Rutgers Wrestling Tops Navy in Neutral-Site Battle on Saturday

The No. 14 Rutgers wrestling team continued its strong start to the season on Saturday. They improved to 4–0 after defeating Navy (0–2) by a score of 24–12 in a neutral-site matchup held in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Scarlet Knights controlled the dual meet from the opening whistle, winning seven of ten bouts and using a pair of dominant bonus-point performances to secure the victory.

Fast Start Sets the Tone for Rutgers's Wrestling Team

Rutgers came out aggressively, taking early control of the dual with three straight wins to open the day. Freshman Ayden Smith set the tone at 125 pounds with a tight 6–5 decision over Navy’s Andrew Binni. It gives the Scarlet Knights a 3–0 lead. At 133 pounds, No. 7 Dylan Shawver added a key-ranked win, edging Brendan Ferretti 7–5 to extend the advantage.

The early momentum continued at 141 pounds. That's where No. 13 Joseph Olivieri battled through a hard-fought tiebreaker to top Caedyn Ricciardi 5–4, pushing Rutgers ahead 9–0. That trio of wins provided exactly the kind of cushion Head Coach Scott Goodale’s squad needed.

Bonus-Point Wins Power the Scarlet Knights

While Navy fought back to narrow the gap to 16–9 midway through the dual, Rutgers answered back in a big way. No. 12 Shane Cartagena-Walsh delivered a dominant technical fall at 184 pounds, overpowering Gage Yackee 21–5 in just over five minutes. That performance not only extended the team’s lead but also provided critical bonus points that essentially sealed the outcome.

4-0!#RelentlessPursuit | #GoRU pic.twitter.com/JFsgGLmiaF
— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) November 8, 2025

At 197 pounds, No. 20 Remy Cotton kept the momentum rolling, earning a hard-earned 8–6 decision over Zyan Hall to lock in the final team victory. Earlier in the meet, No. 25 Anthony White also came up clutch for Rutgers. He earned a 10–1 major decision at 157 pounds to give the Scarlet Knights another valuable bonus-point win.

Despite the lopsided final score, Navy kept the pressure on throughout. The Midshipmen’s biggest highlight came at 149 pounds. That's also where Kaemen Smith handed No. 11 Andrew Clark a rare defeat via technical fall, 21–5.

At 174 pounds, No. 6 Danny Wask also delivered for Navy with a major decision over No. 7 Lenny Pinto. However, Rutgers’ consistent production across multiple weights proved too much to overcome.

Even in the heavyweight finale, where No. 12 Spencer Lanosga edged Rutgers’ No. 17 Hunter Catka in a 5–2 tiebreaker, the Scarlet Knights’ lead was well out of reach.

A Strong Start to the Season

With the win, Rutgers improved its record to a perfect 4–0, continuing to prove why it’s one of the nation’s top-ranked programs. Head Coach Scott Goodale’s team has relied on a mix of experience and emerging young talent to stay dominant across all ten weight classes. The Scarlet Knights’ ability to generate bonus points in key moments has been a major difference-maker so far.

Rutgers will take a short break from competition before returning to the mat at the Keystone Classic on Sunday, November 23, in Philadelphia. The event will feature a deep field of programs, giving the Scarlet Knights another opportunity to test themselves against top-tier talent. Especially before heading into the heart of their dual-meet schedule.

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