Spotlight on Lamar Brown
Feb 29 | Wrestling
Rutgers wrestling head coach Scott Goodale said 197-pound junior wrestler Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) usually has a smile planted on his face. When asked about how far he felt Brown could go into the postseason, Goodale could only smile himself.
"He's wrestling really, really well right now," Goodale said. "Confidence breeds confidence. He has the chance to make the national tournament. I know he thinks he should, and he's wrestling at a pretty high level. I know he's excited about the chance of getting out of the EIWA and making the national tournament."
Brown is having a breakthrough junior season "On the Banks," and has compiled an impressive 21-11 record. To put Brown's improvement into perspective, he was 17-18 in his first two years at Rutgers. The 197-pounder said he's wrestling with a lot of certainty right now.
"Yeah this is probably the best I've ever wrestled, especially at Rutgers," Brown said. "I'm wrestling at a high level right now, and I feel good about the EIWAs."
Goodale attributes Brown's success to finally wrestling for a full season injury-free. He also feels Brown has benefited from the work he's done with assistant coach John Leonardis.
"John is someone Lamar can train with on a daily basis, and John has been through the grind of the daily season," Goodale said. "I just think Lamar's mentality in our work-outs has been huge. He really bought in to the philosophy of hard work that we preach as a staff."
Brown is on a three-match win streak, and has won five out of his last six bouts. He said the team as a whole got off to a slow start, but is now coming together. Brown feels everyone understands one another.
"It started out rough this year, but the team is starting to come around," the junior said. "The second semester has been quite a pleasant change for us, and it's all been through hard work. We're coming together and believing we can accomplish a lot here at Rutgers."
Goodale feels Brown's laid back personality is always good to be around. That's a positive for the coaching staff because the first-year head coach said the plan right now is to redshirt Brown next season, giving them two more years with the wrestler.
"We have another two years with Mr. Personality, which is great," Goodale said. "He likes to compete, but he's easy going and light-hearted. It's fun to be around him because he's just a neat kid. It's tough to get him down. He usually has the same expression on his face - it's usually a smile."
Along with his current hot-streak, Brown said it's been an overall team attitude. Whether it be the leadership of seniors Steve Adamcsik (Chester, N.J.) and Daniel Hilt (Manalapan, N.J.), or juniors Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) and Michael Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.), Brown said everyone on the team has come together this season.
"Everyone feeds off one another," Brown said. "Pletcher usually wrestles before me at 165-pounds, and it's a positive vibe going after him, and it's a positive atmosphere for everyone. It just gets you going."
When asked about his goal for the remainder of the season, it didn't take Brown long to answer.
"I want to go to nationals and upset a few people," he said.
Possibly with a smile.
