RTCs: SKWC, NJRTC, PRTC, NYCRTC, LHVWC

[bigmatt718]

Maybe there are some fans who are seeing concerning trends with the program (bad recruiting year, coaches and resident athletes leaving, teams that have been behind us in the pecking order threatening to pass us like Penn) and think that a splash hire would remedy the negative trends that the program has been in the last few months. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm concerned that the program is stagnating or even worse, slightly declining. On paper we might have our weakest team in years as far as scoring points in March. I hope I'm wrong but I see a lot of red flags and doesn't inspire hope moving forward.

 

[LetsGoRUwrestling]

Seems like LetsGoRUWrestling,mikemessner, and SCNJ might be testing a trial balloon to see if Pollard has support. No question he is loyal and will be a good representative of the program. I think we would all support him. He would just be a disappointing hire for many fans.

Agree..But how many fans? 3/4

 

[Leonard23]

Azz Clown Gray put out on twitter saying Goodale and Rutgers stop poaching our coaches...He's staying with Us.

Princeton keep Jackson

😬 They went the Rider way and talked trash on social... That's a big reason we shelved Rider and stopped wrestling them for a while. Very curious to see the fallout here, as I thought both staffs got along very well, even after Humphrey screwed up the Suriano situation. Did we not ask Ayres 1st?

Maybe there are some fans who are seeing concerning trends with the program (bad recruiting year, coaches and resident athletes leaving, teams that have been behind us in the pecking order threatening to pass us like Penn) and think that a splash hire would remedy the negative trends that the program has been in the last few months. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm concerned that the program is stagnating or even worse, slightly declining. On paper we might have our weakest team in years as far as scoring points in March. I hope I'm wrong but I see a lot of red flags and doesn't inspire hope moving forward.

I'll post it again... I don't think you understand how recruiting works and who cultivated the relationships with many of our top recruits and targets in the area starting in elementary school... What big names do you want and think can move the needle significantly in recruiting? Burroughs and Dake aren't coming.

 

[mikemessner]

Maybe there are some fans who are seeing concerning trends with the program (bad recruiting year, coaches and resident athletes leaving, teams that have been behind us in the pecking order threatening to pass us like Penn) and think that a splash hire would remedy the negative trends that the program has been in the last few months. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm concerned that the program is stagnating or even worse, slightly declining. On paper we might have our weakest team in years as far as scoring points in March. I hope I'm wrong but I see a lot of red flags and doesn't inspire hope moving forward.

BigMatt tell me when did we have a bad recruiting year. Because we have better quality depth on this team than any other year. Don't say this year because Mullen can fix this year.

Who was a bad coach

Myles isn't wrestling anymore because he's starting a new chapter in his life. They tried to bring in Collin Moore he said no. They tried to bring in Jordan Wood he said no. Zach Rey said no. Jackson had a coach do it on twitter. It's not the lack of trying.

We have kids on this roster that can AA.

I was talking with Soldano today and he's excited to compete and the future of the team. You're telling me we are stagnating or even worse when the wrestlers like the direction of the program and the recruits the coaches are trying to bring in.

 

[bigmatt718]

BigMatt tell me when did we have a bad recruiting year. Because we have better quality depth on this team than any other year. Don't say this year because Mullen can fix this year.

Who was a bad coach

Myles isn't wrestling anymore because he's starting a new chapter in his life. They tried to bring in Collin Moore he said no. They tried to bring in Jordan Wood he said no. Zach Rey said no. Jackson had a coach do it on twitter. It's not the lack of trying.

We have kids on this roster that can AA.

I was talking with Soldano today and he's excited to compete and the future of the team. You're telling me we are stagnating or even worse when the wrestlers like the direction of the program and the recruits the coaches are trying to bring in.

You're right...Mullen CAN fix this year, but if we don't land him, then recruiting was an abject failure this year given how many wrestlers we've struck out on, and you're lying through your teeth if you say otherwise. Meanwhile I see Penn, a program who has been behind us forever, making sexy hire after sexy hire for their RTC. We don't need them jumping us in the pecking order of the sport.

