One of my favorite wrestlers in my grade (2001) was a 3X state champion from the opposite side of the state as me named Trent Goodale from Osage HS. He was exciting to watch on the mat and he would make you laugh off it. So with that said, when his little brothers, Thatcher and Theron were going through the works, I always rooted and hoped the best for them because they were Trent’s brothers. Heck, they had a lot to live up to being Trent’s younger brothers and experienced their share off pressure to succeed just because of that fact alone, I am guessing.
Thatcher went all in on this and had a lot of interesting insight/stories as well as valuable input that can be beneficial to anyone.
What clubs, schools, etc. did you wrestle for?
Osage, PWC (Panther Wrestling Club), Little Devil Mat Club, Caveman(Coach)
What year did you graduate?
2015 From Osage High School
Who or what encouraged you to give wrestling a try?
I definitely grew up around the sport of wrestling. I would say that Osage as a whole encouraged me to wrestle. My parents did a great job at not pushing me to wrestle. They never made me wrestle and this made me enjoy the sport of wrestling even more! I would say it was just expected that I wrestled.
Do you have any family who wrestled or wrestles currently? Parents, children, brothers, etc.? How did they do?
Basically my whole family wrestled. All my uncles wrestled, most of my cousins, my brothers, and even my sister!
Uncle Robert Goodale-SQ
Uncle Regi Goodale-6th,SQ,On the 1981 State Champ Team
Uncle Ralph Goodale-6th
Uncle Rod Goodale-2x SQ
Dad Ron Goodale-DNQ
Uncle Rich Goodale-2x SQ
Uncle Russ Goodale-DNQ
Sister Tallia Goodale-1st Osage Girl
Brother Theran Goodale-2nd,3rd,SQ
Brother Trent Goodale-3x SC, 2nd
Cousin Jobe Goodale-2x 5th
Cousin Vinnie Wagner-2x 3rd, 2nd, SC
Cousin Garrett Tusler-Current Wrestler
What were your youth results? Any rivals there?
2011 USA State Champion Folkstyle-USA Greco State Champion-USA Freestyle Runner-Up
I used to wrestle Mac Spotts all the time. I also used to wrestle Nicholas Baumler all the time.
What was your record in HS?
121-39
84 pins
How did you place at state every year?
Freshman year District 4th. I was behind Matt Bieber and Oscar Ramirez. Matt placed 5th, Oscar placed 4th at state that year. Wyatt Forsyth placed 3rd at my Districts behind these two also.
Sophomore year Sectionals 3rd. Kegen Fingalsen got 2nd at sectionals behind Beau Sorensen. Fingalsen did not place at state. I got third behind these two.
Junior Year District 3rd. Chase Straw beat me first round. Then I pinned Tyler Thomas. Then for true second I lost to Alex Mitchell. Chase Straw got 3rd at state that year. Alex Mitchell got 6th.
Senior Year District 3rd. Lost to Max Thomsen first round. Pinned Dylan Wagner. Wrestled Jake Niichel to go to state and lost to him. Max went on to be a four timer. Jake got 5th that year at state.
What were some of the most notable adverse challenges or moments you experienced in wrestling and how did it turn out?
My sophomore year when I lost my wrestle off mid year and was not on varsity. It ate away at me. I ended up working my butt off and got back on varsity the week before the Conference Tournament. I ended up getting 2nd at Conference and 3rd at Sectionals that year.
Also picking myself back up from a loss. This was hard but you learn quickly how to do it if you want to continue wrestling!
How would you describe your wrestling style?
Very unique and action packed, in other words funky. I do not think I ever wrestled a match where it was 0-0 after the first period. Either I was scoring or my opponent was scoring. I did things most people would not do. I liked to mix it up and have fun with my style of wrestling. I was always known for my funkiness when on the wrestling mat. A lot of people said that they enjoyed watching me wrestle because of the fact they knew points would be scored one way or another.
How many guys in high school did you go back and forth with or exchange wins with?
Tyler Thomas was definitely a guy that I went back and forth with. He was a great competitor. I think he beat me 3 times and I think I beat him 2 times. I would say it was always a fun match. We both respected the heck out of each other but when we wrestled we left it all out on the mat everytime we battled.
Who was your most influential coach?
Mr. Brent Jennings. He was my High School Coach at Osage, Iowa.
Was your team competitive in HS/college?
My High School team was very competitive. We were a team that definitely was overlooked. We were really solid all the way through. We also broke the Conference Record for most titles and points scored in 2012.
2014 21-8
2015 25-5
2012 25-4 Dual Record –>
106-Chris Hanke
113-Brady Jennings
120-Thatcher Goodale
126-Douglas Perrin
132-Christian Fox
138-Ryan Blake
145-Colin Barker
152-Joe Cockrum
160-Ryan Randall
170-Luke Hanke
182-Casey Palsic
195-Brett Jeffries
220-Joe Roll
285-Dan Church
Who was your most influential wrestler that you looked up to growing up?
My siblings. I looked up to Trent, Theran, and Tallia. I wanted to be like them when I was in High School.
Who would you consider the GOAT Iowa HS wrestler?
Dan Gable is the GOAT of wrestling, no questions asked.
Are there any wrestlers you’ve seen, past or present that you would compare your style to?
It is really funny but my style of wrestling is a mix of all my siblings. I have Trents heavy hands, Therans neutral defense, and Tallias dangerous neck wrench.
What are some interesting hypothetical matchups between guys from different eras that you would have been interesting in seeing?
Mac Muller(Son) vs Bob Muller(Dad SC 1994)
Spencer Mooberry(Son SC 2021) vs Mark Mooberry (Dad 4th 1987)
Trent Goodale vs Averee Abben
Who are some Iowa HS wrestling guys from your era that you have an immense amount of respect for?
