After a dominant run in Atlantic City, SJR heavyweight Cristian Alvarez '26 stands atop the New Jersey wrestling world.
A year ago, Alvarez fell short of winning a state title when he finished second at Boardwalk Hall. Now, 371 days later, the SJR senior finishes his high school career with a state title.
"I felt like last year, when I went out there, I kind of peaked earlier in the season," said Alvarez.
"I feel like I didn't perform my best, so I just made it my goal to go out there, have fun, dominate, and score as many points as possible. I took advantage of it and did exactly that."
From the start of the tournament on Thursday, Alvarez wasted little time in any of his matches. In the preliminary round, pre-quarterfinals, and quarterfinals, he needed less than a minute to record pins and storm his way to the semifinals. There, the 285-pounder secured yet another pin, this time in the second period. Alvarez was now on his way to the finals.
"It's cool to go out and dominate," said Alvarez.
"So getting through all those rounds, keeping my body fresh, keeping my matches quick, that was the goal. It felt awesome to go and dominate everybody in the state tournament."
Back inside Boardwalk Hall on a Saturday afternoon, Alvarez had another chance to claim a state title.
Alvarez faced off against Mateo Vinciguerra of Woodstown. Vinciguerra came into the match as the No. 2 wrestler at 285 pounds in New Jersey and No. 13 in the country, while Alvarez held the top spot in the state and ranked No. 6 nationally.
Heading into the match up, Alvarez did not have much experience versus Vinciguerra, but he still had a plan.
"I obviously didn't know much about him; we've never wrestled before," said Alvarez.
"We had one common opponent this year. So I used that match to critique what I had to do and game plan for him."
The first period of action saw Alvarez nearly score a take down toward the end of the period, but things were even at zero after two minutes of action.
"He's definitely a tough guy," said Alvarez.
"We were having a good hand fight. I did have that almost take down that was out of bounds.?So I knew I was putting my weight on him, and he was definitely feeling the pressure early, especially when I got that stall call."
For the next four minutes of action, Alvarez went full throttle and scored eight points, and captured his long-awaited state title in an 8-1 decision.
"It felt like everything I worked for the entire year. It means the world to me," said Alvarez.
"It's a surreal feeling to go get your hand raised in the middle of Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. I definitely made the most of it and had fun down there."
The senior year for Alvarez has been defined by winning.
In the fall, Alvarez helped the Green Knights football team win their 20th state title, and first since 2018, while being a starting offensive lineman and a team captain. Now in the winter, the senior grabbed an individual state title and finished his season going 35-0.
"It has meant the world to me to go out on top in both sports," said Alvarez.
"It is like no other feeling that you can explain. All the hard work?it's finally time to pay it off, and I'm so happy to represent this school; it's been an honor."
Alvarez's championship capped off a strong showing for SJR, which also included Charlie Esposito, Brian Little, and JoJo Burke placing second, Jonathan McGinty third, and Mikey Bautista and Ryan Mitchell taking fifth.
