PISCATAWAY, N.J. – As a professional athlete vying for a spot in the next Olympic Games, Anthony Ashnault has access to some of the best facilities, practice partners and coaching the wrestling community has to offer. Training alongside standouts such as Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder, Yianni Diakomihalis, Tyler Graff and Tony Nelson as a member of the U.S. men’s freestyle team, Ashnault most recently locked up a spot in the 2020 Olympic Trials after he won gold at the Pan American Championships on March 9 in Ottawa, Canada. 

He became the second Scarlet Knight to earn a spot at the upcoming trials, as Nick Suriano secured his place at the tournament with his fourth-place finish at Senior Nationals on Dec. 22, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Now everything has changed due to the worldwide coronavirus health crisis, and the sport is not immune to its impact. The Olympics have been pushed back a full calendar year to at least July 23, 2021, with the Olympic Trials, originally set for April 4-5 in State College, Pennsylvania, also announced for sometime next year.

Less than three weeks ago, Ashnault found himself in practice rooms with some of the best athletes on the planet. Now the 2019 NCAA champion and four-time All-American is forced to train differently at his current residence on the Jersey Shore. 

“I have a wrestling mat here in the basement of my house in Spring Lake,” Ashnault said. “I have some ropes outside and some other equipment to help me stay in shape. I also take runs with my girlfriend to the beach and back. The mat in my basement is not huge, but I’m still able to work out and get some mat time.”

His personal “training” facility consists of a makeshift wrestling mat along with a weight set right at the foot of the stairs. Memorabilia from his time at Rutgers dawns the walls, while a space heater at the edge of the mat attempts to mimic the warm conditions all wrestlers look for to get the best sweat during a workout. All things considered, it is an impressive setup that allows him to maintain some semblance of normalcy during uncertain times.

“Everything is crazy right now, so I’m just doing the best I can under the circumstances and keeping a routine while respecting the rules of being in quarantine like everyone else,” Ashnault said.

Before nation-wide social distancing was recommended and the majority of the country was forced to their homes, Ashnault was on schedule to finish his triumphant return from injury – a well-documented path he has completed before. Wrestling at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament last May, Ashnault advanced to the finals against Senior World team member James Green. It was there Ashnault suffered an injury to his LCL and PCL, a setback that required surgery and a six-to-nine month recovery period.

Ashnault rehabbed his way back and was well enough to compete at the 2020 Pan American Championships in Ottawa. The South Plainfield, New Jersey native not only appeared, but flat-out dominated, as he produced a 4-0 record with three falls en route to his individual Pan Am title. Ashnault was named the championship’s most outstanding wrestler for his effort, which secured him a spot in the Olympic Trials. 

With his focus shifted to qualifying for Tokyo, the sports world began its process of shutting down. All professional leagues in the United States halted or postponed operations, while athletes began to voice their concerns about competing at the Olympics Games with so much up in the air.

When the I.O.C. announced on March 24 the Olympics would be pushed back at least another year, Ashnault agreed with the inevitable decision, and we was not alone with the opinion. Confident he would be able to secure a trip to Tokyo with his upcoming appearance at trials, there was a sense everything was going to be put on hold, and he is okay with that.

“I would say a majority of the wrestling community was in favor of pushing it back,” Ashnault said. “Once I found out it was delayed until 2021, it was actually a bit of relief. It allows everyone to regain their focus and train properly without the safety of everyone associated with it hanging over your head. While it allows me and everyone else to focus on 2021, everything is still up in the air. We have no idea what’s going to happen.”

As athletes across the globe continue to train and adapt to a constantly-evolving situation, the current climate puts everything in perspective for Ashnault. Despite the trials setback, Ashnault was still able to accomplish his goal of becoming an NCAA champion when he claimed the individual title last March in Pittsburgh. The finish atop the podium concluded a collegiate journey that featured a sixth year of eligibility due to injury, as he closed out his Scarlet Knight career as the program’s all-time wins leader.

However, some of his former teammates, including Jordan Pagano, are unable to do the same this year after the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Minneapolis. Five RU wrestlers – Pagano, Nicolas Aguilar, Sammy Alvarez, Billy Janzer and Michael VanBrill – all qualified for the tournament, with Aguilar, Alvarez, Janzer and VanBrill set to make their NCAA debuts. 

“For a wrestler, making it [to NCAA’s] is the pinnacle. Even at the senior level, we know that is the pinnacle of our sport with just the amount of fans and invested interest in it,” Ashnault said. “I just felt for everyone who wasn’t able to experience that and might not get that opportunity again. Being able to get to that tournament four times and being a national champion, I’m so fortunate to not have these issues that have gotten in the way this season.

“For our guys, it’s tough, but you can only control what you can control,” he added. “It’s a really tough situation and I feel for all of them, but it can also be looked at as a lesson they will be able to carry with them for the rest of their lives. No matter how hard you work for something, it is not given. So for the younger guys, my message to them is to keep working and getting better during this time period as best we can.”

Adhering to his own advice, Ashnault will continue utilizing this time to train and remain in shape. While it seems like everything is closed these days, the facility Ashnault pieced together in his basement will remain open until it is safe for a return to normalcy. A trip to the Olympics is the goal, which will never change despite the circumstances. 

“The next step right now is to just keep training like I have been,” Ashnault said. “With everything going on, I’ve been able to stay in shape, maintain most of my muscle and maintain my cardio. Like everyone else, I’m just going to continue on and wait for an announcement of when the trials are going to be. Once we find that out, I can setup more of a plan and get to work. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”

Rutgers Wrestling is presented by Eat Clean Bro, an Official Partner of Rutgers Athletics.