Bergen Catholic Wrestler Makes History At Rutgers

PARAMUS, NJ — Nick Suriano made history Saturday with his performance at the NCAA wrestling championship.

Suriano, Paramus native and former Bergen Catholic star, got to the 125-pound national championship final. He lost to Spencer Lee from Iowa. It was the farthest a wrestler has advanced at the NCAA championship in the history of Rutgers University. He was also named an All-American.

"I'm blessed [to represent Rutgers on this stage]," Suriano told ScarletKnights.com. "I'm blessed. I got beat, but I'm blessed. I'm a blessed man and I'm honored to take my loss like a man. I don't need to make excuses. I've been through some stuff the past month, but hats off to my opponent."

Suriano dominated in his previous four bouts on the championship side of the bracket. He did not concede a takedown during his run to Saturday night's final. In his four previous bouts, Suriano outscored his opponents 37-0.

"He's on the national stage with a block R, so it's great for Rutgers," head coach Scott Goodale told ScarletKnights.com. "We were chasing that national title, so it stings a little bit, but right now in the grand scheme of things, our guys represented this university and the athletic department really well this weekend."

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Photo: Nick Suriano/Courtesy of Rutgers University