Rutgers Wrestling's Season Ends at NCAAs
Mar 18 | Wrestling
| Bracket | Standings | Match by Match |
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (March 18, 2011) -The No. 9 Rutgers wrestling team finished its 2010-11 season at day two of the NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Leading RU were a pair of redshirt sophomores, Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.) and Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.), who advanced to the round of 12.
Mason started his day with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 Frank Molinaro of Penn State. After the two wresters spent the first minute of the match hand fighting and feeling each other out, Molinaro was able to secure a takedown after Mason couldn't convert on a shot of his own. In the second, Molinaro started down and quickly earned an escape which would be all of the scoring in the period. Mason chose a neutral start in the third and was able to score on a nice single leg to cut Molinaro's lead to one but Molinaro was able to escape and hang on for the 4-2 victory sending Mason to the wrestlebacks where he would meet up with Andrew Nadhir of Northwestern. Nadhir got out to a quick start in the match with a takedown in the first. In the second, Nadhir started down and earned a quick escape which proved to be the only scoring of the frame. Mason started down in the third and earned an escape to cut Nadhir's lead to 3-1 but Nadhir scored another pair of takedowns to put the match out of reach and eventually secure a 7-3 victory, ending Mason's tournament. Mason ended his first season as a Scarlet Knight with a 28-8 record.
Winston began his day with a loss in the quarters to No. 1 Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska sending him to the round of 12 for a matchup with Lehigh's Brandon Hatchett. Winston started the match strong with an early takedown which was followed by an escape from Hatchett to send the match to the second with Winston leading 2-1. Hatchett started down to begin the second and quickly earned an escape to even the match at 2-2 where it would stay going into the third. In the third, Winston chose a neutral start and tried to push the pace but it was unsuccessful as neither wrester was able to score sending the match into overtime. After a scoreless sudden victory frame, Winston started down in the first tiebreaker and was unable to escape giving Hatchett a window which he took advantage of earning an escape and avoiding a Winston takedown to earn a 3-2 victory. Winston, the EIWA Champion at 165-pounds, ends his season with a 21-5 record.
RU also saw three wrestlers advance to the round of 16 in redshirt sophomore Joe Langel (Howell, N.J.), and redshirt seniors Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) and DJ Russo (Netcong, N.J.).
Langel, who qualified for NCAAs as a wildcard, advanced to the round of 16 after earning a 9-6 decision over Allen Bartelli of Boise State. In the round of 16, Langel met up with Matt Snyder of Virginia. After Langel jumped out to an early lead, Snyder responded gaining used a reversal and a pair of nearfalls to take control of the match and eventual secure a 13-8 win.
Cocozzo cruised to the round of 16 with a pin fall of Gardner Webb's Alex Medved in 2:43. In the round of 16, Cocozzo went up against Johnny Greisheimer of Edinboro. After Cocozzo scored the first takedown of the match in the firs, Greisheimer scored an escape to make the score 2-1 going into the second. In the second, Greisheimer started down and earned an escape when Cocozzo had 57 seconds of riding time to even the bout at two going into the final period. In the third, Greisheimer was able to ride out Cocozzo and get the 3-2 decision with the bonus point thanks to 1:03 of riding time. Cocozzo finishes his career with 104 career victories.
Russo won a hard fought match against Iowa's Blake Raising, 8-6 to open his day in the consolation bracket. In the round of 16, Russo met up with Ricardo Alcala of Indiana. Alcala started the match strong with a pair of takedowns to jump out to an early 4-2 lead after one. In the second, Alcala chose a neutral start and earned another takedown to push his lead to 6-2. Russo was able to escape and then gained a point thanks to Alcala stalling to make the score 6-4 going into the third. In the third, Russo chose down and was able to secure an escape to cut the lead to one but it wasn't quick enough as Alcala had built up over a minute of riding time. The final minute was frantic as Russo tried for a match-tying takedown. Russo kept pushing the pace and Alacala kept back up resulting in a pair of stalling penalties which were enough to square the match at seven and send it to overtime. In the overtime, Russo took the opening shot but Alacala was able to duck it and secure a takedown of his own to win the match and eliminate Russo. Russo finishes his career with 104 victories which ranks him seventh on the all-time victories list at RU.
Another pair of RU wrestlers also competed on day two falling in heartbreaking fashion in their opening matches of the wrestlebacks. Redshirt senior Alex Caruso (Green Brook, N.J.) dropped an overtime bout to Luke Manuel of Purdue, 3-1, while sophomore Dan Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) also fell in overtime losing to Austin Trotman of Appalachian State, 3-1.
Rutgers finished the 2010-11 season with a school-record 21 dual wins and No. 9 national ranking. The Scarlet Knights also saw a school-record nine wrestlers place at the 107th EIWA Championships, including a champion in Winston, and sent a school record tying eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championship. The future looks bright for RU as it will return seven starters and eight NCAA qualifiers for the 2011-12 season.
RU Wrestlers at NCAA Championships - Day Two
Joe Langel (125-pounds)
Wrestlebacks: Joe Langel (RU) dec. Allen Bartelli (Boise St.), 9-6
Round of 16: Matt Snyder (UVA) dec. Joe Langel (RU), 13-8
No. 7 Mario Mason (149-pounds)
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Frank Molinaro (PSU) dec. Mario Mason (RU), 4-2
Round of 12: No. 11 Andrew Nadhir (NW) dec. Mario Mason (RU), 7-3
No. 10 Daryl Cocozzo (157-pounds)
Wrestlebacks: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) pins Alex Medved (Gardner Webb), 2:43
Round of 16: Johnny Greisheimer (Edinboro) dec. Daryl Cocozzo (RU), 3-2
No. 8 Scott Winston (165-pounds)
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) t. fall Scott Winston (RU), 23-8
Round of 12: Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) dec. Scott Winston (RU), 3-2 (TB1)
Alex Caruso (174-pounds)
Wrestlebacks: Luke Manuel (Purdue) dec. Alex Caruso (RU), 3-1 (OT)
Dan Rinaldi (184-pounds)
Wrestlebacks: Austin Trotman (App. St.) dec. Dan Rinadli (RU), 3-1 (OT)
No. 4 DJ Russo (285-pounds)
Wrestlebacks: DJ Russo (RU) dec. No. 7 Blake Raising (Iowa), 8-6
Round of 16: Ricardo Alcala (Indiana) dec. DJ Russo (RU), 9-7 (OT)
