Friday, January 5th, 2024 – 7:00 PM
Rider (1-3. 1-0 MAC) vs Northern Illinois(7-1, 1-0 MAC)
WATCH- ESPN+
LOCATION- Lawrenceville, NJ
Sunday, January 7th, 2024- 2:00 PM
Rider (1-3, 1-0 MAC) vs #14 Rutgers (5-1, 0-0 B1G)
WATCH- B1G+
LOCATION- Piscataway, NJ
What You Need To Know
Rider University's Wrestling Team returns to action as they host NIU and then travel to Rutgers.
Last Time Out
-#32 Colton Washleski wrapped up competition at the 59th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships placing 6th at 157lbs on Saturday evening.
- Three Broncs traveled out to Bethlehem to compete in the Sheridan Tournament hosted by Lehigh University, as #29 David Szuba highlighted the afternoon by finishing 2nd in the Heavyweight division.
- Rider University's Wrestling team was able to secure a trio of bonus point victories by Colton Washleski, Jake Silverstein, and David Szuba however the Broncs would fall to #RV Wisconsin 22-16. With the loss, Rider falls to 1-3 in duals and Wisconsin moves to 3-1.
Broncs in the Rankings
- Rider ranks three wrestlers in the Intermat national rankings with #22 Quinn Kinner, #32 Colton Washleski, and #29 David Szuba.
Winner Washleski
- Colton Washleski has been excellent in tournaments as he was crowned 157 lbs champion as Rider University's Wrestling team competed at the A Better Way Athletics Patriot Open hosted by George Mason University earlier this year.
- Washleski has reached the podium in all three tournaments/opens he's competed in this year including most recently placing 6th at the 59th Ken Kraft Midland Open.
- Washleski currently holds a team-best 16-5 record being the first Bronc to reach double-digit wins
Big Kinner
- Quinn Kinner secured his second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022-23, finishing the year with a 24-9 record in his first season at 149. Kinner was able to battle back through the blood rounds at the MAC Championships, finishing third to secure his spot at NCAAs.
- Kinner started the year with one of his most impressive performances with Rider after taking down a pair of nationally ranked opponents vs SIUE and Indiana (#21 Caleb Tyus and #6 Graham Rooks)
- The Ohio State transfer has been a dominant piece for the Broncs since coming over from OSU where he posted a 38-10 record over two seasons at Ohio State, including a redshirt year as a true freshman in 2018-19.
- The Mullica Hill native returns to the Garden State where he was one of the most impressive wrestlers in the state at Kingsway Regional High School where he won two state titles for the Red Dragons.
Kingsway Connection
- Kinner and Bell return to action on the same mat after wrestling together at Kingsway Regional in South Jersey.
- Bell was a three-time New Jersey State Place Winner amassing over 150 wins as a Red Dragon
- Kinner was a two-time NJ state champion finishing his career as one of the most decorated wrestlers in school history.
History vs NIU
- Rider and NIU are meeting for the fourth time on Friday evening.
- Rider leads the all-time series 3-0, Rider took the last matchup 20-14 in Lawrenceville in 2021.
About the Huskies
-The Northern Illinois University Huskies currently hold a 7-1 record as they get back to Mid-American Conference dual action.
-The Huskies were last in action on Dec. 29-30 as they competed at the 59th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, where the Huskies were led by Blake West's sixth-place finish at 125 pounds.
- The Huskies were last in dual action on Dec. 19 as they started MAC action with a 37-6 victory over Kent State.
- The Huskies fought in a nail-biter against (RV) Northwestern, edging out the Wildcats, 18-17.
- The Huskies concluded their day with a shutout victory over Harper College, 56-0, marking Coach Ludwig's 100th career win as the Huskie head coach.
History vs Rutgers
- Rider holds a 12-11 all-time series lead over the Scarlett Knights.
- Last time out vs Rutgers however the Scarlett Knights took down the Broncs 26-9 in Lawrenceville.
About Rutgers
- Rutgers enters the weekend at 5-1 with wins over Duke, Cal Poly, Princeton, Edinboro, and Buffalo.
- Beofre battling with the Broncs Rutgers travels to Philadelphia to square off with #19 Penn at the Palestra
- Rutgers ranks 8 in the Intermat national rankings including #2 Dean Peterson, #9 Dylan Shawver, #13 Mitch Moore, #33 Andrew Clark, #27 Jackson Turley, #19 Brian Soldano, #8 John Poznanski, and #7 Yaraslau Slavikouski
- Last time out No. 9 Dylan Shawver (133) earned a runner-up finish to highlight action for Rutgers wrestling on Saturday at the 2023 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
- Rutgers finished No. 22 in the final 2022-23 NWCA Coaches Poll, the 10th final top-25 finish for the Scarlet Knights under head coach Scott Goodale. RU produced seven NCAA qualifiers for the second consecutive season and qualified five or more student-athletes to the national tournament for the ninth consecutive season.
- Rutgers returns nine NCAA qualifiers and two All-Americans – Poznanski and Jackson Turley – this season. Rutgers has also added three student-athletes – Slavikouski (Harvard), Jacob Butler (Oklahoma) and Mitch Moore (Oklahoma) – with NCAA Championships experience.
Projected Matches
NIU
125: Blake West (17-5)
133: Nathaniel Genobana (7-7)
141: Jacob Brya (4-2)
149: Jaivon Jones (7-2)
157: Tulga Zuunbayan (4-2)
165: Tommy Bennett (6-11)
174: Hayden Pummel (7-6)
184: #31 Matt Zuber (14-4)
197: Sean Carroll (8-7)
285: Jacobi Jackson (7-3)
Rutgers
125: #2 Dean Peterson (5-0)
133: #9 Dylan Shawver (12-3)
141: #13 Mitch Moore (8-0) -OR- Joe Fongaro (5-4)
149: Jacob Butler (3-2) -OR- Michael Cetta (6-3)
157: #33 Andrew Clark (6-2)
165: Anthony White (8-6) -OR- Luke Gayer (9-6)
174: #27 Jackson Turley (3-2) -OR- Shane Cartagena-Walsh (8-2)
184: #19 Brian Soldano (7-3)
197: #8 John Poznanski (6-0)
HWT: #7 Yaraslau Slavikouski (8-0) -OR- John O'Donnell (9-5)
Rider
125-Tyler Klinsky (6-8)
133-Richie Koehler (8-4)
141-McKenzie Bell (3-3)
149-#22 Quinn Kinner (6-5)
157- #32 Colton Washleski (16-5)
165-Cole McComas (3-4) or Jake Silverstein (8-5)
174-Michael Wilson (7-8)
184-Isaac Dean (6-6)
197-Asa Terrell (0-3) or Brock Zurawski (1-4)
Hwt-#29 David Szuba (9-6)
