Rutgers Wrestling Opens 2009-10 Season with Annual Wrestle-Offs
Oct 31 | Wrestling
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (Oct. 31, 2009) – The Rutgers wrestling team will hold its annual “Scarlet vs. White” Wrestle-Offs this Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. in the College Ave. Gym. It will be the first chance Rutgers fans get to see the Scarlet Knights compete in the 2009-10 season. Admission is free for the event.
The Wrestle-Offs serves as the final competition of a week of battles to determine the starting positions for the RU wrestling team. There will be 10 matches, with one for each weight class. Mini-tournaments were held this past week to help determine Monday’s final-round matches.
Third-year head coach Scott Goodale believes there will be some highly-competitive matches Monday night and is “anxious” to see the outcome. Goodale tried to split the 20 wrestlers evenly to make Monday night be a “dual meet atmosphere.”
“Our schedule is set up where we are on the road the whole first semester so this is a great chance to wrestle in front of our home fans in The Barn,” said Goodale. “This is an opportunity to put our guys in a real match situation with some nerves and with some anxiety and see how they handle that, see how they prepare from weigh-in time to warm-up to match. As a staff we are looking for guys to open up and score points creating that style that is fun to watch”
In the 125-weight class, freshman Vincent Dellefave (Toms River, N.J.) and junior Mike DeMarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.) will face off. Last’s year 125-pound starter, sophomore Matt Fusco (Netcong, N.J.), is expected to redshirt.
“125 is probably our deepest class this year,” Goodale said. “We have great wrestlers at that spot. Along with Dellefave and DeMarco, we have Joseph Langel (Howell, N.J.) in that class. Langel was a high-school national champ from Howel. Dellefave comes in as one of the best high school wrestlers to come out of New Jersey. DeMarco has wrestled in the EIWA tournament the last two years. All three are in the mix. We feel comfortable with them. I don’t know who will get the nod yet.”
Transfer junior Bill Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) will battle true freshman Cullen Isenberg (Stewartsville, N.J.) in the 133-pound class. Ashnault comes to Rutgers from Lock Haven where he qualified for the NCAA Tournament during his sophomore year. Isenberg placed at the National Prep Championship each year he was at Wyoming Seminary high school.
Sophomore Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) is the frontrunner at the 141-pound position. He will battle true freshman Tom Hogan (Iselin, N.J.). Meldeplaced fifth in the 141-pound bracket at the 2009 EIWA Championships in Philadelphia. Hogan was a member of the wrestling, volleyball and cross country team at JFK Memorial High. He tallied a 137-27 wrestling record at JFK Memorial.
Junior David Greenwald (Union, N.J.) will go toe-to-toe with senior Kellen Bradley (Newton, N.J.) in the 149-pound match. Greenwald finished the season as the Scarlet Knights’ highest dual meet point scorer.
“Greenwald is our frontrunner at 149,” said Goodale. “He has had some huge wins for us last year. He is a great pinner. Bradley will back up. Bradley has some big wins under his belt. He has a lot of experience to help us have a pretty deep class at that spot.”
Transfer junior Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) from Edinboro University will wrestle freshman Braden Turner (Bath, Pa.) for the 157-pound spot. Cocozzo reached the 2008 NCAA Championships. Turner placed in the state championships during his junior and senior year at Northampton high school.
With sophomore sensation Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.) expected to redshirt this season, the 165-pound spot will be decided between sophomore Greg Zannetti (Edison, N.J.) and Matt Rigoglisio (Wayne, N.J ) Zannetti backed up Winston last season.
“I don’t know who the guy is going to be right now at 165,” said Goodale. “I like where we are at there. I think we have two guys in Zannetti and Rigoglisio that wrestle hard. They are extremely well-conditioned athletes who like to push the pace. That is a spot we need to win at for us to have a successful season.”
Freshman Daniel Seidenberg (Red Bank, N.J.) and freshman Daniel Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) will decide the spot in the 174-pound class. The two were in the same weight class in high school but never faced each other and Goodale believes it could be the best match of the Wrestle Offs.
In the 184-pound class, freshman Jesse Boyden (Kelinworth, N.J.) will square off with junior Michael Cucinotta (Gibbstown, N.J.). Boyden was listed at 197-pounds last season and redshirted after a leg injury.
Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) has a strong grasp on the 197-pound spot. He redshirted last season to improve his skills after reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2008. Brown will battle freshman Sam Kuntz (Suwanee, Ga.) Monday night.
In the heavyweight competition, redshirt junior Dominick Russo (Netcong, N.J.) will face redshirt-junior Sean DeDeyn (Bayville, N.J.). Russo received the Ted Petty Award as the program’s Most Valuable Wrestler for the 2008-09 season.
“Russo is like having a Mariano Rivera in your lineup,” said Goodale. “A guy who can close out the lineup for you. He clinched a number of matches for us last year. He is a great pinner and that is six points in a dual meet. That is huge. He can handle the pressure and very good in that situation. He is getting pushed by Sean DeDeyn who was a very good backup for us last year.”
Rutgers will begin the regular season on Nov. 8 at Sacred Heart.
2009-10 Rutgers Wrestle-Offs Line Up
Nov. 2, 2009 – 6 p.m.
College Ave. Gym
Class Matchup
125: Vincent Dellefave (Toms River, N.J.) vs. Michael DeMarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.)
133: Bill Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) vs. Cullen Isenberg (Stewartsville, N.J.)
141: Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) vs. Tom Hogan (Iselin, N.J.)
149: David Greenwald (Union, N.J.) vs. Kellen Bradley (Newton, N.J.)
157: Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) vs. Braden Turner (Bath, Pa.)
165: Greg Zannetti (Edison, N.J.) vs. Matt Rigoglisio (Wayne, N.J.)
174: Daniel Seidenberg (Red Bank, N.J.) vs. Daniel Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.)
184: Jesse Boyden (Kelinworth, N.J.) vs. Mike Cucinotta (Gibbstown, N.J.)
197: Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) vs. Sam Kuntz (Suwanee, Ga.)
285: Dominick Russo (Netcong, N.J.) vs. Sean DeDeyn (Bayville, N.J.)
Rutgers Wrestling Preview Show 2025-26
Thursday, October 23
Day in the Life of Head Coach Scott Goodale: Part 3
Thursday, October 23
Scott Goodale Preseason Press Conference
Tuesday, October 21
Day in the Life of Head Coach Scott Goodale: Part 2
Friday, October 17
