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CLEVELAND - On a day in which it lost its first seven matches, the Rutgers wrestling team went out into the cold Cleveland night on a high note Thursday on the first day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Fifteenth-seeded 197-pounder Remy Cotton and 27th-seeded heavyweight Hunter Catka became surprise quarterfinalists for the Scarlet Knights.
Joey Olivieri (141), Lenny Pinto (174) and Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) remain alive in the wrestlebacks.
“We have two quarterfinalists, that’s the focus right now, we still have three other guys in the (wrestlebacks),” said Rutgers coach Scott Goodale. “We have to have a better day tomorrow, but I’m happy with the way it ended for sure. Love the way it ended, I’ll leave it at that.”
Cotton dismantled the No. 2 seed, Rocky Elam of Iowa State, 12-4, in the second round. He was the second New Jersey wrestler to stun a No. 2 seed on the day. Navy’s Danny Wask, a Wantage native and Blair product, upset Cornell’s Simon Ruiz, a Delbarton graduate, 9-5, in the second round at 174 pounds.
Cotton took Elam down in all three periods, leading the match from beginning to end. He will face seventh-seeded Cody Merrill of Oklahoma State in the Friday morning quarterfinal.
“This is a cool opportunity to be here in front of this crowd,” said Cotton. “I put in all the work, so just had to wrestle hard for seven minutes. I was cool, I was calm, I just did what I was trained to do. Just had to stay in the match, don’t force anything, stay calm, try to score points and get on my opponents’ legs, and I stuck to the game plan well.”
Then it was Catka’s time to shine. The senior escaped in the first couple seconds of the tiebreaker against North Carolina’s 11th-seeded Devon Dawson, then rode his opponent out for the next 30 seconds to win 2-1.
“They rode, Remy rode, it put a ***** in (Elam’s) armor, he rode him,” said Goodale. “I don’t want to say he broke him, but he rode him for 2 1/2 minutes, he wanted to pick top. That’s what you have to do at this level. You have to be stingy at this level with points, and both guys rode. Catka rode to win, and now he’s a quarterfinalist.”
Catka will take on Michigan’s Taye Ghadiali in the quarterfinals. Ghadiali won both matchups this year, 7-5 during the regular season and by fall in the Big Ten tournament.
Despite Catka’s seed, Goodale expressed confidence in the heavyweight going into the day, especially considering Catka defeated Dawson by major decision in the Midlands final, giving Rutgers the tournament title.
“We knew we had to get through the first one, that was a huge win for him, and he stuck to a great plan and now he’s in the quarterfinals with a great test tomorrow,” said Goodale. “Anything can happen.”
A transfer from Michigan State, Cotton has become something of a savior for the Scarlet Knights this year. He notched the overtime pin that handed Rutgers its first-ever win over Minnesota earlier this season.
After the Scarlet Knights lost their first seven first-round matches, Cotton stopped the bleeding with a 4-2 win over Brown’s Andrew Reall.
“It’s been tremendous, this team, these coaches are family,” said Cotton of his experience at Rutgers. “Every day we get into the room and push ourselves to our limits and out of the room we’re best friends. Just happy at Rutgers.
“The coaches instilled in us this week, we all have a job to do, go out and focus on yourself, do your job and the rest of the guys will pull themselves along and you see them doing that right now.”
Catka followed Cotton in the first round by upsetting sixth-seeded Nathan Taylor of Lehigh in overtime, 6-3, and Rutgers could start to see its way to a solid performance on the day.
“When I’m in those overtime matches, it’s all mental,” said Catka. “Me and Remy, he’s my man, he’s the homie, we do bible studies all the time. We have a strong relationship with each other and God, and keeping that positive energy is essential.”
Like Cotton, Catka transferred to Rutgers this year. He was a blood rounder two years ago but lost his starting spot to St. Joseph (Mont.) three-time state champion Jimmy Mullen last year.
Now Catka is once again one win from the podium.
“I never doubt the preparation,” said Catka. “I didn’t have a good Big Ten tournament, I dealt with some things, but I’m feeling really good this tournament. It’s been a rough couple years with injuries and stuff, but trying to end it on a good note.
“The training every single day, everyone says it, but if you put in consistent day-in, day-out training with these coaches, who are amazing people (you’ll have success). It feels surreal. I write in my journal every day, but whatever happens I’m super pumped up to be here right now.”
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