The most prized recruit in Rutgers wrestling history has officially lived up to the billing.

When he arrived at Rutgers from South Plainfield High School with the distinction of being New Jersey's first unbeaten four-time NJSIAA champion, Ashnault put winning a Big Ten championship near the top of his goals.

As a redshirt freshman last year, Ashnault fell short of that quest, falling in the conference tournament semifinals to eventual champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State.

The 141-pounder made up for that stinging defeat Sunday, recording a 9-0 decision over Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon in the finals of the Big Ten Championships at the University of Iowa.

'I definitely expected to win,'' Ashnault said Sunday evening in a phone interview with a group of New Jersey reporters.

Rutgers' first Big Ten champion, Ashnault (28-2) scored a four-point near fall with 1:20 left in the second period and cruised to the shutout victory.

"I feel pretty confident on top at this point of the season,'' Ashnault said. "If I get a guy's wrist, I'm most likely going to turn him. I was riding tough all year, all tournament. He stood up and I got his wrist, tilted him up and I was trying to get the fall but I couldn't get it. I ended up getting another wrist later on in the period and I tilted him. That's just part of my repertoire, I guess. I was able to get to it and that's my go-to on top. I put up six quick points and it's hard to come back from six points in a college match. I think it took a toll on him mentally.''

Added Rutgers coach Scott Goodale: "Gulibon is a four-time Pennsylvania state champ, a highly touted kid, one of the top recruits in the country when he came out. I have a ton of respect for the kid. I'm sure Anthony does as well. But you don't win 9-0 in a Big Ten final. That's just rare. He did a great job on top and was relentless. He's worked really hard in that position and it opens things up for him. Once he builds leads he's really, really difficult to beat.''

Ashnault, the third seed who won all four of his matches this weekend, gave Rutgers its first conference champion since Scott Winston earned the 165-pound title in the EIWA Championships in 2011.

An All-American last year, Ashnault will now set his sights on reaching the top of the podium at the NCAA Championships, which will be contested from March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

"This is just a stepping stone to the national tournament,'' Ashnault said. "I really want to win the national title this year. I'm confident going in and this created a lot of momentum. There are a lot of things going right for me right now, going my way. And I'm trying to carry it right on over in two weeks at Madison Square Garden.''

As a team this weekend, Rutgers qualified nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and could get all 10 members of the lineup into the national-tournament bracket if 125-pounder Sean McCabe earns an at large bid.

"You get your whole team and plus you have their workout partners, so now you have your whole program still wrestling, still practicing, still getting better,'' Goodale said. "It's like a football team going to a bowl game. You get an extra two weeks with the whole program. It's important. It's going to be exciting. It's in our backyard, Madison Square Garden. And hopefully Sean gets that bid and all 10 of them get to experience it.

"There's nothing like the national tournament and I know our guys are fired up. But at the same time we can't just be happy going there. We need to be excited about going there and winning, and getting our hand raised. We have some guys with some pretty big goals, and there's a lot left to do.''

Anthony Ashnault takes his spot atop the 141-pound podium at #B1GWrestle for #RUWR. pic.twitter.com/yUAf4I7Z2Q — Rutgers Wrestling (@RUWrestling) March 6, 2016

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.

Fresh off winning

's first

title, Anthony Ashnault talks with BTN.