By: Sean Moylan
Other members of the Northern Burlington County Regional High School boys’ varsity wrestling team had better winning percentages.
However, no member of the Greyhounds showed as much intestinal fortitude and determination as Erik George.
George, the nastiest 145-pounder of them all, battled back from losses in the District 25 finals, Region 7 and the second round of the states, to become New Jersey’s eighth best wrestler in his weight class.
"When I was little I was always the youngest (kid) on the sandlot. And I was always the smallest. So I had to be tough," noted George.
Ocean’s Kyle Kiss defeated George in a 7-4 decision in Sunday’s battle for seventh place at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.
"It was the end of the tournament and I was beat," said George.
Previously, Kiss had edged George, 5-4, with points in the last five seconds of their match at the team Sectionals. Consequently, Ocean won a tight 33-30 decision that day.
In Friday’s opening round of the State Tournament, George pinned Saint Mary’s Brian Innis at the 3:36 mark. At the time, George was holding a commanding 10-0 lead.
Then, in Friday’s second round, George got the match-up he was looking for a rematch with Kiss.
"Losing to him at (the team Sectionals)…It made me want to wrestle him more," said George, who is a fierce competitor.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planed for the talented NBC 145-pounder. "I was winning at the end of the first period and then he (Kiss) came back to win (7-4)," noted George, who suddenly found himself in the same predicament he was in at Regions.
"It’s hard because if you lose one match, you have to wrestle four or five matches just to back to third (place)," noted George.
Nonetheless, the always competitive George accepted the challenge openly and willingly.
Early Saturday, George captured an exciting 8-7 against Mount Olive’s Dan DiColo.
"It (the match) was going back and forth and I was losing with 20 seconds left. With seven seconds left I took him down and rode him out for the rest of the match," remarked George of his victory over DiColo.
Then, George clobbered Vorhees’ Kyle Honickle, 16-8.
"I took him (Honickle) down six or seven times," noted George, who deserved an easy win after to many tough matches.
In his next match, George was beating Emerson Park Ridge’s Nick Brandreth, 6-4. Unfortunately Brandreth turned the tables and pinned George 21 seconds into the second period, which set up Sunday’s seventh-lace showdown versus Kiss.
Although, George was neither a District or Regional champ, he made it to Atlantic City nonetheless. And the entire McMullen family was there to cheer him on.
His 33-7 record this season proves that he is both a durable and great grappler. During his four years at NBC he has compiled a terrific 71-33 record.
"It was a great year. We had a lot closer team than in years before," said George.
Four years ago, George came to NBC wanting only to wrestle. He even ran cross-country to stay in shape for wrestling. Next year, he’s thinking about wrestling at 141 pounds at Millersville College in Pennsylvania.
Moreover, his admiration for his head wrestling coach Jule Dolci is unparalleled.
"He’s (Jule Dolci) been my head coach since my freshman year when he was the head coach of the JV team," said George. "He’s done a lot for me. He’s almost like a father to me."
This weekend was a very happy time in George’s household.
"I’m so proud of him (George)," said Erik’s mom Elizabeth of her son’s showing at the states. We all are proud of him."
Erick George proved to all the little guys out there that you should never quit no matter how much the odds seem to be stacked against you. And it doesn’t hurt to be one of the "nastiest" wrestlers around.
