Saturday, March 7
State College, Pa.
5 PM
Rutgers University
vs
Big Ten Championships - Session II
Photo by: Sam Janicki
No. 11 Wrestling Secures Seven NCAA Bids After Day One of Big Ten Championships
Mar 07 | Wrestling
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – No. 11 Rutgers wrestling secured seven automatic bids to the national tournament after the first day of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center. Ayden Smith (125), Joseph Olivieri (141), Andrew Clark (149), Andrew Barbosa (165), Lenny Pinto (174), Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and Remy Cotton (197) all locked up spots at the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held March 19-21 in Cleveland.
The Scarlet Knights are guaranteed seven or more national qualifiers for the fifth consecutive season under head coach Scott Goodale and will qualify five or more student-athletes to NCAAs for the 12th straight year since 2015
Barbosa took out 2025 national runner-up and previously undefeated Joey Blaze (Purdue) in the quarterfinals to advance to Saturday's semifinals, losing to No. 3 seed Mikey Caliendo (Iowa) to drop back to the wrestlebacks. Barbosa was one of only seven wrestlers seeded outside the top four to advance to a respective championship semifinal bout across the conference.
"That's a big win for him," said head coach Scott Goodale. "Those are the type of wins that get you out on that stage Saturday night. Great win, you just have to go out and win the next one. That's the Big Ten Conference.
Barbosa, Cartagena-Walsh, Cotton, Olivieri and Pinto will all wrestle in consolation semifinal matches when Session III begins tomorrow at 12 p.m. Clark and Smith compete for seventh during Sunday's morning session, while Dylan Shawver (133), Anthony White (157) and Hunter Catka (HWT) will all wrestle in their respective ninth-place brackets.
With seven still alive in respective consolation brackets, Rutgers is eighth with 56.5 team points.
Session III Matchups
Consolation Semifinals
141: (10) Joseph Olivieri vs. (4) Nasir Bailey (Iowa)
165: (7) Andrew Barbosa vs. (4) LJ Araujo (Nebraska)
174: (11) Lenny Pinto vs. (4) Carson Kharchla (Ohio State)
184: (7) Shane Cartagena-Walsh vs. (4) Brock Mantanona (Michigan)
197: (3) Remy Cotton vs. (5) Luke Geog (Ohio State)
Seventh Place
125: (5) Ayden Smith vs. (11) Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska)
149: (7) Andrew Clark vs. (13) Clayton Jones (Michigan State)
Ninth-Place Semifinals
133: (9) Dylan Shawver vs. (13) Gauge Botero (Michigan)
157: (5) Anthony White vs. (10 Victor Volnovich (Iowa)
HWT: (8) Hunter Catka vs. (11) Hayden Filipovich (Purdue)
With nine allocations at heavyweight for the Big Ten, Catka can secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Wrestling Championships with two more victories on Sunday. Shawver and White can wrestle to ninth as they attempt to secure at-large selections when they are handed out on Tuesday.
Rutgers registered six wins against top-20 opponents on Saturday, including Barbosa's decision over No. 2 Blaze and a 7-2 victory from Cartagena-Walsh against No. 6 Dylan Fishback (Ohio State).
Olivieri worked a 4-2 decision over No. 14 Braeden Davis (Penn State), Smith added a 3-2 decision over No. 15 Spencer Moore (Illinois) Pinto muscled an 8-5 decision against No. 17 Brody Baumann (Purdue) and Clark collected a 4-0 decision against No. 17 Ryder Block (Iowa) to highlight action on Saturday.
"I loved the way be bounced back tonight," Goodale said. "We still lost a lot of close matches, but we also beat a lot of good guys and won a lot of close matches. This is the Big Ten Tournament, it's really, really hard. We got seven guys through and hopefully we'll have more tomorrow."
The Scarlet Knights closed the night out strong, winning four matches in the final round of consolation bouts Saturday night. Olivieri hit a takedown on Davis in the first period and held off the Nittany Lion for a 4-2 decision in front of the Penn State faithful. Pinto landed takedowns in the second and third periods for his 8-5 decision over Baumann, while Cartagena-Walsh took down Fishback twice en route to a 7-2 final.
A medical forfeit from Ben Vanadia (Purdue) against Cotton gave RU five consolation semifinalists.
Rutgers also registered impressive wins to open the night session. In a rematch with Moore from the regular season, Smith avenged his loss with a takedown midway through the third period en route to a 4-2 decision. Needing a win to secure his third trip to the national tournament, Clark worked a takedown in the third period against Block for a 4-0 decision.