 

[wngarbarini]

First of all, Pessimistically is not Anthony Surage so end that rumor. I know who he is trust me. Next, Goodale offered me the Assistant coaching position because at 81 years of age, I could not commit for the next 5 years. Lastly, I did not want Mike Mess to get mad at me for Scott favoring me over him for the position

 

[mikemessner]

First of all, Pessimistically is not Anthony Surage so end that rumor. I know who he is trust me. Next, Goodale offered me the Assistant coaching position because at 81 years of age, I could not commit for the next 5 years. Lastly, I did not want Mike Mess to get mad at me for Scott favoring me over him for the position

Bill

I support Scott decision on hiring you. Congrats

 

[mikemessner]

You're right...Mullen CAN fix this year, but if we don't land him, then recruiting was an abject failure this year given how many wrestlers we've struck out on, and you're lying through your teeth if you say otherwise. Meanwhile I see Penn, a program who has been behind us forever, making sexy hire after sexy hire for their RTC. We don't need them jumping us in the pecking order of the sport.

BigMatt if we don't land Mullen its not because our staff didn't try. They are doing everything possible to land Mullen. They recruited every kid you think we struck out on. Maybe those kids are the ones that struck out. Some kids are scared to compete for a spot. They think going to another school will be easier to make the line-up.

PennRTC has more money than we do. They can financially support more resident athletes than SKWC. I don't know our financial budget. Believe me I'm just as frustrated as you when kids don't come here or why we can't hire more resident athletes. But at the end of the day we can only worry about the athletes that want to come to Rutgers and SKWC. Unfortunately $$ is the key.

Jimmy Mullen Rutgers wrestling family is waiting for you. Let's Go

 

[mikemessner]

I'm hearing 7 home matches this year. Besides the two matches in PA at Liberty high school and the Prudential Center.

 

[wngarbarini]

Mess
Thanks for the support!
Billy G

 

[ScarletGrapfan]

My two cents----Joe Pollard is a great coach, not good, great. Anyone that has had their wrestlers trained by him knows that he is. NJ HS coaches, NJ wrestlers that have been to SKWC etc are aware how good he is. He is a high quality man, that gains the trust of the wrestlers that he trains. While true he does not have a "national" name, he is instrumental in helping to bring NJ talent to RU.

Regarding Penn, they basically have unlimited funds for their RTC, so they will always be bringing in big name wrestlers to train in Phila. We like other RTC will not be able to compete with them on the RTC level. As far as their team, yes they will be favored against us this season. They have a very balanced dual team, but they have still not turned the corner producing AA's year after year. I think we finish ahead of them again at Nationals.

 

[RUAldo]

Regarding Penn, they basically have unlimited funds for their RTC, so they will always be bringing in big name wrestlers to train in Phila.

I don’t know squat about our finances, but seems to me that when prospective coaches are saying “No” it must be largely driven by what we are willing to pay them?Money talks…

 

[bigmatt718]

My two cents----Joe Pollard is a great coach, not good, great. Anyone that has had their wrestlers trained by him knows that he is. NJ HS coaches, NJ wrestlers that have been to SKWC etc are aware how good he is. He is a high quality man, that gains the trust of the wrestlers that he trains. While true he does not have a "national" name, he is instrumental in helping to bring NJ talent to RU.

Regarding Penn, they basically have unlimited funds for their RTC, so they will always be bringing in big name wrestlers to train in Phila. We like other RTC will not be able to compete with them on the RTC level. As far as their team, yes they will be favored against us this season. They have a very balanced dual team, but they have still not turned the corner producing AA's year after year. I think we finish ahead of them again at Nationals.

Penn wasn't bringing in squat just a few years ago. What made them all of a sudden take the sport seriously?

 

[ScarletGrapfan]

Penn wasn't bringing in squat just a few years ago. What made them all of a sudden take the sport seriously?

Roger Reina came back to Coach and is the CEO of the team. He revamped the RTC(Brandon Slay) has the Phila 76ers owner donating https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/sixers-owner-donates-1-million-penn-wrestling

And his RTC Board of Directors are all Wall Street big money guys.

