No. 13 Rutgers Wrestling Downs Princeton & George Mason
Dec 11 | Wrestling
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (December 11, 2010) – The No. 13 Rutgers wrestling team (9-1) used solid wrestling throughout its lineup to win a pair of duals over George Mason and Princeton this evening at College Ave. Gym. The Scarlet Knights downed GMU, 36-9, in their opening dual and followed up with a shutout victory over in-state rival Princeton, 42-0.
RU started the dual with George Mason at 285. DJ Russo (Netcong, N.J.), the third-ranked heavyweight in the nation, started strong for the Scarlet Knights as he picked up a fall on Hunter Mansplie just 1:40 into the match to give RU a 6-0 lead. Matt Fusco (Belleville, N.J.) kept the RU momentum going as he earned a 3-2 decision over Zack Huxford. GMU didn’t wrestle anyone at 133 pounds which allowed RU to take a 15-0 lead.
After the Patriots took bouts at 141 and 149, Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) snatched momentum back with a pin of Shohei Takagi at the 1:27 mark of the match. Nick Visicaro (Long Branch, N.J.) earned a 6-1 decision and then No. 18 Alex Caruso (Green Brook, N.J.) pinned Greg Scott at 4:32 to push RU’s lead to 30-6. George Mason forfeited at 184 and then earned a victory by decision at 197 to end the match at 36-9 in favor of the Scarlet Knights.
Russo again set the tone for RU in the Princeton matchup as he pinned Bobby Grogan with just a second left in the first to give the Scarlet Knights an early 6-0 lead.
The next match was perhaps the most exciting of the day as Joe Langel (Howell, N.J.) took on No. 13 Garrett Frey of Princeton. Frey took a 4-2 lead into the second and started down. Langel rode out Frey for the entire second frame to earn a huge advantage in riding time. Langel still found himself down with a minute and a half remaining in the final frame but used a timely escape to even the score. With just under 30 seconds left, Frey took a shot at Langel’s legs which Langel blocked and turned into a take down for a 5-4 advantage which sent the College Ave. crowd into a frenzy. Langel was able to ride out Frey for the remainder of the frame and earned the 6-4 victory.
After the Langel victory, RU ran off three straight victories by decision from Mike Demarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.), Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) and No. 5 Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.). Cocozzo earned a 14-2 major decision over Dan Kolodzik to push the RU lead to 22-0 before Princeton forfeited bouts at 165 and 174.
A Dan Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) tech fall and Mike Wagner (South Plainfield, N.J.) decision closed out a 42-0 victory for the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers returns to action on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 as it travels to Evanston, Illinois for the 48th Midlands Championships.
Final Match Results
Rutgers 36, George Mason 9
285: No. 3 DJ Russo (RU) pins Hunter Mansplie (GM), 1:40
125: Matt Fusco (RU) dec. Zack Huxford (GM), 3-2; Rutgers leads, 9-0
133: George Mason forfeits; Rutgers leads, 15-0
141: Deny Herndon (GM) dec. Jordan Beverly (RU), 5-4; Rutgers leads, 15-3
149: Brandon Bucher (GM) dec. Joe Mcauley (RU), 4-1; Rutgers leads, 15-6
157: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) pins Shohei Takagi (GM), 1:27; Rutgers leads, 21-6
165: Nick Visicaro (RU) dec. Aaron Keeton (GM), 6-1; Rutgers leads, 24-6
174: No. 18 Alex Caruso (RU) pins Greg Scott (GM), 4:32, Rutgers leads, 30-6
184: George Mason forfeits; Rutgers leads, 36-6
197: No. 6 Cayle Byers (GM) dec. Mike Wagner (RU), 6-2; Rutgers wins, 36-9
Rutgers 42, Princeton 0
285: No. 3 DJ Russo (RU) pins Bobby Grogan (PU), 2:59; Rutgers leads, 6-0
125: Joe Langel (RU) dec. No. 13 Garrett Frey (PU), 6-4; Rutgers leads, 9-0
133: Mike DeMarco (RU) dec. Adam Kropp (PU), 5-2; Rutgers leads, 12-0
141: Trevor Melde (RU) dec. Zach Bintliff (PU), 4-1; Rutgers leads, 15-0
149: No. 5 Mario Mason (RU) dec. Brandon Rolnick (PU), 9-3; Rutgers leads, 18-0
157: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) m. dec. Daniel Kolodzik (PU), 14-2; Rutgers leads, 22-0
165: Princeton forfeits; Rutgers leads, 28-0
174: Princeton forfeits; Rutgers leads, 34-0
184: Dan Rinaldi (RU) tech. fall Travis Erdman (PU), 16-1 (7:00); Rutgers leads, 39-0
197: Mike Wagner (RU) dec. Charles Fox (PU), 6-1; Rutgers wins, 42-0
