Rutgers Recruiting Class Succeeds in NJSIAA Wrestling Championships
Mar 12 | Wrestling
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - TheRutgers wrestling program, under the guidance of first-year head coach Scott Goodale, saw its 2008 recruiting class dominate the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Wrestling Championships, held on March 8 and 9 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
"I am absolutely overjoyed by the success the student-athletes we are bringing in had in the state tournament, but I am not surprised," said Goodale. "These are some of the best wrestlers in the country and the staff is very excited about the future of the Rutgers wrestling program. Their performance over the weekend has caught the attention of the wrestling community, and the excitement about RU wrestling is spreading so obviously that is great news. It would really be tough to ask a group to have a better state tournament than they did, with four championships, a second-place finish, two third-place finishes and a fifth-place finish."
Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.) of Jackson Memorial, the number two ranked senior recruit in the nation by InterMat, finished his stellar career 137-0, winning the 160-pound class with a pin at 2:14. In winning his third State championship, Winston became the first four-year wrestler to finish his career without a single loss. The other champion came at 215, where Jesse Boyden (Kenilworth, N.J.) of Brearley won the final bout 3-1.
In the championship contest at 140, Trevor Melde (Wayne, N.J.) of DePaul fell by way of pin at 5:59. InterMat ranks Melde as the 17th-best recruit in the nation. Dan Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) of Lodi won third-place at 171 with a 4-1 decision over his opponent. Rinaldi is ranked No. 19 at 171-pounds by USA Wrestling.
Other wrestlers who will be attending Rutgers in 2008 include Nick Menditto (Ocean, N.J.) of Ocean Township, who won his second consecutive title at 152 with a 10-2 major decision over Greg Zannetti (Edison, N.J.) of J.P. Stevens, Joey Langel (Farmingdale, N.J.) of Howell, who won the 112-pound class with a 6-2 decision and Ocean Township's Zach Coulas (Ocean, N.J.), who finished fifth at 130-pounds.
Rutgers' 2008 recruiting class was ranked No. 10 by WIN Magazine.
