Rutgers Wrestling Suffers Blood Round Heartbreak at NCAA Tournament

Mar 20, 2026; Cleveland, OH, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights Joey Olivieri competes against Stanford Cardinal Jack Consiglio during the NCAA DI Wrestling Championship at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Rutgers will be leaving the NCAA tournament with none of its wrestlers earning all-American status after both Heavyweight Hunter Catka and 197-pounder Remy Cotton lost in the blood round. The Scarlet Knights had a rough start to the tournament, going 2-7 during the first session, meaning that 7 of their nine wrestlers were forced to compete in the wrestlebacks.

Catka and Remy were the only two Knights to win in the first round. They both took home victories in the second round but both fell in the quarterfinals before losing in the round of 12. Remy was the reason for Rutgers biggest win of the tournament, as he took down No.

2 Rocky Elam from Iowa State, before falling to No. 7 Cody Merrill from Oklahoma State. This year was expected to be better than last year in terms of the NCAA tournament for Rutgers.

Head coach Scott Goodale stressed the need for a better performance in March after the team’s lackluster performance last season. They had a lot of senior leadership on the team and they took down No. 6 Minnesota in a dual earlier in the year.