Andrew Clark, Robert Kanniard, Jackson Turley spark Rutgers wrestling to win over Maryland

What had been problems weights in the Rutgers University wrestling team's lineup in Big Ten Conference matches came through Saturday as the Scarlet Knights defeated conference bottom feeder Maryland 28-7 at College Park, Md. for their second Big Ten win of the season.

Sophomore Andrew Clark (157), redshirt sophomore Robert Kanniard (165) and junior Jackson Turley (174) all won to enable Rutgers (10-5, 2-4) to move away from what was a 7-7 tie after four bouts. Maryland is 8-7 overall and 0-6 in the conference.

It was the first conference wins of the season for Rutgers at 157 and 165 and just the second on the mat win for Turley in Big Ten matches.

Clark was 0-5 in Big Ten matches. Kanniard was 0-2. Sophomore Connor O'Neill was the wrestler for the Scarlet Knights' other three defeats at 165 in conference matches. Turley is 2-3 in on the mat conference matches. He also has a win by forfeit.

CLARK GIVES RUTGERS THE LEAD FOR GOOD

Clark showed how tough he can be on top in his 7-2 win over Michael North. He rode bNorth for the final 1:48 of the first period after a takedown. He also rode North a bit after he reversed him in the second period and then put North to his back for two back points early in the third period.

Clark had been competitive in four of his five previous conference bouts. He had three defeats by two points, including one in sudden victory and another by a point.

KANNIARD TAKES COMMAND RIGHT AWAY

Kanniard, who has battled several injuries during the season, including one that sidelined him for three conference matches from Jan. 15-22, took down John Martin Best seven seconds into the bout and rode him for the rest of the first period

He added another takedown late in the bout to record a 7-0 win.

In Kanniard's other two Big Ten bouts, he led in the third period, only to get pinned against Indiana while he was getting injured and lose 9-4 against Northwestern's Maxx Mayfield when Mayfield hit a six-point move in the final nine seconds.

TURLEY PULLS AWAY LATE

Turley, who was the NCAA eighth-place finisher at 174 in 2021, has been inconsistent since.

He missed most of last season with an injury and has been up and down this season while showing glimpses of his 2021 form here and there.

In the third period, Turley flashed some of that previous All-American form as he recorded two takedowns in the third period to record a 5-1 win over Dom Solis.

Turley's two previous bouts had been one-point defeats, including an 11-10 one to Northwestern's Troy Fisher in which he let a six-point first period lead get away.

THE RETURN OF BOONE

Another encouraging development for Rutgers came with the return of redshirt junior heavyweight Boone McDermott

In his first Big Ten bout of the season and first since he sustained a knee injury while wrestling Rider's David Szuba on Jan. 8, McDermott defeated returning NCAA qualifier Jaron Smith 5-4 on an escape in the final 20 seconds.

McDermott had a takedown in the second period and a reversal in the third period before Smith tied the bout with a reversal.

Rutgers had been 0-5 at heavyweight in the conference in McDermott's absence and had been pinned twice and defeated by technical fall twice.

.

More:Rutgers wrestling shows heart, but Michigan balance proves to be too much

'

More:Rutgers wrestling shows heart, but Michigan balance proves to be too much

UP NEXT

Rutgers will face a herculean task Friday night as it hosts defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Penn State in front of what figures to be a sold out Jersey Mike's Arena.

Penn State, which has won the national championship nine of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, has four defending national champions in its lineup in two-time champions Roman Bravo-Young (133), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184) and 2022 champion Max Dean (197).

If Penn State, which is making its first visit to Jersey Mike's Arena since Jan. 28, 2018, brings its full lineup, the only bout Rutgers will be favored to win is 125 with redshirt freshman Dean Peterson.

RUTGERS 28, MARYLAND 7

125: Braxton Brown (M) md. Dean Peterson 8-0.

133: Joe Heilmann (R) md. King Sandoval 12-0.

141: Joey Olivieri (R) d. Kai Miller 2-1.

149: Ethen Miller (M) d. Anthony White 4-2.

157: Andrew Clark (R) d. Michael North 7-2.

165: Robert Kanniard (R) d. John Martin Best 7-0.

174: Jackson Turley (R) d. Dom Solis 5-1

184: Brian Soldano (R) d. Kevin Makosy 6-3.

197: Billy Janzer (R) by forfeit.

HWT: Boone McDermott (R) d. Jaron Smith 5-4.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Rutgers Wrestling: Scarlet Knights record much-needed win at Maryland