PHILADELPHIA –
Three wrestlers from No. 11 Rutgers, namely Dean Peterson (125), Dylan Shawver (133), and Joseph Olivieri (141), progressed to the Blood Round following Session III of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday in Philadelphia.
Session IV of the championship is set to start at 8 p.m., airing on ESPN2, with all six mats available via ESPN+. Each of the Scarlet Knights is just one win away from achieving All-America honors and securing a top-eight finish. Shawver aims to return to the podium for the second consecutive year, while both Olivieri and Peterson are striving to attain All-America status for the first time in their careers.
No. 16 seed Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) and No. 16 seed Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) both secured wins in their initial matches of the afternoon session but were eliminated after losing narrow overtime decisions in their second bouts at the Wells Fargo Center. Additionally, No. 19 seed Andrew Clark (149) concluded his NCAA journey after a defeat in his first consolation match.
With three competitors in the Blood Round, Rutgers currently ranks 24th in the team standings with 12.0 points.
Session III Attendance: 18,091
Total Attendance: 54,264
Upcoming Session IV Matchups (8 p.m. on ESPN2/ESPN+)
Blood Round
125: (12) Dean Peterson vs. (10) Stevo Poulin (Northern Colorado)
133: (10) Dylan Shawver vs. (6) Connor McGonagle (Virginia Tech)
141: (15) Joseph Olivieri vs. (6) Vance VomBaur (Minnesota)
Peterson faced a setback in his quarterfinal match against No. 4 seed Vincent Robinson (NC State) after triumphing over defending national champion Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) the night before. Robinson secured victory with a takedown in the second period, finishing the match 4-2, which pushed Peterson to the Blood Round.
Following Peterson, both Olivieri and Shawver secured two wins to move on to the evening session. Shawver earned a sudden victory over No. 9 seed Braxton Brown (Maryland) before competing against No. 15 seed Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) in his consolation bout. Ending tied at 6-6 after sudden victory, Shawver gained an escape in the first tiebreaker and followed up with a takedown in the second round, leading to a 9-5 decision.
Olivieri displayed strong performances in both bouts of the morning session, defeating No. 16 seed Wyatt Henson (Lehigh) by a 5-2 decision and achieving two takedowns against No. 26 seed Eligh Rivera (Princeton) for a final score of 7-2.