It is not a coincidence that as the RTC ramped up so has recruiting. And Penn is not limited to 9.9 Scholarships, based on need. And like a lot of Ivies that stress Athletics, "The more they need you, the more need you receive"
Let's see how they do at Nationals, as I said earlier they have still not been churning out AA's year after year. They have had some very high recruits that have not AA'd yet(some running out of time).

 

[SCNJ]

Roger Reina came back to Coach and is the CEO of the team. He revamped the RTC(Brandon Slay) has the Phila 76ers owner donating https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/sixers-owner-donates-1-million-penn-wrestling

And his RTC Board of Directors are all Wall Street big money guys.

It is not a coincidence that as the RTC ramped up so has recruiting. And Penn is not limited to 9.9 Scholarships, based on need. And like a lot of Ivies that stress Athletics, "The more they need you, the more need you receive"
Let's see how they do at Nationals, as I said earlier they have still not been churning out AA's year after year. They have had some very high recruits that have not AA'd yet(some running out of time).

Irony is that the 76ers owners also own the Devils and the prudential center, where Rutgers seemingly wrestles annually.

 

[bigmatt718]

Irony is that the 76ers owners also own the Devils and the prudential center, where Rutgers seemingly wrestles annually.

Maybe we can eventually shake down Josh Harris to fund the SKWC.

 

[mikemessner]

I don’t know squat about our finances, but seems to me that when prospective coaches are saying “No” it must be largely driven by what we are willing to pay them?Money talks…

We pay our assistants better than most Universities and Colleges.

 

[PessimisticallyHopefulPragmatist]

I don’t know squat about our finances, but seems to me that when prospective coaches are saying “No” it must be largely driven by what we are willing to pay them?Money talks…

I doubt it's about pay. Why would Goodale even offer a job to someone unless the pay was better than the fellow was getting? It might not be any harder than asking the person why they won't consider coming, but you have to be prepared for an answer you might not like. On the bright side, that's the type of feedback that can be used to improve.

 

[SCNJ]

Our resident crybabies will eyeroll but there’s a lot built into the infrastructure of Rutgers and NJ that may turn people off. The Rutgers campus can be a nightmare to commute to and through depending on where you live, not to mention the taxes that come with living in the state.

There’s also a ton of positives that come with living here but there’s obviously a reason the job keeps getting turned down.

 

[west2east]

Coaching is a real job with real expectations. Most guys would rather take RTC $ and roll around. Coaching D1 wrestling is a 12 hour a day job. Most wrestlers don't realize that and once they see all the work that's done outside the room they say no thanks. Fans need to understand not every wrestler is interested in coaching.

 

[Leonard23]

 

[bluemountain1967]

We know that Penn State and Penn are stacked with resident athletes.

Now Lehigh has Cruz a national champ, Garrett a national champ, Henderson a national team member and 2 time All American, Lavallee a NCAA runner-up, and Wood a 2 time AA.

Columbia has Oliver a 2 time national champ, Finesilver an All American and European bronze medalist, Marstelker a 2 time AA and recent winner at the world team trials, and Ashnault our national champ.

The SKWC website is out of date so not sure who we have. We know we have Rivera who is doing great. Do we have others and what are their credentials?

Is it important to have high level resident athletes as work out partners and role models for college wrestlers? Is the SKWC looking to sign any athletes?

 

[Leonard23]

 

[LETSGORU91]

View embedded media

Whelp, I guess Nick and dad didnt really burn any bridges following Michigan's purchase/rental of an individual national champion.

 

[bluemountain1967]

Just spoke to a friend who is a Lehigh fan. Their RTC has National Champ Darien Cruz, national champ Nahshon Garrett, 2 time all American Evan Henderson who made finals of Final X, NCAA runner up Joey Lavalle, and 3 time All American Jordan Wood. Each of these wrestlers work with kids at different weights so they cover all 10 weight classes.

Does anyone know why we can’t get more high level resident athletes. We are asked to donate so we can hire resident athletes. Coach said we have over $750,000 in the bank.

 

[mikemessner]

DJ Russo and Greg Zannetti were at practice today. Alumni giving back to the program.

 

[Leonard23]

Texas youth/HS club...

