New Milford’s John Burger celebrates his semifinal win over Brick Memorial’s Gianni Ghione at the State Wrestling Championships. Burger, a state finalist, was named NJ.com’s NJIC Wrestler of the Year. (Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
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The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference was well-represented this season with eight wrestlers on the podium in Atlantic City, a state finalist and one team that ended the year in the NJ.com Top 20.
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: New Milford senior John Burger was not deterred by his first loss of the season.
If anything, it motivated him for one last run in Atlantic City.
After losing in the Region 1 final to Pope John’s Robert Garcia, Burger battled back to become New Milford’s first state finalist in more than 50 years.
To get there, Burger knocked out Brick Memorial’s Gianni Ghione — the No. 1 at 132 pounds in the semifinals — before losing to Kingsway’s Quinn Kinner in the final, 5-0.
Burger finished his final season with a record of 40-2 and his second state medal.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Scot Weaver continues to rebuild Queen of Peace…for the second time.
After a successful stint at the North Arlington school from 2007-2010, Weaver is in year No. 3 of his second tenure and got the Golden Griffins into the final spot of the NJ.com Top 20.
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Queen of Peace dropped another heartbreaker to DePaul in the North Jersey, Non-Public A final but went wire to wire as the top-ranked team in the NJIC Top 10.
The North Arlington school finished 9-4 overall and undefeated against NJIC opponents to win the Division 1 title.
Led by three state medalists — Enrique Sanchez (fourth at 113), Ray Wetzel (fifth at 132) and Dominic Mainiero (third at 182) — Queen of Peace finished No. 20 in the final NJ.com Top 20.
The team will bring back Sanchez as well as Will Grater (106) and Garrett Beam (145) — two wrestlers that will be in the mix for spots on the podium next season.
