He had a vision.
Scott Goodale saw Rutgers wrestling becoming a force to be reckoned with, but it wasn’t going to be easy. The crowds basically consisted of family members in the early days when he took over as head coach in 2007 after leaving Jackson Memorial High School. Now, the team wrestles in front of enthusiastic sold-out crowds at the Rutgers Athletic Center.
The rise of the Scarlet Knights wrestling program has been well documented, and in the last five years alone, they’ve had 10 All-Americans and now two national champions in Anthony Ashnault and Suriano.
The trio rang the Old Queens bell to commemorate the achievements on Tuesday.
“I want to enjoy this. It’s emotional,” Goodale said on Sunday after fans greeted the trio as they departed the bus back at the College Ave. Gym. “It’s just amazing all the love those guys are getting. I don’t think the general sports fans understands how hard it is to win a title at the national tournament. The wrestling world does. But to have two on the same night, it’s awesome for this athletic department.”
When Goodale first took over, he received a gift, a banner that read “Rutgers wrestling wants NCAA champions”. After the banner became discolored, it was taken down, but the team brought it back out and put it on display in the parking lot upon Goodale, Ashnault, and Suriano’s return from Pittsburgh.
“Yeah, you had to believe it. It’s what we were bringing guys there to do,” Goodale said. “We had guys right away we thought could do that. We had academic posters up and EIWA champs posters hanging up at the time. You have to believe to achieve it. We knew it was something we would do one day.”
Goodale believed it, but not many others did. He heard countless criticism over the years and even about Ashnault and Suriano about how they couldn’t get over the hump.
“It can be done here. I got tired of hearing Suriano can’t win because he’s not at Penn State or Ashnault will never win because he’s at Rutgers and not this other school. I got tired of hearing that and I think all the guys and rest of our staff did,” Goodale said. “You can do anything you want right here “On the Banks”. Those guys proved it. It takes a special person to do it and we have two of them. We’re going to open something up here and it’ll be the norm.”
The trio were amazed at the amount of the fans that showed up at College Ave. Gym on Sunday afternoon. Among those in attendance were football coach Chris Ash and men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell.
“Tremendous support and they’ve been here from day one. It’s grown obviously, but I see people who were there day one. It makes us proud,” Goodale said. “It’s a good day. I remember coming back from the Garden and we had two All-Americans and that was special. But, it’s nothing like this.”
When Suriano defeated Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix in the second sudden-victory period of the 133-pound championship match with a takedown, he became Rutgers’ first national champion in the sport and first in any sport since 2003.
“A little bit. It has (hit me) honestly. I’m blessed,” Suriano said. “Everything I’ve worked for in this sport was for that moment and for this moment. It’s surreal to see your coaches after the win after you all know you got that takedown to make history. You look up, and you’re like ‘Yeah, it happened’.”
Suriano went to Penn State once he graduated from Bergen Catholic. An ankle injury prevented him from competing in the national tournament. He then transferred to Rutgers prior to last season and made it to the national final at 125.
Because of how the weight order shook out, Suriano’s chance at history for Rutgers again was first. There was controversy, again, and complaining by the Cowboys’ staff, and Suriano found himself down a point in overtime with time running out. After a restart, he quickly got out of Fix’s grip.
“I just remember saying, ‘This is it. You have eight seconds’. It was just like last year. I snapped and I just wanted it more than him. The pace of match showed that. It was a matter of time. I got the escape and hearing the crowd roar like that was humbling. It was amazing. Then I got the takedown it was over. That one point boosted my spirits. I was right back in it.
“It’s amazing. It means a lot to me. I always dreamed to make history and make a name for myself. I had a belief in myself and I believed in Rutgers and the coaching staff here. It came true. I believed the second I thought about transfering. Now, we’re. It’s amazing.”
Suriano wore a flashy gold shirt on the way home from the national tournament and showed it off to the media and fans. He had it stowed up and finally was able to bring it out after avenging his three losses in the regular season to Iowa’s Austin DeSanto, who he beat at the Big Ten Championships, Michigan’s Stevan Micic (NCAA semis), and Fix.
The shirt matched his gold medal.
“I wouldn’t have wanted it either way. I wanted to take everybody out and I did. I posted a video saying ‘all I see is gold’. I meant it,” Suriano said. “Now I’m here in gold representing Rutgers.”
Ashnault comes from a rich wrestling family and town in South Plainfield. The Tigers have won countless county, group, and state titles and had had multiple NJSIAA individual champions, including Ashnault himself, who went undefeated in his high school career and was a four-time titleist.
But he is the first-ever NCAA national champion from the blue-collar town.
“I feel like I’m on a cloud. I definitely need a lot more sleep right now and just some to soak it all in and celebrate with family and friends. It’s a big accomplishment not only for me but the whole community,” Ashnault said. “The one thing that has set in has been all the texts and all of the appreciation and all the support I have had. Throughout the whole weekend and throughout my whole career, that’s been something pretty emotional to deal with, but it’s awesome.”
Ashnault got a sixth year of eligibility after missing all of 2018 with injuries and surgeries and made his final campaign count. He finished with a perfect record.
“It wasn’t something that I thought about a lot. I was just thinking about my goals and being a national champ was something I really wanted to accomplish. I was just taking it one match at a time and breaking it into smaller parts to have enough for a larger picture. It worked out,” Ashnault said. “I ended up undefeated but it wasn’t a goal to have an undefeated season. Definitely grateful for that. It’s definitely hard to do that in college. I’m grateful I was able to put it together and to get this sixth year.”
At the national tournament a year ago, Rutgers finished in 11th place in team points. This year, it cracked the top 10 in ninth with 51.5 points. Asnault did everything he could to see Rutgers up on the leaderboard and couldn’t be any happier that he and Suriano both were crowned.
“Last year I saw Rutgers outside the top 10 and I wasn’t able to do anything about it because I was on the sidelines. This year, it was in my own hands. I was so happy to see Rutgers up there in the top 10 and to see Nick win it first,” Ashnault said. “It was awesome and he deserved that. He’s the first Rutgers national champ. To go 2-for-2 it meant a lot for everybody around us.”
Ashnault said he felt like a superstar when he got off the bus and wants and believes something like this will happen again in the near future. From very few fans in the stands when Goodale took over to sellouts and national champs, Rutgers wrestling has come a long away.
“It’s huge. Coming into the Big Ten when I first got to school here, the big issue was whether or not we’ll be able to compete and be at the top. Are we ever going to get there? With wrestling, there’s been a constant climb and constant improvement every year. Look at us now? It’s only up from here. There’s more national champs to come, more All-American, more top 10 finishes. We’re excited and looking to keep going.”
Ashnault, who is a four-time All-American, three-time Big Ten champ, and the all-time wins leader with the Scarlet Knights 123 career victories, is expected to partake in the Pan-American games in mid-April in Argentina, lock horns at the Beat the Streets event in New York City in May, and train for the Olympics.
He’s also expected to join Goodale’s staff in some capacity, and with Ashnault and Suriano breaking down the proverbial wall and the notion that winning titles can’t be done at Rutgers, higher-calibur recruits could flock to Piscataway.
“Now it just means we can do it and get anybody we want,” Ashnault said. “A lot of big names will see this and realize why am I going across the country and I can just go in backyard and train to be a national champion. We proved it times two. The proof is in the pudding. We’re definitely going to use it for recruiting, advertising, whatever we got to do.”
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