 

[Peteras9144]

Those two were training at cormiers gym and helping w Gilroy out in Cali prior to this.

 

[Leonard23]

Since there's been a lot of discussion on this lately, here's a look at SKWC and other RTCs in the region.

SKWC (Rutgers)
Location: Rutgers Wrestling Room (APC)
Head Coach: Jeff Buxton
Resident Athletes:
• Sebastian Rivera
• Kemol Begakov
• Jordan Pagano

NJRTC (Princeton)
Location: Princeton Wrestling Room & Rhino Hillsborough
- Distance from Rutgers: 23 & 15 miles
- Partnership with NYCRTC: https://www.newjerseyrtc.com/nycrtc
Head Coach: Reece Humphrey
Resident Athletes:
• Nate Jackson
• Austin Schafer
• Tyler Graff
• Matthew Kolodzik
• CJ Brucki

NYCRTC (Columbia)
Location: Edge Hoboken, NJ & Columbia Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 34 & 48 miles
- Partnership with NJRTC: https://www.newjerseyrtc.com/nycrtc
Head Coach: Kendall Cross
- Valentin Kalika (assistant coach)
- Vladimer Khinchegashvili (assistant coach?)
Resident Athletes:
• Jordan Oliver
• Anthony Ashnault
• Chance Marsteller
• Mitch Finesilver
• Frank Chamizo (part-time)?

Penn RTC (UPenn and Drexel)
Location: UPenn Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 70 miles
Head Coach: Brandon Slay
Resident Athletes:
• Jordan Burroughs
• Joey McKenna
• Mark Hall
• Ethan Lizak
• Dan Vallimont
• David McFadden
• Richard Perry
• Tyler Berger

Lehigh Valley WC (Lehigh)
Location: Lehigh Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 58 miles
Head Coach: Kerry McCoy
Resident Athletes:
• Darian Cruz
• Joey Lavallee
• Jordan Wood
• Nahshon Garrett

Tons of updates...Updated 10/24/23:

SKWC (Rutgers)
Location: Rutgers Wrestling Room (APC)
Head Coach: Jeff Buxton
Resident Athletes:
• Sebastian Rivera
• Kemol Begakov
• Sarmat Tsarakhov

NJRTC (Princeton; TCNJ also involved)
Location: Princeton Wrestling Room & Rhino Hillsborough
- Distance from Rutgers: 23 & 15 miles
- Partnership with NYCRTC: https://www.newjerseyrtc.com/nycrtc
Head Coach: Reece Humphrey
Resident Athletes:
• Chance Marsteller
• Nate Jackson
• Matthew Kolodzik
• Quincy Monday

NYCRTC (Columbia; Stevens also involved)
Location: Edge Hoboken, NJ & Columbia Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 34 & 48 miles
- Partnership with NJRTC: https://www.newjerseyrtc.com/nycrtc
Head Coach: Kendall Cross
- Valentin Kalika (assistant coach)
-Emma Randall (assistant coach)
Resident Athletes:
• Chance Marsteller
• Anthony Ashnault
• Amit Elor
• Josh Finesilver
• Mitch Finesilver
• Frank Chamizo (part-time)?
• Avto Kentchadze
• Arian Carpio
• Maya Letona

Penn RTC (UPenn and Drexel)
Location: UPenn Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 70 miles
Head Coach: Brandon Slay
Resident Athletes:
• Jordan Burroughs
• Joey McKenna
• Mark Hall
• David McFadden
• Richard Perry

Lehigh Valley WC (Lehigh)
Location: Lehigh Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 58 miles
Head Coach: Kerry McCoy
Resident Athletes:
• Darian Cruz
• Joey Lavallee
• Jordan Wood
• Nahshon Garrett
• Guesseppe Rea
• Evan Henderson
• Mikey Labriola
• Morgan Smith
• Mike Macchiavello

 

[Leonard23]

Interesting data... Not sure why SKWC is missing...

 

[SKWC]

As the former President of the SKWC, I note that the Scarlet Knight Wrestling Club (SKWC) was not included in the above revenue amounts. According to IRS form 990 for 2022 (the last reported year) the SKWC raised $772,000. This would rank the SKWC # 5 among all RTCs associated with a college program.