Session I Recap
No. 7 seed Andrew Barbosa (165) delivered an upset over undefeated No. 2 seed Joey Blaze (Purdue) to advance to the Big Ten Championships semifinal after Session I of the conference tournament on Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
All 10 starters for No. 11 Rutgers wrestling will compete during tonight's second session, which begins at 5 p.m. ET on Big Ten Plus. Barbosa's semifinal bout against No. 3 seed Michael Caliendo (Iowa) will air at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Barbosa faced Blaze, who entered the tournament ranked No. 2 in the country with a perfect 18-0 record. Down 2-0 with just under 10 seconds in the match, Barbosa countered a reattack from Blaze and spun for the eventual match-sealing takedown. After review, Barbosa's takedown was upheld, giving the redshirt freshman a 3-2 win over last year's NCAA runner-up.
With a win over Caliendo tonight, Barbosa would become just the fourth Big Ten finalist in program history, joining Anthony Ashnault, Dylan Shawver and Nick Suriano.
Barbosa was one of seven Scarlet Knights to win opening-round matches, as he defeated No. 10 seed Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) by 2-1 decision. Shawver picked up an impressive win in second tiebreakers to No. 8 seed Braxton Brown (Maryland), while No. 10 seed Joseph Olivieri (141) and No. 11 seed Lenny Pinto (174) both added wins over higher seeds to advance.
No. 7 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), No. 3 seed Remy Cotton (197) and No. 8 seed Hunter Catka (HWT) all added wins on the frontside of the bracket. Cartagena-Walsh muscled a 5-2 win in sudden victory over No. 10 seed James Rowley (Purdue), Cotton added a 15-2 major decision against No. 14 seed Alex Smith (Northwestern), and Catka earned a 4-2 decision over No. 9 seed Josh Terrill (Michigan State).
No. 5 Ayden Smith (125), No. 7 seed Andew Clark (149) and No. 5 seed Anthony White (157) all lost in the opening round. Smith and White rebounded with decisions on the backside, while Clark earned a bye to advance to the night session.
125: (5) Ayden Smith (2-2)
133: (9) Dylan Shawver (1-2)
141: (10) Joseph Olivieri (3-1)
149: (7) Andrew Clark (1-2)
157: (5) Anthony White (1-2)
165: (7) Andrew Barbosa (2-1)
174: (11) Lenny Pinto (3-1)
184: (7) Shane Cartagena-Walsh (3-1)
197: (3) Remy Cotton (3-1)
HWT: (8) Hunter Catka (1-2)
The Scarlet Knights are guaranteed seven or more national qualifiers for the fifth consecutive season under head coach Scott Goodale and will qualify five or more student-athletes to NCAAs for the 12th straight year since 2015
Barbosa took out 2025 national runner-up and previously undefeated Joey Blaze (Purdue) in the quarterfinals to advance to Saturday's semifinals, losing to No. 3 seed Mikey Caliendo (Iowa) to drop back to the wrestlebacks. Barbosa was one of only seven wrestlers seeded outside the top four to advance to a respective championship semifinal bout across the conference.
"That's a big win for him," said head coach Scott Goodale. "Those are the type of wins that get you out on that stage Saturday night. Great win, you just have to go out and win the next one. That's the Big Ten Conference.
Barbosa, Cartagena-Walsh, Cotton, Olivieri and Pinto will all wrestle in consolation semifinal matches when Session III begins tomorrow at 12 p.m. Clark and Smith compete for seventh during Sunday's morning session, while Dylan Shawver (133), Anthony White (157) and Hunter Catka (HWT) will all wrestle in their respective ninth-place brackets.
With seven still alive in respective consolation brackets, Rutgers is eighth with 56.5 team points.
Session III Matchups
Consolation Semifinals
141: (10) Joseph Olivieri vs. (4) Nasir Bailey (Iowa)
165: (7) Andrew Barbosa vs. (4) LJ Araujo (Nebraska)
174: (11) Lenny Pinto vs. (4) Carson Kharchla (Ohio State)
184: (7) Shane Cartagena-Walsh vs. (4) Brock Mantanona (Michigan)
197: (3) Remy Cotton vs. (5) Luke Geog (Ohio State)
Seventh Place
125: (5) Ayden Smith vs. (11) Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska)
149: (7) Andrew Clark vs. (13) Clayton Jones (Michigan State)
Ninth-Place Semifinals
133: (9) Dylan Shawver vs. (13) Gauge Botero (Michigan)
157: (5) Anthony White vs. (10 Victor Volnovich (Iowa)
HWT: (8) Hunter Catka vs. (11) Hayden Filipovich (Purdue)
With nine allocations at heavyweight for the Big Ten, Catka can secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Wrestling Championships with two more victories on Sunday. Shawver and White can wrestle to ninth as they attempt to secure at-large selections when they are handed out on Tuesday.
