PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers wrestling (3-2) returns home for the first time this season to host Lock Haven (1-0) on Friday night at Jersey Mike's Arena. The out-of-conference dual is set for 7 p.m. and is presented by The Rutgers Business School. Big Ten Plus will carry the live stream, with Nick Kosko and Matt Howe on the call. WRSU (88.7 FM) has the radio broadcast.
Friday is Youth Wrestling Day at Jersey Mike's Arena. Fans will be able to purchase cotton candy for $1. Three-point foam fingers will be handed out (while supplies last). After the match, wrestlers will be available for autographs.
This weekend's matchup with the Bald Eagles is the first of six home duals on the schedule this season and the only chance for fans to see the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway until Sunday, January 19 against Wisconsin. RU also hosts No. 1 Penn State, No. 13 Illinois, Michigan State and Penn this winter. Season tickets are still available here.
Rutgers also continues its long standing in-state rivalry with Princeton (2-2) on Sunday at Jadwin Gymnasium. The 87th installment of the series begins at noon and will stream on ESPN+. The Scarlet Knights have won the previous three matchups and 27 of the last 28 with the Tigers dating back to 1993.
Goodale's Passion for Coaching Starts at Lock Haven
By Bradly Derechailo
Friday night will be a full circle moment for Rutgers wrestling head coach
Scott Goodale when the No. 17 Scarlet Knights host his alma mater, Lock Haven, at Jersey Mike's Arena (7 p.m., Big Ten Plus).
Now in his 18th season "On the Banks," Goodale knows how to tamper down the emotions of going up against his alma mater.
"I'm looking forward to it more because we have a chance to wrestle at home. It's been a while," Goodale said after practice earlier this week. "Obviously, it's my alma mater, so that's pretty cool, but the last time we went there they beat us. So yeah, this is exciting, and they are really good, so it'll be interesting. I'm just looking forward to wrestling at home."
Goodale is referring to RU's last matchup with the Bald Eagles – a 22-16 loss on December 1, 2017, in Lock Haven. LHU used a 6-4 match split and wins from its three ranked wrestlers for the victory over the then-No. 11 Scarlet Knights.
This year's Lock Haven squad features five ranked individuals, according to Intermat, including No. 14 Anthony Noto at 133 pounds. Noto, a three-time national qualifier, finished third in Kansas City last season, becoming the program's 11th wrestler in school history to earn multiple All-America laurels.
While Goodale has downplayed the significance of Lock Haven's visit to Piscataway to keep the focus on the match itself, the Bald Eagles' impact on Goodale cannot go unnoticed.
Head coach Scott Goodale was a three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time EWL finalist at Lock Haven from 1990-95. (Photo Credit: Lock Haven Athletics)
After a standout high school wrestling career at Jackson Memorial, Goodale said he was recruited by several schools, including Ohio State and West Virginia. But it was Lock Haven – a program with 44 All-Americans and four individual national champions – and then-head coach Carl Poff that showed the most interest in obtaining Goodale's services.
Goodale churned out an impressive collegiate career for the Bald Eagles after his arrival on campus in 1990, securing three trips to nationals and two runner-up finishes at the EWL Tournament. Goodale muscled 99 career victories and helped Lock Haven rank as high as ninth nationally during his time with the Crimson and White.
"I loved my time there," Goodale said. "Wrestling was and is so important to that town and to that university. We were a top 10 program year in and year out. From a team standpoint, we won EWL titles and PSAC titles. I got everything I wanted out of my time there."
Goodale, who graduated from Lock Haven with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1995, also credits what he calls his 'failures' as a collegiate wrestler to helping become the coach he is today.
"I always knew I wanted to coach, and that's why I worked really, really hard at the coaching aspect of this thing because of my failures in college," Goodale said. "Those moments shaped me. You can say that when I didn't win in the state final, it made me a better college wrestler. The same can be said when I didn't achieve my individual goals in college. I became a better coach because of it, and here we are 30 years later."
A better coach is an understatement from the always humble Goodale. Since he arrived "On the Banks" 17 years ago, the Scarlet Knights have produced the program's first two individual national champions, six individual conference titles, 19 All-Americans in the past 10 seasons, multiple All-Americans at seven of the last eight NCAA Championships, and since 2009, have earned two top 10 finishes and 12 top 25 finishes in the final NWCA Division I Coaches Poll.
The winningest coach in program history with 224 career victories, Goodale has turned the wrestling program at Rutgers into one of the most popular in the sport. The Scarlet Knights have finished within the top 10 in national home attendance in each of the past eight seasons and boast one of the top practice facilities in the country – the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center.
Goodale was inducted into Lock Haven's Wrestling Hall of Fame this past September. (Photo Credit: Lock Haven Athletics)
His success in the coaching ranks resulted in a phone call from his alma mater with an honor he did not see coming – an induction into LHU's Wrestling Hall of Fame. Goodale, along with five other Bald Eagle standouts, were honored at an induction dinner back in September on campus.
"Man, I was shocked by it," Goodale said of his induction. "It was probably one of the bigger honors I've ever had, so that was pretty special to me. I know how important wrestling is to that place, so that meant a lot to me. It was an emotional night."
When the first whistle blows Friday night, those emotions will be put to the side and Lock Haven will be just another opponent across the mat.
