PISCATAWAY, N.J. – One of just four individuals from Rutgers wrestling to collect multiple All-America accolades, Anthony Perrotti earned top-eight NCAA Championship finishes in both 2014 and 2016. With his three top-16 upsets at nationals at the 2014 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Perrotti became the first All-American under head coach Scott Goodale and the first to earn the honor since Tom Tanis in 2002. Perrotti followed with an eighth-place result at the 2016 NCAA Championships at Madison Square Garden.

Perrotti produced 85 career victories during his collegiate career, which included 20 or more wins in each of his final three years at RU. The West Essex High School product was a three-time conference placewinner, which included two top-eight finishes at the Big Ten Championships and one at the EIWA Championships. Perrotti also qualified for nationals three times during his Rutgers tenure and was voted the team’s most valuable wrestler in 2014 and 2016.

ScarletKnights.com’s All-America Spotlight series continues with Perrotti, who offered his insights on becoming an All-American, what it was like to wrestle for Goodale and what it means to be a wrestler at Rutgers.

ScarletKnights.com: You’re one of just a handful of wrestlers at Rutgers who is a multiple-time All-American. What does that mean to you?
Anthony Perrotti: It’s cool. It’s humbling. Honestly, when I got to college, I thought this was going to be an uphill battle. Your goal is obviously to become a NCAA champion, but I’m also a realist. My first few years here, I didn’t really see being an All-American in my future, to be honest, and that’s coming from a very confident guy. I was just being real with myself. I called coach Goodale one day after a loss and I told him how I was tired of losing and that I wanted to be great. He told me straight up that I wasn’t working hard enough and was real with me. He worked up a plan for me and once I started training as hard as everyone else did and believing in that training, I turned the corner. And after the first time I became an All-American? I told myself I had to do it again. I just kept the work ethic and did it again.

SK.com: How difficult was it to be an All-American at two different weight classes?
AP: It added a bit of a challenge for me. When you wrestle at a weight class for a few years, you get used to the guys you go up against. You get used to the style it’s wrestled at and the athleticism those guys bring to the table. So when you move a weight class, you need to get stronger, faster and build a new strategy. It was challenging, but I was able to become a better wrestler when I bumped up because I was able to focus more on what I needed to work on as a wrestler rather than cutting weight. Instead of doing workouts to lose weight, I was doing workouts to become a better wrestler. 

SK.com: What was it like to punch through the first time in 2014, becoming Goodale’s first All-American?
AP: People tried telling me that I was the start of the program’s success, but I don’t believe in that. It was building up for a long time. We had seven or eight guys in the Round of 12 that came before me, I was just able to get that one extra victory. But there have been so many talented guys here under Goodale before and after that. When I broke through, I guess it showed that the monkey was off our backs. After that, we could move forward. It was good for the program. And then Anthony [Ashnault] came in the next year and he took it from there and made it so we were putting two guys on the podium each year.

But when I won that match to All-American, I remember right after just running in the tunnel with Vinnie Dellefave and Ashnault and we were going nuts like I won the entire tournament. All I could think about was finding Goodale. I found him in some type of room, and I just remember giving him a big hug. It was awesome. He was pumped, but of course he reminded me that I wasn’t done yet. I’m glad it has taken off since that moment and there’s been a ton of success after the fact.

SK.com: What was it like to break through again, this time at MSG in front of a home crowd?
AP: It meant a lot. The year before, I went 0-2 at nationals. So in the back of my mind, I kept thinking that everyone thought I was a fluke and got lucky. That didn’t sit well with me. Then in 2016, I suffered a bad injury at Big Tens and had to forfeit out. I didn’t even know I was going to be able to go at nationals. Goody kept telling me I would be good to go, and I just pushed through. What drove me was just avoiding being the guy who did it once. But it also helped that I was wrestling a guy from Rider in the Round of 12, so I wouldn’t be able to live life as it is now if my last loss of my career came from a guy a Rider. I don’t even think me and Goody would be friends if that happened!

SK.com: To those who don’t know, what is your relationship with Scott Goodale like?
AP: My relationship with Goody has always been really good. I’ve always looked at him as not just a coach, but a really good friend of mine. He helped me through a lot of hard times at Rutgers. It wasn’t always easy, but we always had a lot of success. He was someone who was able to push me to the next level. I truly believe I would not have made it through college wrestling if coach Goodale wasn’t my coach. He’s just a good guy and finds the best in everyone. If you mess up, he’ll give you a chance because he believes in you. Not everyone is like that. Now we’re pretty good friends. We talk all of the time and play golf together. He’s a great guy. It was a pleasure being coached by him.

