Rutgers wrestling starts slow, finishes strong with two underdog NCAA quarterfinalists
Remy Cotton and Hunter Catka are into the quarterfinals.
CLEVELAND - On a day in which it lost its first seven matches, the Rutgers wrestling team went out into the cold Cleveland night on a high note Thursday on the first day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Fifteenth-seeded 197-pounder Remy Cotton and 27th-seeded heavyweight Hunter Catka became surprise quarterfinalists for the Scarlet Knights. Joey Olivieri (141), Lenny Pinto (174) and Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) remain alive in the wrestlebacks.
“We have two quarterfinalists, that’s the focus right now, we still have three other guys in the (wrestlebacks),” said Rutgers coach Scott Goodale. “We have to have a better day tomorrow, but I’m happy with the way it ended for sure. Love the way it ended, I’ll leave it at that.
” Cotton dismantled the No. 2 seed, Rocky Elam of Iowa State, 12-4, in the second round. He was the second New Jersey wrestler to stun a No.
2 seed on the day. Navy’s Danny Wask, a Wantage native and Blair product, upset Cornell’s Simon Ruiz, a Delbarton graduate, 9-5, in the second round at 174 pounds. Cotton took Elam down in all three periods, leading the match from beginning to end.
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