Wrestling appeal denied, school headed to court

The decision was not a surprise and now Queen of Peace is going to take it to the courts.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association executive committee basically ratified last week a decision by its competition committee that the fledgling Golden Griffins wrestling program is not eligible for team awards for the next two years.

The executive committee and the competition board found that the school had recruited up to 10 wrestlers to transfer to the school for sports.

"We had hoped that the NJSIAA Executive Committee would have independently reviewed the entire record and would have reversed a determination which, at bottom, is without any legal or factual basis. Instead, we received nothing more than a rubber stamp," said Patrick Jennings, the Hackensack attorney representing the high school.

The decision comes on the heel of the school’s first wrestling match this Friday as the Golden Griffins travel to Newark Academy.

The school district is expected to file a suit this week against the state sports association in Superior Court.

Jennings added that the high school or Queen of Peace wrestling head coach Scot Weaver did not ‘recruit’ the transferred-wrestlers to come to the North Arlington high school.

"We maintain that neither Queen of Peace nor Scot Weaver recruited any student-athlete," said Jennings.

Weaver opted to take the Queen of Peace position in the off season after a successful stint with St. Mary’s. Of the 10 wrestlers who transferred, four came from St. Mary’s.

All four had been subject of hearings during the summer because of their transfer from the Rutherford school. But Jennings said that they all had been cleared to wrestle.

"Queen of Peace looks forward to presenting its position before a neutral arbiter--skilled in the law of evidence--on a level playing field; namely, the Superior Court of New Jersey. We are more confident than ever that we will prevail and the NJSIAA's "decision" will be reversed," said Jennings.

While the high school can not compete for the team titles like the BCSL American title or a state tournament team title, the wrestlers can vie for individual championships.