Poznanski Runner-Up, Three Place at 2020 U23 & UWW Junior Nationals

OMAHA, Neb. – Rutgers wrestling wrapped up action at the 2020 U23 and UWW Junior Nationals, held over the weekend at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Freshman John Poznanski finished as the runner-up in his weight class, while redshirt sophomore Billy Janzer (third) and sophomore Sammy Alvarez (fifth) also placed in the freestyle tournament, which featured some of the top individuals in the country. All 14 competitors wrestled as representatives from the Scarlet Knights Wrestling Club (SKWC).
 
Wrestling at 86 kg, Poznanski impressed during his run to the title match. The Colonia, New Jersey, native produced three consecutive wins by superiority (technical fall) to open the tournament and advance to the quarterfinals, where he defeated 2020 NCAA qualifier Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) by superiority, 12-1.
 
Poznanski then wrestled in a back-and-forth semifinal bout against Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa), where he used six takedowns to defeat Keckeisen, 15-12, to move on to the final. Posnanski was edged in a tight title match with Joel Shapiro (Iowa State), 4-2, to finish second in his weight class.
 
One of the top 2020 signees in the country, Poznanski finished his high school career at Colonia with a school record 164 wins, which included an unblemished 40-0 record en route to a state title at 182 pounds during his final scholastic season in 2019-20. Poznanski was also named a 2020 high school All-American by Amateur Wrestling News during his illustrious scholastic career.
 
Janzer also impressed at the tournament, where he wrestled back to a third-place finish at 92 kg. After he dropped a decision to Rocky Elam (Missouri) in the quarterfinals, Janzer tallied four consecutive wins, including a 10-0 win by superiority over Christopher Smith (Southeast RTC) to finish third.
 
Alvarez advanced to the semifinals at 65 kg after he defeated 2019 Iowa state champion Cobe Siebrecht (Iowa), 6-4, in his quarterfinal match. After he dropped his semifinal bout to 2020 NCAA qualifier Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) in a wild back-and-forth decision by a 15-13 margin, Alvarez bowed out with a fifth-place result.
 
Sophomore Jackson Turley and redshirt freshman Robert Kanniard also advanced to championship quarterfinal bouts in their respective weight classes to highlight action for the Scarlet Knights. Full results from the tournament can be found here.
 
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