PISCATAWAY, N.J. (April 22, 2010) – The Rutgers wrestling team will bring in four highly-touted prospects for their 2014 class, head coach Scott Goodale announced Wednesday. The class was listed as the 17th-best in the country by InterMat it the site’s early period recruiting class rankings, prior to RU finishing their class.
Rutgers will welcome Jordan Beverly (Point Pleasant Boro, N.J.), Nick Visicaro (Brachville, N.J.), Anthony Volpe (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Mike Wagner (South Plainfield, N.J.). All four were listed in the top-18 of their respective high school weight class by InterMat.
Viscaro attended Long Branch High School and is listed as the seventh-best 160-pound prep wrestler by InterMat. He is projected to compete at 165 pounds for the Scarlet Knights.
Viscaro won the New Jersey 160-pound state Title and placed fifth at the 2010 NHSCA Senior National Tournament. He won the 2009 NHSCA Junior National Championship for his weight class.
As a junior, he was runner-up at the Beast of the EAST Tournament and finished sixth at the Junior National Freestyle Tournament. The Branchville, N.J. native was the 2008 NHSCA National Runner-Up in both his sophomore and freshman year.
“Nick is one of the best New Jersey recruits this year,” said Goodale. “He is a two-time state champion and wrestled at a high level in high school. He was a huge get for us.”
Beverly joins the Scarlet Knights from Point Pleasant Boro High School. InterMat listed him as the 15th-best 140 pound high school grappler. He was the 2010 NHSCA Senior National Champ and placed third in the state finals. As a junior, he was the New Jersey State Runner-Up at 140 pounds. In 2008, he earned a sixth-place finish at the NHSCA Sophomore National Tournament and placed fifth in the state finals.
Beverly is projected to wrestle at 149 pounds for RU.
“Jordan has tremendous upside,” said Goodale. “He won a high school national title. He is a great mat wrestler, which is a great equalizer at this level.”
Volpe arrives “On the Banks” from Rocky Point High School and is projected to wrestle at 157 for the Scarlet Knights. He is listed at the 14th-best 160-pound prep grappler by InterMat. The Miller Place, N.Y. native placed fourth at the 2010 NHSCA Senior National Tournament and won the New York DI State Title. In 2009, he finished seventh at the NHSCA Junior National Tournament and placed third at the New York DI State Championship.
During his sophomore campaign, Volpe placed third in the NHSCA Sophomore National event. Volpe earned a seventh place finish at the 2007 Cadet National Greco-Roman and was the runner-up at the 2007 NHSCA Freshman National Tournament.
“Anthony is a blue-collar type kid and experienced a lot of success on the national level,” said Goodale. “He placed every year at nationals and is a New York State Champ. It was a great get for a program to get one of New York’s top kids. He will fit well in well here.”
Wagner attended South Plainfield, N.J. and is projected to wrestle at 197 for Rutgers. InterMat listed Wagner as the 18th best 189-pound high school grappler. He was the runner-up at 2010 New Jersey State Finals and defeated two-time NHSCA Champion Billy George in the semi-finals. He placed fourth n the state finals as a junior and is a three-time Region Champion.
“Mike did great at the state tournament and beat a great wrestler to get to the finals,” said Goodale. “He comes from a great program and understands how to train at this level. He is another great mat wrestler. He is raw, but has a tremendous upside.”
Rutgers finished at No. 22 in the final 2009-10 NWCA/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll after posting a 19-5-1 record. Seven Scarlet Knights earned NCAA bids, the most since 1960. The No. 22 ranking is the highest in school history. Nine of Rutgers 10 starters are returning for the 2010-11 campaign.