SK.com: What is it about the Rutgers wrestling program that emphasizes hard work?
AP: When coach Goodale took the job, it was tough sledding at first. He’s shown what hard work and perseverance can accomplish. In the first 10 years, he was making small gains, and that’s important in building a program. Now you look and they have national champions and All-Americans and a strong lineup for this upcoming year. It’s good to look back and see how far the program has come. It’s something that motivates me every day. 

SK.com: What are some memories that stick out to you during your collegiate career?
AP: The one that stands out the most is when we beat Nebraska in the RAC during my senior year. We had three or four upsets. Any time you wrestle a program like Nebraska and you’re competitive, you know you’re doing the right thing and things are going in the right direction. To get a win over a team like Nebraska with all of their history, we knew that this program was about to take off. That’s a moment that’s really special to me. The RAC was going crazy. We have one of the best fan bases in the country, so it was just an awesome moment. I still remember it to this day.

SK.com: What is it like wrestling in the RAC?
AP: It’s awesome, man. The whole night is crazy. You get there early and it’s empty. You go weigh in and the people start to trickle in. You go back and by the time you’re done talking pre-match strategy, you come out for the intros and the place is just electric. It’s jam-packed. You have to love the passion our fans bring to the RAC and it makes you want to win. They make you want to be the guy that’s flexing after the match and pumping up the crowd. I always pictured that in my head. I always thought to myself how crazy our fans were going to get if I won in a big spot. You dream about that stuff as a kid. Growing up, I always looked at the Iowa matches and how crazy they got, and being able to have that same atmosphere in New Jersey is something special. 

SK.com: How do you explain to someone not from New Jersey what it means to wrestle for Jersey?
AP: It’s a lot of pride. The history of New Jersey wrestling goes on and on. There’s so many great wrestlers from here. Jordan Burroughs is an example. He kind of brought the popularity back to the entire sport, and he’s from Jersey. And then you go back even further and look at Donny Pritzlaff. I wrestled at the same club as he did and he was always a legend to me. You can’t help but look up to someone like that. He was so dominant and had so much success. I can’t relate to being a national champion, but being an All-American and being mentioned in the same thought as those guys, you take a lot of pride in that. 

SK.com: So what are you currently up to?
AP: I work for a gas company called Miller Pipeline, a subcontractor with PSE&G. We provide gas to homes and commercial properties. It’s a lot of utility work, and it definitely helps that I was a wrestler because it’s hard work. But at the same time, I love what I do and I love waking up in the morning and being able to make a difference in the community.

SK.com: How did your time at Rutgers prepare you for your career?
AP: In order to succeed in the job I have now, you have to be able to work hard and use your head at the same time. Obviously it’s a dangerous job and a lot of things can go wrong. Being a wrestler and my time at Rutgers, you don’t realize the work ethic you obtain by going through four to five years of college wrestling. When you’re out in the field, guys actually turn their head a little bit because they see how hard you’re working and the average person doesn’t have that ability to work that hard. I’m thankful I was able to obtain that work ethic from wrestling and going to college. I get to put my degree to use.

SK.com: What does it mean to have a part in building this program?
AP: It’s awesome. Guys are able to look back on us, but I’m able to look back at past guys like Scott Winston, Vinnie Dellefave, Billy Ashnault and guys who came before me who when I was a freshman, were closing up their collegiate careers. They always stopped to help me and made me a better wrestler. They molded me into the person I wanted to become. For me, that was important. I’m glad I can have the same effect on people as others had on me. It’s such a family atmosphere at Rutgers, and I think that’s why they keep having success. The whole coaching staff keeps it a family atmosphere, so it’s easier to buy in. 

SK.com: The RFund allows student-athletes the chance to achieve their goals at Rutgers. How important was it to have the assistance of the RFund during your time here?
AP: It helps out a bunch. I don’t think people realize how much it helps the program in getting to the next level. Rutgers obviously has a beautiful facility now, which helps with recruiting and getting those guys ready to go. It’s hard building a program without something like the RFund backing it. The RFund is awesome and is definitely something you need in order to have a successful program in the Big Ten.

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