Rutgers registered six wins against top-20 opponents on Saturday, including Barbosa's decision over No. 2 Blaze and a 7-2 victory from Cartagena-Walsh against No. 6 Dylan Fishback (Ohio State).
Olivieri worked a 4-2 decision over No. 14 Braeden Davis (Penn State), Smith added a 3-2 decision over No. 15 Spencer Moore (Illinois) Pinto muscled an 8-5 decision against No. 17 Brody Baumann (Purdue) and Clark collected a 4-0 decision against No. 17 Ryder Block (Iowa) to highlight action on Saturday.
"I loved the way be bounced back tonight," Goodale said. "We still lost a lot of close matches, but we also beat a lot of good guys and won a lot of close matches. This is the Big Ten Tournament, it's really, really hard. We got seven guys through and hopefully we'll have more tomorrow."
The Scarlet Knights closed the night out strong, winning four matches in the final round of consolation bouts Saturday night. Olivieri hit a takedown on Davis in the first period and held off the Nittany Lion for a 4-2 decision in front of the Penn State faithful. Pinto landed takedowns in the second and third periods for his 8-5 decision over Baumann, while Cartagena-Walsh took down Fishback twice en route to a 7-2 final.
A medical forfeit from Ben Vanadia (Purdue) against Cotton gave RU five consolation semifinalists.
Rutgers also registered impressive wins to open the night session. In a rematch with Moore from the regular season, Smith avenged his loss with a takedown midway through the third period en route to a 4-2 decision. Needing a win to secure his third trip to the national tournament, Clark worked a takedown in the third period against Block for a 4-0 decision.
Session I Recap
No. 7 seed Andrew Barbosa (165) delivered an upset over undefeated No. 2 seed Joey Blaze (Purdue) to advance to the Big Ten Championships semifinal after Session I of the conference tournament on Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
All 10 starters for No. 11 Rutgers wrestling will compete during tonight's second session, which begins at 5 p.m. ET on Big Ten Plus. Barbosa's semifinal bout against No. 3 seed Michael Caliendo (Iowa) will air at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Barbosa faced Blaze, who entered the tournament ranked No. 2 in the country with a perfect 18-0 record. Down 2-0 with just under 10 seconds in the match, Barbosa countered a reattack from Blaze and spun for the eventual match-sealing takedown. After review, Barbosa's takedown was upheld, giving the redshirt freshman a 3-2 win over last year's NCAA runner-up.
With a win over Caliendo tonight, Barbosa would become just the fourth Big Ten finalist in program history, joining Anthony Ashnault, Dylan Shawver and Nick Suriano.
Barbosa was one of seven Scarlet Knights to win opening-round matches, as he defeated No. 10 seed Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) by 2-1 decision. Shawver picked up an impressive win in second tiebreakers to No. 8 seed Braxton Brown (Maryland), while No. 10 seed Joseph Olivieri (141) and No. 11 seed Lenny Pinto (174) both added wins over higher seeds to advance.
No. 7 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), No. 3 seed Remy Cotton (197) and No. 8 seed Hunter Catka (HWT) all added wins on the frontside of the bracket. Cartagena-Walsh muscled a 5-2 win in sudden victory over No. 10 seed James Rowley (Purdue), Cotton added a 15-2 major decision against No. 14 seed Alex Smith (Northwestern), and Catka earned a 4-2 decision over No. 9 seed Josh Terrill (Michigan State).
No. 5 Ayden Smith (125), No. 7 seed Andew Clark (149) and No. 5 seed Anthony White (157) all lost in the opening round. Smith and White rebounded with decisions on the backside, while Clark earned a bye to advance to the night session.