Titan Mercury raised $1.548 million in 2022 and is not associated with any specific college program. Titan Mercury’s mission is to assist the 2024 Olympic Teams earn 18 medals in Paris (www.titanmercury.com)

The information provided by Adam Falters is very good. While it may have a few errors, it is directionally correct.

NIL information for wrestlers is not available, is private and tends to be exaggerated. Young men often increase potential offers when negotiating with another team.

I believe that Rutgers wrestling has the 5th highest budget among Division 1 teams and the SKWC raised the 5th highest amount among RTCs in 2022.

I hope this information provides clarity. While posting is not my unique ability, I will try to answer any questions.

David Bugen

 

[Leonard23]

As the former President of the SKWC, I note that the Scarlet Knight Wrestling Club (SKWC) was not included in the above revenue amounts. According to IRS form 990 for 2022 (the last reported year) the SKWC raised $772,000. This would rank the SKWC # 5 among all RTCs associated with a college program.


Titan Mercury raised $1.548 million in 2022 and is not associated with any specific college program. Titan Mercury’s mission is to assist the 2024 Olympic Teams earn 18 medals in Paris (www.titanmercury.com)

The information provided by Adam Falters is very good. While it may have a few errors, it is directionally correct.

NIL information for wrestlers is not available, is private and tends to be exaggerated. Young men often increase potential offers when negotiating with another team.

I believe that Rutgers wrestling has the 5th highest budget among Division 1 teams and the SKWC raised the 5th highest amount among RTCs in 2022.

I hope this information provides clarity. While posting is not my unique ability, I will try to answer any questions.

David Bugen

Thanks for the info and your willingness to discuss. How does SKWC raise the 5th highest amount of RTCs in 2022, yet still trail in elite resident athletes compared to UPenn (PRTC), Lehigh (LVWC), and Princeton (PWC)...and NYCRTC until very recently? Why are we having a hard time adding more resident athletes? Thanks.

 

[Leonard23]

Updated 3/30/24:

SKWC (Rutgers)
Location: Rutgers Wrestling Room (APC)
Head Coach: Jeff Buxton?
Resident Athletes:
• Sebastian Rivera
• Kemol Begakov
• Sarmat Tsarakhov?

PWC/NJRTC (Princeton; TCNJ also involved)
Location: Princeton Wrestling Room & Rhino Hillsborough
- Distance from Rutgers: 23 & 15 miles
- Partnership with NYCRTC???: https://www.newjerseyrtc.com/nycrtc
Head Coach: Reece Humphrey?
Resident Athletes:
• Chance Marsteller
• Nate Jackson
• Matthew Kolodzik
• Quincy Monday

NYCRTC (Columbia; Stevens also involved)
Location: Edge Hoboken, NJ & Columbia Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 34 & 48 miles
- Partnership with NJRTC: https://www.newjerseyrtc.com/nycrtc
Head Coach: Kendall Cross
- Valentin Kalika (assistant coach)
-Emma Randall (assistant coach)
Resident Athletes:
• Anthony Ashnault
• Amit Elor
• Josh Finesilver
• Avto Kentchadze
• Arian Carpio
• Maya Letona

Penn RTC (UPenn and Drexel)
Location: UPenn Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 70 miles
Head Coach: Brandon Slay
Resident Athletes:
• Jordan Burroughs
• Joey McKenna
• Mark Hall
• David McFadden
• Doug Zapf
• Tyler Berger

Lehigh Valley WC (Lehigh)
Location: Lehigh Wrestling Room
- Distance from Rutgers: 58 miles
Head Coach: Kerry McCoy
Resident Athletes:
• Darian Cruz
• Joey Lavallee
• Jordan Wood
• Nahshon Garrett
• Guesseppe Rea
• Evan Henderson
• Mikey Labriola
• Morgan Smith
• Mike Macchiavello

 

[mikemessner]

Thanks for the info and your willingness to discuss. How does SKWC raise the 5th highest amount of RTCs in 2022, yet still trail in elite resident athletes compared to UPenn (PRTC), Lehigh (LVWC), and Princeton (PWC)...and NYCRTC until very recently? Why are we having a hard time adding more resident athletes? Thanks.

