Rutgers & New Jersey Earn High Marks in Olympics
It was already an historic Olympic games in Paris, but for those with New Jersey roots who participated it was a home run.
Alum from Rutgers University were no exception, as a number of Scarlet Knights came away with medals and memories from this year’s summer games.
Kick things off on the hard court with Kahleah Cooper who was a key contributor to Team USA’s gold medal run. She netted 12 points in 22 minutes on the floor of USA’s nail-biting 67-66 victory to clinch the gold.
It is also interesting to note of course that the New York Liberty were well represented on Team USA, as New York’s top two scorers Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu were key cogs on the gold medal team.
Women’s Soccer
Meanwhile, on the women’s soccer front Rutgers alum Casey Murphy captured her first gold medal as team USA edged out Brazil 1-0 in the final. While Murphy didn’t play, she was the back-up to netminder Alyssa Naeher who had a dominant Olympic games.
Check out the press conference Murphy held before the Olympic games to get her thoughts on the opportunity.
Wrestling:
Finally, Sebastian Rivera earned a bronze medal in wrestling after taking down Tulga Tumur-Ochir (Mongolia) at the buzzer. While he was representing Puerto Rico in the games, Rivera became the first wrestler in Rutgers history to earn an Olympic medal according to The Knight Report.
Swimming:
Of course New Jersey was well represented in the sport of swimming. Morristown, New Jersey native Nic Fink, who has balanced a 9-5 job with family life and Olympic training became one of the oldest to ever win a medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, earning silver.
Jack Alexy of Mendham captured gold in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay race. Matt Fallon of Warren Township, competed in the 200 meter breaststroke, coming in fifth place.
LISTEN: Olympic Swimmer Nic Fink Talks Growing Up in Jersey
