Last year, longtime Rutgers coach John Sacchi retired, leaving an opening for a new coach in the rugged EIWA conference. Rather than tap the college community for a new leader, Rutgers hired Scott Goodale, one of the nation's most respected high school coaches to lead the Scarlet Knight program.

Goodale hailed from the Jackson Memorial High School program, where he led the team for seven years. His teams were top ranked in the state in 2006 and 2007, and Goodale won the New Jersey "Coach of the Year" award three times. He mentored four state champions and five state runners-up in a strong wrestling state with a single-class state tournament. He was also active in coaching Team New Jersey each summer at the USA Wrestling national events. 

With his first season at the helm of a Div. I college program coming to a close, Goodale is upbeat as he heads into his first EIWA Championships, which will be held at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., March 8-9.

"I am excited," said Goodale by cell phone, as his team rode the bus towards Central Pennsylvania. "This is a huge challenge in a great conference. We are trying to create some rivalries and build up more competition. This part of the year is a big deal. We want to be competitive right now."

After accepting the job, Goodale added respected prep school coach John Leonardis, who coached at the Peddie School in New Jersey, as his assistant coach. He filled his staff out with Frank Edgar, a EWL champion at Clarion and a high school product of New Jersey. Because Goodale's hiring was not completed until late July, they missed the chance for extensive recruiting and entered the first year with the athletes already in the program.

"It has been a process. We have a long way to go to attain our goals," said Goodale. "The athletes have done a great job making the transition to me and John Leonardis. John and I had to help change the culture of the program. That is no reflection on what was done before here. The administration has allowed us to do things that they didn't allow Coach Sacchi to do. They are excited about the program. The future looks bright."

Rutgers may not be favored to challenge for the team title, nor are any of the athletes expected to win individual golds, but all eyes will be on this team and its new coach. When Goodale was hired, he set high goals, talking about winning national titles and conference championships. This weekend will be the first post-season event for Goodale at Rutgers and will help set the tone for the future.

The team finished its dual meet season with an 11-7 record. Among the wins over solid programs were against American, Clarion, Boston University and Brown. However, the team is not ranked in the top eight in the conference going into the EIWA Championships.

"The first season went pretty much as expected," said Goodale. "We felt like we might go 10-8 or 9-9 and we finished 11-7. There were a few other duals we could have won. We got better towards the end of the year, which is what you want."

Going into the tournament this year, the top ranked wrestler in the conference for Rutgers is Steve Adamcsik, a senior with a 23-6 record at 141 pounds, who is projected to be a No. 3 seed. Others with potential to do well this weekend are Lamar Brown, a junior with a 21-11 record at 197 pounds and Matt Pletcher, a junior with a 25-5 record at 165 pounds.

"Adamcsik has been around and knows what it takes," said Goodale. "Lamar Brown is wrestling real well, in an open weight class besides national champion Josh Glenn (of American). He has benefited from having John Leonardis there to train with. Matt Pletcher should be the sixth seed at 165 and he could make some noise. We have an opportunity to do well if we knock off guys people think we shouldn't and if we can win the close matches."

Rutgers is the state university for New Jersey, which is considered one of the best wrestling states in the nation. New Jersey pumps out numerous athletes who go on to success on the Div. I college level every year, and is a power in freestyle at the Junior Nationals each summer. However, most of the top talent in the state have scattered across the nation, rather than staying at home at the state university.

The current roster includes 27 athletes, of which 23 are from New Jersey. All 10 of the Scarlet Knight starters in their final dual meet win over Drexel hailed from the Garden State. The question going forward is whether or not the blue-chip stars will stay at home and if Rutgers can attract nationally respected athletes from other regions. Goodale is aware that the teams in the conference have high academic reputations and attract talented competitors from all over the nation.

"You compete with the Ivy League, with Lehigh, with Army and Navy and the others," said Goodale. "This conference recruits athletes from everywhere. As good as Jersey is, you need to get out of state. We have had some inroads recruiting in places like California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and we will see how that goes. We need to be fully funded. That being said, it looks like we are heading in that direction. As good as the Jersey wrestlers are, we will go outside also."

In the early recruiting season, he was successful in securing one of the nation's top recruits, Junior Nationals freestyle champion Scott Winston, who wrestled for Goodale at Jackson Memorial. In addition, he inked respected Jersey wrestlers Trevor Melde, Daniel Rinaldi and Jesse Boydin, giving the Scarlet Knights a top 10 recruiting ranking nationally by W.I.N. Magazine. Goodale expects to be able to announce some other strong recruits later in the spring.

In the process, the Rutgers wrestling program is starting to become something that is catching the interest of the strong New Jersey wrestling community.

"I can't begin to explain how much buzz and excitement there is," said Goodale. "As we go forward, I know it will get better. There are wrestlers who want to come here. It is a good problem to have. Everywhere I go, when I make speeches or attend events, the high school and college coaches want to talk about it. This is a great wrestling state. Rutgers University has been hungry for this, and they are backing us. That will make it a lot easier for us to achieve our goals."

Meanwhile, Goodale and his team face the daunting task of making an impact in one of the deepest and most talented wrestling conferences in the nation.

"We need to finish in the top eight or nine this weekend," said Goodale. "We were 11th last year. We want to improve on that. We also need to get a few guys through to the NCAA Championships. We think it is very realistic."