Greg Tartaglia – staff writer / Record Sports
NORTH ARLINGTON — Queen of Peace is putting the North Jersey wrestling community on alert.
The Golden Griffins made their entrance to Wednesday’s dual meet opener against Lyndhurst/North Arlington with a song selected by seniors Ray Wetzel and Dominic Mainiero — one that started with a sample of the Emergency Alert System tone.
“That was last-minute, actually,” Wetzel said. “Throughout this whole day we were trying to pick what we were going run out to.”
“We found it [online] on SoundCloud,” Mainiero said. “It just sounded cool.”
And seemingly appropriate for a team whose stated objectives include returning to the North Non-Public B team final and sending as many wrestlers to the state finals as possible.
“Our team goal is simple,” Queen of Peace coach Scot Weaver said. “If we’ve got a bunch of guys that are qualifying for Atlantic City — 10 out of 14, eight out of 14, 11 out of 14, whatever — then we’ve got a pretty darn good team.
“So we’re looking to get into that state [sectional] championship match with DePaul, get a rematch with them, and hopefully come out on top this time.”
DePaul has beaten the Golden Griffins in each of the past two North Non-Public B title matches. Last year’s 36-33 victory by the Spartans hinged on a controversial forfeit/disqualification call.
Queen of Peace also finished runner-up in District 15 in 2015 and 2016 and has been realigned into District 11 — which includes Hanover Park — and Region 3, alongside powerhouses Delbarton and Phillipsburg.
“Hanover Park is the top team in the state,” Weaver said. “We also wrestle them in a dual match.”
Wetzel and junior Enrique Sanchez won the 132- and 113-pound titles, respectively, at last Saturday’s Robin Leff Tournament at Southern Regional (Manahawkin).
The team will eschew the Bergen County Coaches Association tournament to take part in Mount Mat Madness XIII in Maryland on Dec. 29-30 and travel to Pennsylvania for the Escape the Rock event on Jan. 14-15.
“We want to gauge ourselves against teams from out of state, not just in the state,” Wetzel said.
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