125: (5) Ayden Smith (2-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (12) Nick Corday (Michigan State) | L-SV1, 4-1 |
| Cons. Rd. 1 | (13) Ashton Jackson (Purdue) | W-TB2, 4-2 |
| Cons. Rd. 2 | (3) Spencer Moore (Illinois) | W-D, 3-2 |
| Cons. Rd. 3 | (9) Diego Sotelo (Michigan) | L-D, 4-0 |
| 7th Place | (11) Kael Lauridsen (Nebraska) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
133: (9) Dylan Shawver (1-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (8) Braxton Brown (Maryland) | W-TB2, 2-2 |
| Quarters | (1) Marcus Blaze (Penn State) | L-MD, 16-3 |
| Cons. Rd 2 | (7) Sean Spidle (Northwestern) | L-D, 2-1 |
| 9th-Place Rd. 1 | Bye | |
| 9th-Place Semis | (13) Gauge Botero (Michigan) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
141: (10) Joseph Olivieri (3-1)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (7) Greyson Clark (Purdue) | W-D, 4-2 |
| Quarters | (2) Brock Hardey (Nebraska) | L-MD, 8-0 |
| Cons. Rd 2 | (9) Henry Porter (Indiana) | W-MD, 13-1 |
| Cons. Rd. 3 | (6) Braeden Davis (Penn State) | W-D, 4-2 |
| Cons. Semis | (4) Nasir Bailey (Iowa) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
149: (7) Andrew Clark (1-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (10) Drew Roberts (Minnesota) | L-D, 5-3 |
| Cons. Rd. 1 | Bye | |
| Cons. Rd. 2 | (8) Ryder Block (Iowa) | W-D, 4-0 |
| Cons. Rd. 3 | (5) Carter Young (Maryland) | L-MD, 12-2 |
| 7th Place | (13) Clayton Jones (Michigan State) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
157: (5) Anthony White (1-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (12) Darius Marines (Michigan State) | L-D, 4-3 |
| Cons. Rd. 1 | (13) Mekhi Neal (Maryland) | W-D, 8-1 |
| Cons. Rd. 2 | (6) Charlie Millard (Minnesota) | L-D, 4-2 |
| 9th-Place Rd. 1 | Bye | |
| 9th-Place Semis | (10) Victor Volnovich (Iowa) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
165: (7) Andrew Barbosa (2-1)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (10) Cody Goebel (Wisconsin) | W-D, 2-1 |
| Quarters | (2) Joey Blaze (Purdue) | W-D, 3-2 |
| Semis | (3) Michael Caliendo (Iowa) | L-MD, 11-3 |
| Conso Semis | (4) LJ Araujo (Nebraska) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
174: (11) Lenny Pinto (3-1)
| Rd. 1 | (6) Derek Gilcher (Indiana) | W-Inj. Def (5:57) |
| Quarters | (3) Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) | L-MD, 9-1 |
| Cons. Rd. 2 | (12) Luke Condon (Wisconsin) | W-D, 9-4 |
| Cons. Rd. 3 | (8) Brody Baumann (Purdue) | W-D, 8-5 |
| Cons. Semis | (4) Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
184: (7) Shane Cartagena-Walsh (3-1)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (10) James Rowley (Purdue) | W-SV1, 5-2 |
| Quarters | (2) Max McEnnely (Minnesota) | L-TF, 21-6 (5:04) |
| Cons. Rd. 2 | (9) Sam Goin (Indiana) | W-D, 12-7 |
| Cons. Rd. 3 | (6) Dylan Fishback (Ohio State) | W-D, 7-2 |
| Cons. Semis | (4) Brock Mantanona (Michigan) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
197: (3) Remy Cotton (3-1)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (14) Alex Smith (Northwestern) | W-MD, 15-2 |
| Quarters | (6) Wyatt Ingham (Wisconsin) | L-MD, 10-2 |
| Cons. Rd. 2 | (13) Gabe Arnold (Iowa) | W-SV1, 4-1 |
| Cons. Rd. 3 | (9) Ben Vanadia (Purdue) | W-MFF |
| Cons. Semis | (5) Luke Geog (Ohio State) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
HWT: (8) Hunter Catka (1-2)
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| Rd. 1 | (9) Josh Terrill (Michigan State) | W-D, 4-2 |
| Quarters | (1) Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) | L-Fall (5:29) |
| Cons. Rd. 2 | (7) Koy Hopke (Minnesota) | L-D, 2-0 |
| 9th-Place Rd. 1 | Bye | |
| 9th-Place Semis | (11) Hayden Filipovich (Purdue) | Sunday, 12 p.m. |
Players Mentioned
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