After the conclusion of round two on Thursday, No. 22 Rutgers wrestling has three wrestlers advancing to round three in the NCAA Wrestling Championship. No. 13 Dean Peterson (125 Ibs.), No. 16 Joe Heilmann (133 Ibs.), and No. 18 Brian Soldano (184 Ibs.) are the three Scarlet Knights advancing to round three on Friday.
During round one of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Scarlet Knights had seven wrestlers hit the mat trying to become a champion for their weight class. No. 13 Dean Peterson (125 Ibs.), No. 16 Joe Heilmann (133 Ibs.), No. 31 Anthony White (149 Ibs.), No. 21 Andrew Clark (157 Ibs.), No. 30 Jackson Turley (174 Ibs.), and No. 24 Boone McDermott (HWT) would go on to lose their round one matches, limiting them to one loss shy of elimination.
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For the Scarlet Knights, only one wrestler would be victorious during the first round of action. Freshman Brian Soldano (184 Ibs.) pinned No. 15 seed Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) in the first period, advancing him to the second round.
During Soldano’s second-round match, No. 2 seed Trent Hilday defeated the Rutgers freshman 12-4. Hilday gave Soldano his first loss, one shy of elimination. In round three, Soldano is set to face No. 16 Reece Heller (Pittsburgh) tomorrow morning.
After losing his first match in round one by a 4-3 decision to No. 20 seed Jarrett Trombley (NC State), Rutgers Dean Peterson pulled out a 4-1 decision over No. 29 Nico Provo in round two to advance. Peterson is set to wrestle No. 19 Braxton Brown (Maryland) in round three.
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During Thursday’s early action, Rutgers’ Joe Heilmann lost a tough 4-2 decision over No. 17 seed Brayden Palmer (UT-Chattanooga). Heilmann would battle back Thursday night, defeating No. 33 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) 8-4. Tomorrow, Heilmann is scheduled to wrestle No. 15 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa) for his third-round matchup.
All done here for Session II.
No. 13 seed Dean Peterson (125), No. 16 seed Joe Heilmann (133) and No. 18 seed Brian Soldano (184) are all alive on the backside of the bracket when wrestling resumes Friday morning.#RelentlessPursuit | #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/KtlDRhXFEv
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) March 17, 2023
After the conclusion of round two, Peterson, Heilmann, and Soldano are the only Scarlet Knights still alive when wrestling resumes tomorrow morning. The three Scarlet Knights will have to win three matches Friday to earn All-America status. As for the rest of the four Scarlet Knights, they were officially eliminated after receiving their second loss in round two.
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