head coach Scott Goodale. "I'm happy for these guys that they were able to come here, compete and get it done. It's pretty exciting to have nine out of our 10 guys place. We wrestled a lot of matches and have a lot of work to do, but we'll build off this team title heading into our Big Ten dual schedule."

It marks the first Midlands team title in school history after the program finished second last season and in 2017. Along with a fourth-place result from Ryan Ford (165) and an eighth-place finish from PJ Casale (197), all six entrants placed for Rutgers.

It also represents the program's second team championship of the 2025-26 season after the Scarlet Knights won the 2025 Keystone Classic in Philadelphia.

2025 Midlands Championships Placewinners

First: 15/18 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184)

First: 25/24 Hunter Catka (HWT)

Second: 18/16 Remy Cotton (197)

Second: 32/NR Andrew Barbosa (165)

Fourth: Ryan Ford (165)

Fourth: Conner Harer (157)*

Seventh: 20/14 Dylan Shawver (133)*

Eighth: Jordan Chapman (174)*

Eighth: PJ Casale (197)

* competed unattached.

In unattached action, Conner Harer (157) finished fourth, while No. 20 Dylan Shawver (133) and Jordan Chapman finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

In his heavyweight title match, Catka faced No. 21 Devon Dawson (Northern Illinois), using a nine-point third period to cruise to a 12-2 major decision. It marked Catka's second consecutive ranked win at the championships, after he earned a victory over No. 23 Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly) by injury default after leading Tinker 5-1 in the third period.

Cartagena-Walsh earned a title at 184 pounds thanks to a medical forfeit by No. 32 Chris Moore (Illinois), but the redshirt sophomore was dominant throughout the two-day tournament. Cartagena-Walsh won all of his bouts by bonus points, including three consecutive tech falls to advance to the semifinals. Cartagena-Walsh outscored his opponents, 66-20 prior to the medical forfeit.

Barbosa and Cotton both wrestled in their respective championship bouts. Barbosa lost by 4-3 decision to e'Than Birden (Ohio State), while Cotton suffered a loss by major decision to 2025 NCAA qualifier Seth Shumate (Ohio State).

After losing his second match of the tournament, Ford wrestled back with five consecutive wins to reach his third-place match. Ford registered two pins and two major decisions on the backside of the bracket, including a 10-1 win over No. 21 Noah Mulvaney (Bucknell).

As the No. 21 seed, Casale advanced to the championships quarterfinals before moving to the wrestlebacks, where he picked up a win to place eighth.

Rutgers also had success from its unattached wrestlers, with Harer competing in the third-place match at 157 pounds. Harer picked up a win over three-time NCAA qualifier Kal Miller (Maryland) in overtime – one of his five wins during the tournament.

Chapman worked back-to-back wins over top-10 seeds to advance to the quarterfinals, finishing with three wins and two falls. Shawver earned a seventh-place result after he defeated No. 28 Markel Baker (Northern Illinois).