Indiana wrestling lost its first conference match 27-9 to No. 12 Rutgers Friday night.
Indiana started the night with No. 25-ranked sophomore Jacob Moran, who lost to No. 30 freshman Dylan Shawver in a 13-2 major decision in the 125-pound class that handed Rutgers an early 4-0 lead. Indiana bounced back with No. 19-ranked graduate student Brock Hudkins, who extended his undefeated personal record to 6-0 against Devon Britton in the 133-pound class to make the score 4-3.
That was the closest the match score would be throughout the night, as Rutgers ran away with the remainder of the meet.
No. 26-ranked Cayden Rooks fell to No. 4 senior Sebastian Rivera in the 141-pound class, extending Rutgers’ lead to 8-3. Indiana junior Graham Rooks lost to No. 19-ranked senior Mike Van Brill in a 7-2 decision for the 149-pound class, putting the lead to 11-3.
Indiana sophomore Derek Gilcher lost to freshman Robert Kanniard in the 157-pound class in a 9-7 regular decision. Rutgers freshman Andrew Clark did not allow Indiana senior Sammy Cokeley to score a point in his 3-0 loss for the 165-pound class. With Rutgers leading 17-3, Indiana junior Sean Grim fell to No. 26-ranked sophomore Jackson Turley to put Rutgers at 22-3 going into the most-anticipated match of the night.
The 184-pound weight class featured a top-10 matchup between No. 8-ranked Indiana junior DJ Washington and No. 5-ranked Rutgers freshman John Poznanski. In a gritty battle, Poznanski handed Washington his first loss of the season with a 4-2 regular decision. Rutgers led the match score 25-3.
Indiana junior Nick Willham fell to No. 7-ranked senior Greg Bulsak in a 9-1 major decision to score Rutgers’ final two points of the night.
Indiana finished the night with junior Jacob Bullock securing a 10-1 major decision victory against Rutgers sophomore Boone McDermott, allowing Indiana to score four more points and finish the night 29-7.
Indiana nexts plays No. 2 Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The match will be broadcasted on BTN+.
