Rutgers has wrestlers 'hungry to become All-Americans' at NCAA Championships

The seeds say most of the seven wrestlers Rutgers University will have at the NCAA Tournament Thursday-Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit Thursday-Saturday will have a tough time.

However, Scarlet Knights' coach Scott Goodale sees an opportunity to spring some surprises.

"I think we're bringing a group of guys there that I absolutely can see winning a lot of matches,'' Goodale said Tuesday in a pre-tournament virtual press conference. "Now, we have to wrestle well. We have to be excited. We have to wrestle for each other. We have to represent the Block R (logo on the singlet).''

If the seeds hold, the only All-American Rutgers will have after it had a program record three last season is Sebastian Rivera at 141 pounds.

Rivera, a three-time top six finisher and four-time All-American, is the No. 3 seed behind defending champion Nick Lee of Penn State and returning runner-up Jaydin Eierman of Iowa.

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He is, without question, a contender to become Rutgers third national champion after current Michigan wrestler Nick Suriano and current Scarlet Knights' assistant coach Anthony Ashnault both won titles in 2019.

Rivera appears to be completely healthy after the knee injury he sustained Feb. 18 against Princeton. It was out of caution, the Rutgers coaching staff chose to medically forfeit Rivera out of the Big Ten Tournament after he reached the semifinal.

"He's even better because he's gotten some forced rest,'' Goodale said. "He's 100 percent with the knee. He's ready to wrestle, ready to compete. We've actually had to slow him down this week, which is a good thing. He's ready to rock for sure.''

Rutgers' highest remaining seed after Rivera is three-time qualifier Mike VanBrill, who is No. 12 at 149; five-time qualifier Greg Bulsak is No. 14 at 197; second-year freshman John Poznanski is No. 20 at 184; freshmen Joey Olivieri and Dylan Shawver are Nos. 22 and 23 at 133 and 125 respectively and freshman Connor O'Neill is the 33rd and last seed at 174.

"Every now and then, there is a surprise coming out of our group that finds himself on the podium (Jackson Turley, who was eighth at 174 last season after being seeded 26th is an example)," Goodale said. "I do believe we have guys who are hungry to become All-Americans.''

Can Poz regain his 2021 form?

Perhaps Rutgers' most intriguing wrestler this week is Poznanski.

There is no question when he is wrestling well, Poznanski is capable being a major factor.

He was fourth at 184 last year, with his defeats coming by one point to Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State in tiebreaker period No. 1 in the semifinal and to Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in the third-place bout. Hidlay and Keckeisen are the No. 3 and 4 seeds in this year's tournament in a loaded weight class.

Poznanski was 13-0 this season with wins over several ranked wrestlers through Jan. 14.

However, he has been defeated in six of his nine on the mat bouts and went 0-2 in the main part of the Big Ten Tournament March 5-6 before winning twice by medical forfeit in the ninth-place bracket of that tournament.

"Honestly I see someone who is maybe struggling with some confidence,'' Goodale said. "Our job the last couple of weeks has been to try and get him back to where he was. It's a hard thing to do.

"The leg attacks he used to go to on a consistent basis, maybe he stopped going to for for whatever reason. Bottom wrestling, where last year, he was incredible and this year, at the beginning, was really, really good at, he's struggled. When things happen during a season, you start to lose confidence in certain positions.

"It's our job to get him in positions where's he good at and been good at for a long, long time. Hopefully, we're able to get the best version of John Poz.''

Poznanski's draw makes his challenge even more fascinating.

He will wrestle Maryland's Kyle Cochran in the first round. Cochran, the 2016 160-pound NJSIAA champion when he was a junior at Paramus, defeated Poznanski solidly twice in a three week period from Feb. 12-March 5.

If Poznanski can get by Cochran, Keckeisen will likely be waiting in the pre-quarterfinal.

There is no question, Poznanski, if he gets his confidence back, can wrestle himself into a second All-American medal.

There is also no question, the way things have gone the last two months, Poznanski could go 0-2.

"He understand he can beat anybody in the bracket outside of maybe the top two guys (Myles Amine of Michigan and defending champion Aaron Brooks of Penn State) Goodale said. "He knows he can be a bracket-buster for sure.

"I just want to see him wrestle confidently. I just want to see him wrestle with that swag he had last year where he thought he could beat anybody. That's our message to him.''

Can Mike VanBrill end an underrated career with flourish?

Sixth-year senior Mike VanBrill has been a jack of all trades for the Scarlet Knights during his career.

He has wrestled at three different weights from 141-157 and qualified for the national tournament at two different weights.

"His evolution has been interesting,'' Goodale said. "It's gone from cutting a lot of weight to gaining a lot of weight to going back where he's more satisfied. There's been a lot of close matches, but he's had some big-time wins over some really, really good guys. Quietly, he's had a really good career that not a lot of people have talked about.''

His four defeats this season have been to No. 3 seed and Big Ten champion Austin Gomez of Wisconsin, No. 4 seed and returning runner-up Sammy Sasso of Ohio State. No. 8 seed Max Murin of Iowa and No. 10 seed Ridge Lovett of Nebraska.

VanBrill has shown he is capable of wrestling well in tournament. His third-place finish in last year's Big Ten Tournament, when he won four wrestleback bouts, is proof of that.

"He goes about it a little bit differently. Maybe, he doesn't go about it my way, which is OK. I'm put your hard-hat on with a lunch-pail attitude,'' Goodale said. "He's very in tune with his body. He knows what works for him and has his routines.''

VanBrill is in the same half of the bracket as two-time champion and No. 1 seed Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell, Sasso and No. 5 seed Kyle Parco of Arizona State, who was sixth last season.

If he gets to the quarterfinal and Sasso is the opponent, he has shown he can compete with him. He has scored the first takedown in bouts against Sasso the last two seasons.

"I just hope he's able to go out the right way, the way he wants to go out,'' Goodale said. "He's been special for us.''

Greg Bulsak is 'locked in'

Greg Bulsak is one of those who is a five-time national qualifier because of the pandemic resulting in everyone who wrestled during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season getting an extra season of eligibility.

Four of those national berths came at Clarion (Pa.) before he transferred to Rutgers after last season.

He showed right away he was a medal contender this season by getting off to a 15-0 start. The start included a win over returning runner-up Nino Bonaccorsi of Pitt.

However, Bulsak has gone 7-6 since. Several of the defeats have been close, including two in sudden victory.

"It wouldn't shock me if Greg ran off a ton of wins here. He's capable of beating everybody,'' Goodale said. "Greg is a professional. He's locked in. This is really important to him. I think this is clearly one of the reasons he came here. I think the Big Ten schedule has prepared him for this tournament. He's been waiting for these three days in March.''

Bulsak will wrestle Jacob Cardenas of Cornell in the first round. Cardenas was a two-time NJSIAA champion during his scholastic career at Bergen Catholic. If he wins that bout, No. 3 seed Eric Schultz of Nebraska will likely be waiting in the pre-quarterfinal.

The complexion of the weight class changed in late January when defending champion A.J. Ferrari of Oklahoma State was sidelined for the season after an automobile accident.

"The bracket is wide-open,'' Goodale said.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NCAA 2022 Wrestling Championships: opportunities for Rutgers wrestlers