I don't think we are 5th. Look at the 2022 column, I see 7 or 8 RTC's that raised more money than we did. Plus, Spartan RTC/Cornell isn't part of the report.
UPenn $871,000.
Lehigh $787,000.
NYC/Columbia $798,000.
Ciff Keen/Michigan $790,000.
California RTC/Stanford $1,300,000.
NLWC/PSU $4 million
HWC/ Iowa $2 million

 

[RUMike]

As the former President of the SKWC, I note that the Scarlet Knight Wrestling Club (SKWC) was not included in the above revenue amounts. According to IRS form 990 for 2022 (the last reported year) the SKWC raised $772,000. This would rank the SKWC # 5 among all RTCs associated with a college program.


Titan Mercury raised $1.548 million in 2022 and is not associated with any specific college program. Titan Mercury’s mission is to assist the 2024 Olympic Teams earn 18 medals in Paris (www.titanmercury.com)

The information provided by Adam Falters is very good. While it may have a few errors, it is directionally correct.

NIL information for wrestlers is not available, is private and tends to be exaggerated. Young men often increase potential offers when negotiating with another team.

I believe that Rutgers wrestling has the 5th highest budget among Division 1 teams and the SKWC raised the 5th highest amount among RTCs in 2022.

I hope this information provides clarity. While posting is not my unique ability, I will try to answer any questions.

David Bugen

Thanks, David. There are nine RTCs ranked ahead of SKWC on the list. Any idea why SKWC only has two resident athletes with $772K revenue for 2022?

 

[Leonard23]

I don't think we are 5th. Look at the 2022 column, I see 7 or 8 RTC's that raised more money than we did. Plus, Spartan RTC/Cornell isn't part of the report.
UPenn $871,000.
Lehigh $787,000.
NYC/Columbia $798,000.
Ciff Keen/Michigan $790,000.
California RTC/Stanford $1,300,000.
NLWC/PSU $4 million
HWC/ Iowa $2 million

Yeah, good points. That probably puts us around 9-11 then for 2022 money raised, but that's not the entire story as you can't spend that amount every year and need to build up reserves to support the club when less $ comes in. Also, I thought Finger Lakes WC became Spartan RTC/Cornell, but that FLWC $ would be higher? It's odd that SKWC and PWC aren't even listed as RTCs on USAW:

Regional Training Center Locations

www.themat.com

 

[SKWC]

I don't think we are 5th. Look at the 2022 column, I see 7 or 8 RTC's that raised more money than we did. Plus, Spartan RTC/Cornell isn't part of the report.
UPenn $871,000.
Lehigh $787,000.
NYC/Columbia $798,000.
Ciff Keen/Michigan $790,000.
California RTC/Stanford $1,300,000.
NLWC/PSU $4 million
HWC/ Iowa $2 million

Good catch and thanks for the corrections. I misread Felters post.

Per the IRS 2022 filing, the SKWC had revenue of $772,000, spent $554,000 and had a net income of $218,000 in 2022. The revenue is slightly less than Michigan, Columbia, and Lehigh. Columbia and Princeton may have a relationship where revenue is shared. I do not know for sure.

As I left the SKWC Board in 2020, I don't know if or why we are having a hard time hiring resident athletes. Coach Goodale is listed as the Chairmen of the SKWC. He is very open when asked questions. If one is a donor to the SKWC, I am believe he will be responsive, answer questions, and appreciative of all donor questions.

Please note that between 2018 and 2020 the NJRTC existed as a "partnership" between Rutgers and Princeton. While Princeton paid most of the expenses. the SKWC contributed funds to the NJRTC. To develop a true understanding of the financials during this period, the revenue and expense amounts need to be carefully examined. As I resigned from both the SKWC and NJRTC boards prior to the conclusion of the relationship between Princeton and Rutgers, I do not have this information. I believe Coach Goodale should be able to provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship and financial background or identify the person who can.

I will also post this responsive under the Operating Budget thread as similar questions are asked. I hope this information is helpful and thanks again for catching my error.