Alvarez Wins State Heavyweight Title

By Cathal Donohoe ‘26

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 takedown 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 takedown 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.