Rutgers University wrestling finished the 2026 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 8 with eight athletes earning automatic bids to the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which will take place later this month in Cleveland. Seven Scarlet Knights placed at the conference tournament, and the team finished eighth overall with 63.5 points.
The achievement marks only the fourth time in program history that Rutgers has qualified eight or more wrestlers for the national tournament, matching previous totals from 2024 and 2011, and just one short of its record ten qualifiers in 2016. Head coach Scott Goodale said, “I’m happy we were able to get eight through to the national tournament. I didn’t like the way we finished on Sunday, and there are things we need to work on to get prepared for Cleveland. We had some big wins this weekend, and I’m hoping we get a few more at-larges when it’s all said and done.”
Hunter Catka (heavyweight) secured his fourth career trip to NCAAs by winning back-to-back matches on Sunday, including a pin over Josh Terrill of Michigan State in his ninth-place bout. Other placewinners included Joseph Olivieri (141 pounds) and Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184), both finishing fifth; Andrew Barbosa (165), Lenny Pinto (174), and Remy Cotton (197), each placing sixth; Andrew Clark (149) taking seventh; and Ayden Smith (125) finishing eighth.
Dylan Shawver (133) also finished ninth, just outside an automatic bid, while Anthony White (157) awaits possible selection as an at-large qualifier when announcements are made Tuesday. If both Shawver and White are selected, Rutgers could send its full lineup to nationals for only the second time in school history.
Throughout the tournament, Rutgers wrestlers notched several notable victories over ranked opponents. Barbosa upset last year’s NCAA runner-up Joey Blaze of Purdue during quarterfinals, while other Scarlet Knights earned decisions against top-20 competitors from Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland and Michigan.
Looking ahead to Cleveland’s NCAA Wrestling Championships from March 19-21, Goodale emphasized continued preparation: “That’s a big win for him,” he said about Barbosa’s victory over Blaze. “Those are the type of wins that get you out on that stage Saturday night. Great win; you just have to go out and win the next one. That’s the Big Ten Conference.”