No. 18 Brian Soldano pins No. 15 Layne Malczewski in rematch at NCAA Wrestling Tournament

No. 18 Brian Soldano (Rutgers) wasted no time getting his payback on No. 15 Layne Malczewski (Michigan State). The Scarlet Knight got a pin in 1:40 to win the rematch after the Spartans’ win in the dual back in January.

Locked up in neutral, both wrestlers looked for big throws in the first period. Malczewski managed to get Soldano down in a scramble, went up 2-0 and nearly got the pin.

However, Soldano elevated Malczewski and put him to his back near the boundary. Right next to the Rutgers’ corner, Soldano got the fall to advance.

184 | BOOM! (18) Brian Soldano sticks (15) Layne Malczewski (MSU) in the opening period to advance!#RelentlessPursuit | #NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/ZtgeVLO4A3

— Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) March 16, 2023

Soldano will take on No. 2 Trent Hidlay (NC State) Thursday night in the Round of 16. 

More on the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships

The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships were held March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa (Okla). The tournament consists of 330 wrestlers in total across 10 weight classes. Each weight class features wrestlers seeded No. 1 through No. 33.

Over the course of the three-day tournament, wrestlers can achieve national champion status by going 5-0 in their bracket, through Saturday night’s finals. The top eight placewinners in each bracket are considered All-Americans.

Losing one match does not eliminate a wrestler from competition. The consolation bracket is designed to determine the remaining spots on the podium (third through eighth place).

Since there are 33 wrestlers in each weight, the competitors seeded No. 32 and 33 compete in a “pigtail bout” prior to the first round to determine who matches up against the No. 1 seed in Round 1.

Losing the pigtail drops the wrestler to the consolation bracket where there is still opportunity to finish as high as third place in the weight class.

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The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Tournament is set to take place in Kansas City (Mo.)