But Goodale will always have those memories to look back on and relationships that will last a lifetime.
"That place shaped me," Goodale said. "I just loved my time there."
No. 17 Rutgers (3-2)
125: 19/13
Dean Peterson (1-2) -OR-
Ayden Smith (2-2)
133: 5/7
Dylan Shawver (5-0)
141: 24/32
Joseph Olivieri (3-2)
149: Michael Cetta (4-4) -OR- 31/25
Andrew Clark (9-2)
157: Conner Harer (3-2)
165: Andrew Barbosa (2-1) -OR- 31/30
Anthony White (5-2)
174: 20/20
Jackson Turley (2-2)
184: 22/20
Brian Soldano (5-4) -OR-
Shane Cartagena-Walsh (8-3)
197: 14/17
John Poznanski (4-1)
HWT: 9/6
Yaraslau Slavikouski (3-1)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
Lock Haven (1-0)
125: Sean Logue (7-2) -OR- Lucas Fye (3-1)
133: 14/13 Anthony Noto (8-1) -OR- Hunter Gould (2-1)
141: 23/26 Wyatt Henson (7-2) -OR- Conner Heckman (4-7)
149: Lucas Kapusta (8-3) -OR- Nick Stonecheck (0-4)
157: 33/NR Nick Stampoulos (8-3) -OR- Eric Alderfer (11-6)
165: Caden Dobbins (6-4) -OR- Nick Kunstek (0-4)
174: 33/NR Avery Bassett (7-1)
184: 28/31 Colin Fegley (9-2) -OR- James Lledo (5-7)
197: Tucker Hogan (7-1) -OR- Cael Black (4-3)
HWT: Ethan Miller (2-5) -OR- Brandon Stiehler (1-1)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
Princeton (2-2)
125: Ethan Rivera (6-3)
133: Dan Jones (3-0) -OR- Drew Heethuis (3-3)
141: Eligh Rivera (1-1) -OR- Jake Mann (1-3)
149: 9/8 Ty Whalen (9-0) -OR- Chris Martino (2-4)
157: Cody Tavoso (0-5) -OR- Zander Silva (0-4)
165: Blaine Bergey (0-0) -OR- Hudson Hightower (0-3)
174: Xavier Giles (4-5)
184: 27/29 Mike Squires (6-2) -OR- Kole Mulhauser (0-0)
197: 18/16 Luke Stout (4-0)
HWT: Sebastian Garibaldi (7-1)
Rankings Intermat/Flo
- Rutgers lost to No. 7 Virginia Tech on Friday, November 22 at the Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg.
- Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) delivered a win over a 2024 All-American, No. 9 Yaraslau Slavikouski (HWT) produced an overtime win over a ranked foe and No. 6 Dylan Shawver (133) added his second tech fall of the season to highlight action for the Scarlet Knights against the Hokies.
- True freshmen Ayden Smith (125), Conner Harer (157) and Andrew Barbosa (165) all wrestled in the dual, the first time RU featured three or more true freshmen in a starting lineup since January 26, 2020, against No. 13 Purdue in Piscataway.
- "This match is exciting, and they are really good, so it'll be interesting. I'm just looking forward to wrestling at home." – Head coach Scott Goodale on Friday's matchup with Lock Haven.
- Rutgers remained No. 17 in this week's NWCA Coaches poll, joining fellow Big Ten programs No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Iowa, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 Michigan, and No. 13 Illinois in the rankings.
- Ten Scarlet Knights appeared in the national rankings this week. For the second consecutive week, both Barbosa and Anthony White are ranked by at least one outlet. Barbosa is No. 20 by The Open Mat, while White owns a No. 30 ranking from FloWrestling.
- Shawver is the highest-ranked wrestler for Rutgers, appearing as high as No. 5 at 133 pounds by Intermat, The Open Mat and AWN. Slavikouski Is as high as No. 6 (FloWrestling) at heavyweight, while John Poznanski (197) is ranked 10th by WIN Magazine.
- Lock Haven leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 5-2. The Bald Eagles won the last matchup, 22-16, on December 1, 2017 in Lock Haven.
- This will be LHU's first visit to campus since February 15, 2014 – a 18-16 victory over for the Scarlet Knights.
- Cartagena-Walsh faced projected starter Colin Fegley last month at the Princeton Open, working a 4-2 decision.
- Sunday will be the 87th installment of the series with Princeton, with Rutgers leading, 47-34-5. The Scarlet Knights have won the last three meetings and 27 of the last 28 matchups dating back to 1993.
- RU defeated the Tigers, 24-9, last season at Jersey Mike's Arena. Rutgers worked a 7-3 match split over Princeton, which included an 8-4 decision from Poznanski over No. 10 Luke Stout and a 5-4 decision from Brian Soldano (184) over No. 23 Nate Dugan.
- Anthony Ashnault – a four-time All-American, three-time Big Ten Champion and 2019 NCAA Champion for Rutgers – is in his first season on staff at Princeton.
- Rutgers is on the road once again next week with a dual at Clarion on Friday, December 13 at 7 p.m. The Scarlet Knights will then wrestle Kent State (2 p.m.) and Gardner-Webb (4 p.m.) on Saturday, December 14 in Kent, Ohio.
