Rutgers wrestles as a family
PISCATAWAY - It can be at times an endless grind for a wrestler, filled with ups and downs no matter what level they compete at.
That’s why it is so important that a wrestler has support from his family, coaches and teammates.
Case in point is the speech Rutgers University sophomore 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault gave to his teammates after he became Rutgers’ first Big Ten Conference champion March 6 in Iowa City, Iowa.
“Here it is, we have a Big Ten champ, and Anthony is talking about Sean McCabe (Rutgers’ redshirt junior 125-pounder) getting in (the NCAA Division I Championships),’’ Rutgers coach Scott Goodale said.
“It was really important for me to have all my brothers next to me when I need to go into battle and try to get that national title,’’ said Ashnault, who was an unbeaten-for-his-career, four-time NJSIAA champion from 2010-2013 at South Plainfield High School; was the NCAA eighth-place finisher at 141 last year; and is the No. 4 seed at 141 this year as he tries to become Rutgers’ first national champion.
Rutgers had nine of its 10 wrestlers qualify for the NCAAs through the Big Ten Tournament with McCabe just missing.
Then, on March 8, McCabe received an at-large berth to the NCAAs, enabling Rutgers to have all 10 of its wrestlers in the nationals.
“It’s awesome for the program,’’ McCabe said. “It just shows that we’re always growing. We’re becoming a better program each day.”
Rutgers will be one of three schools to have all 10 of its wrestlers in the NCAA Tournament, which will take place Thursday-Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The others are Oklahoma State and Nebraska.
Penn State, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and the NCAA champion from 2011-2014, tradition-rich Iowa and defending national champion Ohio State will not have their entire lineups in this year’s tournament.
For Rutgers — in its second year in the Big Ten and a little over a decade removed from discussion of having the program discontinued — to have more wrestlers in the tournament than many of the sport’s storied programs is quite a feather in its cap.
“It just shows that we’ve been doing the right things here at Rutgers,’’ Ashnault said. “For recruits looking in, they see that, and they want to be a part of something like that.’’
Having its entire lineup in the nationals is something Goodale, the former Jackson Memorial High School head coach who is in his ninth season at Rutgers, and his coaching staff can sell heavily to prospective recruits.
Rutgers does have a solid recruiting class coming in, with three of its recruits winning NJSIAA championships March 6, two others finishing second, another coming in third and another wrestler finishing as a runner-up in the Ohio state tournament.
“One of the first things we’ve sent to recruits is a picture of all 10 of our guys going to the national tournament,’’ Goodale said. “At the end of the day, it’s about our guys. It’s about the 10 guys who did it. A lot of the guys we’re recruiting are friends with guys on our team.”
One thing Goodale firmly believes that having his entire lineup qualify shows is that the entire season counts.
Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers wrestling crowned Big Ten champ
“It always bothered me that people would say it only matters in March,’’ Goodale said. “It matters in November. I think about Sean McCabe — his wins against the kid from Oklahoma (Ryan Milhof). Those are huge wins, and that happened in November.” Milhof is the No. 5 seed at 125.
“(McCabe) is in the national tournament based on what happened in November. Those dual meets, they matter. Matches in November matter. Matches in December matter. Wrestleback matches in the Midlands Tournament matter. At the end of the day, you’re either going to get seeded based on those or you’re going to get in the national tournament based on those.
“We’re doing something right from a preparation and mentality standpoint.”
The motto "all for one and one for all” is another reason Rutgers is sending its entire lineup to the tournament. Yes, wrestling at this time of the year, whether it is on the scholastic or collegiate level, is an individual sport. But it is always easier if a wrestler knows his family, coaches and teammates have his back during the journey.
“We’ve got a really good thing going here right now. It’s a family-type atmosphere. These guys feed off each other,’’ Goodale said. “Having 10 guys, we want to get to that point where we’re feeding off each other, winning matches and wrestling for each other, like we did in the Big Ten (Tournament).’’
“You see how close we are when we’re messing around outside of the wrestling,’’ Ashnault said. “That’s the kind of atmosphere that I saw at Rutgers when I committed to go to school here, and now it’s coming true.’’
Who knows where Rutgers will finish in the team standings or how many All-Americas (top eight finishers) it will have? Rutgers has had multiple All-Americas just once in its history. That came in 1952 when Emil Perona and Ray Vohden were fourth at 157 and 177 respectively. The Scarlet Knights have had All-Americas the past two seasons — the first time it has had All-Americas in consecutive seasons.
Ashnault, Anthony Perrotti (eighth at 157 in 2014 and the No. 7 seed at 165), Richie Lewis (the No. 9 seed at 157) and four-time NCAA qualifier Billy Smith (the No 12 seed at heavyweight) all have realistic chances at being on the podium.
And if any of them do get on the podium, Rutgers will have done it as a family.
Staff Writer Steven Falk: 908-309-0141; sfalk@gannettnj.com