Washington & Jefferson College has had a wrestling team since 1930, but the program never had a full-time coach before last season.

That changed when Jay Robison was hired to lead the Presidents.

"A group of 75 alumni came together to endow the wrestling program," said Robison, who is one month into his second season as the Presidents' full-time head coach. "The support I've received from these alumni and the university has been great.

"The school has never had a stellar program. My goal is to build a winning program."

But that's easier said than done, as NCAA Division III schools are not allowed to give athletic scholarships.

"Recruiting has been a real challenge," said Robison, a graduate of Hampton High School in Pittsburgh's north suburbs. "It's easy to find good wrestlers, and it's easy to find good students, but it's tough to find good wrestlers who are also good students.

"Our recruits must have a 3.4 grade-point average and a score of 1,100 or better in verbal and math on the SAT. So we have to be selective in who we recruit."

Robison may not have the luxury of awarding athletic scholarships, but academic scholarships and grants are available.

"I tell anybody who might be interested in W&J to apply by Dec. 1, because more academic scholarship money is available then," said Robison. "We also have financial aid available through grants, which are based on a family's income."

Robison is also in charge of W&J's fitness center.

"I have 20 students working under me, including some of my wrestlers," said Robison. "It's relatively easy work and gives them some extra spending money."

Robison has 22 wrestlers on his squad.

"We're very young," said Robison. "We have only two seniors. Most of our wrestlers are sophomores and freshmen."

In fact, six of the Presidents' 10 starters are freshmen. a pair of grapplers from Ohio, Dan Law, a 197-pound senior from Dalton High School, and Shaun Yackey, a 149-pound sophomore from Dover High, are W&J's co-captains.

"Shaun is our most successful wrestler," said Robison. "He had a 25-11 record last season as a freshman and placed sixth in the Midwest Region."

An injury has slowed Yackey's progress this season. His only appearance thus far was at the York Spartan Classic, which took place at York College. He posted a 4-2 record in the tournament.

Pat Wilson, Mike Kulik and Eric Monday have also dealt with injury problems, with Wilson's being the most serious. A 174-pound junior and a North Hills High School graduate, Wilson was lost for the season after having knee surgery.

Kulik and Monday have dealt with minor injuries. Kulik is from Maryland, while Monday is from Virginia.

"Pat finished third in the region last season and was No. 1 in the preseason region rankings," said Robison. "Fortunately, he still has one year of eligibility remaining."

"Mike was a national prep school champion who attended high school in Maryland. If you consider past credentials, he's the best we've got. He's just getting back into shape after being injured."

Robison has concentrated his recruiting efforts on wrestlers attending high schools in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia.

"Coming out of Pennsylvania, I'm pretty spoiled with the incredible amount of talent we have," said Robison. "But I must also consider kids from outside the state."

W&J has entered three tournaments and had one dual meet thus far. The Presidents lost, 24-12, to Thiel.

"Last year, we lost, 41-9, to Thiel," said Robison. "This year, we lost 24-12. And we were within three points [at 12-9)] with three matches to go. That's a significant improvement."