Rutgers wrestling redshirt senior Joey Olivieri could be close to a return to the lineup after a two-month absence.
Rutgers coach Scott Goodale said after Saturday night’s 21-12 win over Rider that Olivieri, the Scarlet Knights’ highest-ranked wrestler and a NCAA blood rounder last year, would return to the lineup shortly.
“He’ll be back, he’ll back, he’ll be back soon, we’re going to get him back soon,” said Goodale.
Rutgers’ next dual meet is Friday at home against No. 9 Minnesota. The Scarlet Knights have four dual meets left in the season.
A three-time New Jersey state champion from Hanover Park, Olivieri is ranked in the Top 10 in every national ranking and as high as sixth. He is No. 9 in the coaches’ rankings.
In a season in which Goodale has said the program will be judged by how it performs in March – specifically how many All-Americans it produces – Olivieri is arguably Rutgers’ best chance to reach the podium.
Olivieri last suited up for the Scarlet Knights in a dual meet against North Carolina State on Dec. 7 when he defeated All-American Ryan Jack, 6-4, to improve to 10-0 on the season.
Olivieri did not appear in the following dual which the Scarlet Knights dropped 19-14 to Oklahoma. After the match, Goodale said the senior was out for a violation of team rules.
Prior to Rutgers’ match against Michigan on Jan. 18, Goodale said on NJ.com’s “Weighing In” podcast that Olivieri would return for the match.
“I’m hoping we see (Olivieri) Friday night, that’s the plan, so he’s fine,” said Goodale on the podcast.
Olivieri weighed in against Michigan but with the Scarlet Knights trailing 15-12 with two weights to go, it was Gibson who took the mat against All-American Dylan Ragusin and dropped a hard-fought 6-4 decision as the Scarlet Knights fell, 21-12.
“Weighed (Olivieri) in, he’s training really good, I just want to focus on Mason Gibson, I want to focus on giving up those majors early, let’s focus on those guys right now,” said Goodale after the match. “He weighed in, and that’s all I’ll say about that.”
Goodale declined to elaborate further, and Olivieri did not weigh in two days later against Purdue.
But when the Scarlet Knights were on a road trip to Northwestern and Illinois last week, Olivieri competed at the Bloomsburg Open, where he went 4-0.
The senior did not compete against Maryland or Rider this weekend.
Olivieri has been missed. True freshman Tahir Parkins and redshirt freshman Mason Gibson – the latter more suited to wrestle 133 – have gone 1-8 in the nine dual meets Olivieri has been out.
After surviving an upset bid by the Broncs behind gritty efforts from senior 133-pounder Dylan Shawver and freshman 174-pounder Ryan Ford, Goodale admitted navigating the absence of his best wrestler has been challenging.
Rider’s Eli Griffin defeated Gibson, 13-6, in the match.
“We knew it would be tight, we need our big horse back, we’ve got to get our horse back,” said Goodale. “That’s what we’re missing right now. We’re just giving away a weight every time out. It makes dual meets become very, very interesting.”
It seems the horse will be let out of the stable soon.