Max Thomsen
Tyler Thomas
Dan Kelly
Who are your favorite current wrestlers?
David Taylor
What music would you listen to back in the wrestling days?
I listened to classic rock during every practice. Every Monday for Monkey Rolls we would listen to Oh Sherrie.
What was the most upset you ever felt after a loss?
Senior year after losing my last chance to ever make it to the state tournament. I lost to a Niichel from Charles City. This was the hardest I ever took a loss in my wrestling life.
If you could go back and change one thing about your wrestling career, what would it be?
I would have believed in myself more. I would have been a little less nice out on the mat and took what I deserved. I just needed to believe in myself and I would of been just fine.
What was your best wrestling memory or accomplishment?
A really fun memory of my High School Wrestling Career would be my senior year at Battle of Waterloo. Osage had to wrestle the number one ranked dual team in 1A at the time, Alburnett. Alburnett had I think 3 number one ranked guys, Washburn, Shulista, and Paul. We started at 138 for the dual and that was Brady Jennings vs Hunter Washburn. Brady went out and beat Hunter 6-2. After that it was me vs Conner Shulista. I pinned Conner. After this great start to the dual Tristan Johnson had Bryce Paul next. Tristan went out and then pinned Bryce. So we ended up beating 3 of their number one ranked wrestlers back to back. Osage ended up winning the dual 26-42.
Who were some of your most notable competitors in high school? College?
Wrestling Max Thomsen at districts my senior year was a lot of fun! Lost to him 6-0 I believe.
Any of the Charles City guys that I wrestled were very good competitors.
Did you wrestle all year or was it seasonal for you?
I wrestled all year besides during football season. This was my “break”. I was on numerous National Teams for Iowa and comppeted at Fargo a few times. The best I ever did at Fargo was one or two matches from placing in both styles when I was a Cadet.
How would the guys from your day stack up against the guys today?
I don’t know. People will have to let me know what they think!
2012 Team 25-4 Dual Record vs 2021 State 3rd Dual Team 26-5 Record
106-Chris Hanke vs Darren Adams
113-Brady Jennings vs Tucker Stangel
120-Thatcher Goodale vs Garrett Tusler
126-Douglas Perrin vs Spencer Adams
132-Christian Fox vs Averee Abben
138-Ryan Blake vs Max Gast
145-Colin Barker vs Nicholas Fox
152-Joe Cockrum vs Joey Potter
160-Ryan Randall vs Kamdyn Blanco
170-Luke Hanke vs Colin Muller
182-Casey Palsic vs Spencer Mooberry
195-Brett Jeffries vs Keaton Muller
220-Joe Roll vs Barrett Muller
285-Dan Church vs Cole Jeffries
Did you wrestle after high school?
I did not. Started coaching after High School.
What other sports did you play?
Football, Track.
What are your favorite sports teams?
Iowa Hawkeyes, Philadelphia Eagles.
What are your hobbies other than wrestling?
Hunting, Fishing, Wakeboarding, Video Games, and hanging with friends and family.
How good does it make you feel to give back to the sport?
I love giving back to the sport of wrestling. This is what it is all about. I am an Assistant Coach at Osage. I take a lot of pride in giving back to the program and sport that made me the man I am today. If it was up to me I would say everyone should have to wrestle at least for one season. I am a huge supporter of Female Wrestling. What this sport does for young females are incredible. The confidence and positive attitude that this sport gives to them are priceless. It is much more then winning and losing when it comes to this sport.
How has wrestling shaped you as a person to this day?
It taught me life lessons. The most important thing it taught me is how to lose. It taught me that you can either sit there after a loss and dwell on it forever or you can pick yourself back up and get after it. After my senior year I’m not going to lie, I hated wrestling. It wasn’t until about three years after this that I fell back in love with wrestling. I was at the Independence tournament watching my second cousin, Zach Williams, wrestle. I started out in the stands watching but as the day went on I found myself closer and closer to the mat side. Long story short, by the end of the day I was in the coaches corner coaching side-by-side with Legendary Coach Brent Jennings. Independence was a two day tournament and after the first day Jennings turned to me and said, “you are coming back tomorrow right?” Since I got my coaching authorization before from coaching football, after that day, I haven’t missed a meet.
What do you do now?
I recently just got hired by Osage to teach Elementary TAG and Middle School STEM. I also coach wrestling and during the Summer I work for the Mitchell County Conservation. I also started coaching football again here at Osage. I would like to say I love supporting each and every sport here at Osage! Even if I am not coaching, I am usually at all the Osage sporting events!
Are you still involved with wrestling?
Yes, I am an Assistant Wrestling Coach for the men and women’s team here in Osage, Iowa. I actually helped start the Osage Women’s Team when we first got it here at Osage.
Any advice for upcoming wrestlers?
Be a sponge. Listen and learn from allllllll the coaches and teammates and whoever else that you talk wrestling with! Take a little from each person and make it fit to your style!
Any chance we see you wrestle again at an Old Timer’s tournament?
I won’t be competing. Only Coaching. I am retired from competing myself.
Would you like to give a shout out to anyone you wrestled with, against, coached, etc.?
Shout out to the Osage Community! Our Community loves wrestling! Shout out to my daily wrestling partners, Christian Fox, Tristan Johnson.
Do you have anything to add? Funny/interesting stories? Trivia? Etc.
I only beat one Charles City kid in my HS Career. Otherwise I lost to every CC kid I wrestled.
I like to joke around with the guys and say I am the best-worst wrestler to come through Osage. I say this because I was an above average wrestler, but never made it to the State Tournament. Trust me I still get crap from everyone for never making it to state! I am 20th on the Osage list. Notice there is DNQ next to my name. I am the only one there on the left side with Did Not Qualify next to my name.
