Rutgers wrestling falters on the road against Michigan State
Off to the best start in program history, the 14th-ranked Rutgers wrestling team suffered a setback in a 20-17 loss to No. 21 Michigan State on the road Friday night.
The Scarlet Knights (12-3) led 11-3 after four bouts and led 14-10 after seven bouts before disastrous bouts from two of their top wrestlers.
Freshman 184-pounder John Poznanski, ranked No. 5 in the country by Intermat, was pinned in the first period by No. 27 Layne Malczewski, giving Michigan State a 16-14 lead.
Then senior 197-pounder Greg Bulsak, ranked No. 6 in the country, lost by 12-4 major decision against No. 15 Cameron Caffey. Bulsak led 3-1 with 52 seconds of riding time going into the third period, but Caffey's comeback gave the Spartans a 20-14 lead.
Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Boone McDermott won the final bout, 3-1, in sudden victory for Rutgers, but it wasn't enough to turn the team score in the Scarlet Knights favor.
Here were some of the high points for Rutgers:
VanBrill gets revenge
Rutgers senior 149-pounder Michael VanBrill avenged last season's loss to Peyton Omania with a 3-1 win to put Rutgers up 11-3 after four weight classes.
After a scoreless first period, VanBrill scored a reversal in the second period, then rode Omania out in the third period.
Last season, VanBrill lost, 9-6, to Omania in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. He then reeled off four straight wins to place third.
Rivera bonuses again
Rutgers senior 141-pounder Sebastian Rivera picked up his 10th technical fall of the season with an 18-2 win over Jordan Hamdan.
Rivera is now 17-0 this season, scoring bonus points for the Scarlet Knights in every match.
His win put Rutgers up 8-3 after three weight classes.
Shawver stays hot
Rutgers freshman 125-pounder Dylan Shawver improved to 15-4 on the season with a 4-3 win over Tristan Lujan to start off the dual.
Shawver scored his first takedown just before the buzzer in the first period to take a 2-0 lead, then added a second takedown in the second period to go ahead 4-2.
Shawver will likely face former Rutgers national champion on Sunday when the Scarlet Knights visit Michigan. Suriano, a Bergen Catholic grad, transferred to Michigan in November.
On Friday night, Suriano beat Penn State's Drew Hildebrandt, 2-1. Shawver lost to Hildebrandt last weekend, 4-2, after giving up a takedown with seconds remaining in the third period.
Box score
125 pounds: Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) d. Tristan Lujan (Michigan State), 4-3
133 pounds: Rayvon Foley (Michigan State) d. Joey Olivieri (Rutgers), 1-0
141 pounds: Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) t.f. Jordan Hamdan (Michigan State), 18-2
149 pounds: Michael VanBrill (Rutgers) d. Peyton Omania (Michigan State), 3-1
157 pounds: Chase Saldate (Michigan State) m.d. Al DeSantis (Rutgers), 9-0
165 pounds: Caleb Fish (Michigan State) d. Andrew Clark (Rutgers), 4-0
174 pounds: Connor O'Neill (Rutgers) d. Nathan Jiminez (Michigan State), 3-1
184 pounds: Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) p. John Poznanski (Rutgers)
197 pounds: Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) m.d. Greg Bulsak (Rutgers), 12-4
285 pounds: Boone McDermott (Rutgers) d. Brad Wilton (Michigan State), 3-1
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers wrestling falters vs. Michigan State on the road
