ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Wrestling is returning to Elizabeth City State University as the Vikings prepare for their inaugural season as members of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) and its Mid-Atlantic Conference. The new program grew from a conversation between a group of ECSU aviation students — Kevin Jones, Shawn Fields, Stephen Norwood and Michael Johnson — and Dr. Tim Goodale, an Endowed Professor at ECSU and former NCAA Division I wrestler at Old Dominion University. Seeing Goodale wearing a USA Wrestling jacket in the university's newly renovated dining hall sparked a conversation that ultimately developed into a plan to bring collegiate wrestling back to the ECSU campus.
With wrestling mats secured and practice space available in historic Williams Hall Gym, that idea has quickly grown into a program with as many as 30 student members. Jones and Fields have played key leadership roles in recruiting students and helping manage the program's day-to-day development. ECSU previously sponsored NCAA Division II wrestling through 1998, and the return of the sport has also generated enthusiasm among alumni and members of the surrounding wrestling community.
Leading the Vikings will be Dr. Goodale, who competed at Old Dominion University from 1999–2003 under legendary coach Gray Simons and has more than 25 years of coaching experience at the youth and high school levels. He currently oversees Bull Island Grappling, a nonprofit youth wrestling organization in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Local high school coaches Jen Smith and Lorenzo King have also supported the developing ECSU program by opening their wrestling rooms to the team during the offseason and assisting with coaching.
The Vikings enter the NCWA with both immediate competitive goals and a much larger vision. ECSU's strong aviation program has already attracted several members of the wrestling team, and the program expects academics to become one of its early strengths. With exceptionally affordable tuition and degree opportunities in aviation and other high-demand fields, ECSU Wrestling hopes to become an attractive destination for student-athletes seeking both a quality education and the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level. The long-term objective is to demonstrate how wrestling can positively impact enrollment, retention, academic performance, graduation rates and alumni involvement, creating a pathway for the program to continue growing.
Competition will begin immediately. ECSU plans to wrestle at events hosted by programs including East Carolina University and The Apprentice School, compete in the NCWA Mid-Atlantic postseason and host an invitational on its own campus. Among the wrestlers expected to lead the inaugural team are Tripp Norwood at 149 pounds, a North Carolina state placer; Kevin Jones and Michael Johnson at 184/197 pounds, who have already established themselves as team leaders; and heavyweight Shawn Fields, a developing wrestler whose athleticism and rapid improvement have created high expectations. The Vikings believe they have wrestlers capable of qualifying for the NCWA National Championships in their first season.
For Goodale, however, the larger mission extends beyond a single season. As a small, rural Historically Black College and University, Elizabeth City State has an opportunity to become part of the growing movement to expand collegiate wrestling at HBCUs and eventually build toward scholarship-level competition. "I am thankful for the NCWA organization," Goodale said. "It provides a level of legitimacy and opportunity to compete." For ECSU Wrestling, NCWA membership represents both the return of a sport with history on campus and the beginning of a new model for what collegiate wrestling can become.
