By Francisco Camacho | Sports Editor
Corey Eyer
Corey Eyer, a 19-year-old freshman wrestler is an Exercise Science major from Hackensack, New Jersey and recently competed in the wrestling nationals for Bergen Community College.
Corey has been wrestling for a very long time with his start in competition being in second grade. He started as a baseball player, but started wrestling after his baseball coach recommended it to his father.
He loves the support he gets from his parents, having always been grateful for his father helping him become the man he is today.
When speaking on his father, he said “he let me try things on my own and never forced me to do anything… sometimes when kids deal with a lot of pressure to do something they don’t want to do it.”
His mother is the cheerleader of the team. She is very boisterous and vocal at matches.
Eyer said “ She’s the one to be screaming in the corner at my matches. She is always cheering for me”.
He was also one of the two students who competed in the NJCAA National Championship in Council Bluffs IA. It was a great experience for him and something he will remember for the rest of his life.
“ It was the biggest stage I ever wrestled in… the feeling is something one can only imagine.” he said.
He has loved his first year here at bergen and credits a lot of his growth not only on the mat, but academically as well, to the coaching staff.
He said “Coach Chris is been there to help us with our school work all the time. He always tells us to go to him if we need any help with school work. Coach Fenner has really helped the whole team learn new moves and make sure our technique isn’t sloppy”
Eyer has also done a great job transitioning from high school to the college level as. He describes the experience as a learning process. “The rules are different and I am also wrestling people of different ages. In high school, you’ll wrestle an 18 year old but in college you could wrestle a 28 year old.” said Eyer.
Eyer is also an avid outdoorsman. If he is not at practicing or doing school work, he loves to be outside doing all sorts of things from hiking to fishing. He said he loves doing things hands on and is not one to be in the house playing video games.
Liana Martinez
Liana Martinez is an 18-year-old freshman architecture major from Colombia who just came to the United States a year ago. She is the freshman phenom point guard on this year’s basketball team, whose scoring ability has given opposing defenses headaches all throughout the season.
She helped lead her team the Region XIX Playoff, where the team made it far enough to earn the opportunity to play a home game. Martinez received First Team All Region Honors by accruing the fourth most votes in region voting.
She will be nominated to the NJCAA All-American voting for her being in the top 5 all-region. Her individual season stats landed her 31st in the nation in Points Per Game with an average of 17.5.
Her inspirations come from Golden State Warriors superstar, Stephen Curry, and Boston Celtics’ ball handler extraordinaire, Kyrie Irving.
She really did not know what basketball was until her brother, a huge basketball fanatic, taught her everything about the sport when she was 12 years old.
It has been a big transition having to play in America. Martinez feels that the seasons are longer and the preparation that goes into a game is more intense and way more competitive here in the US.
She would love to continue playing basketball beyond Bergen, and wants to play professionally. She aspires to be the a point guard for the Washington Mystics or Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA.
Martinez has a confidence about her that she feels has been recognized and helped her with the award.
She said, “My confidence on the court how I relate to my teammates” was a factor in her earning the award.
One of her biggest challenges she faced personally this season was doubting herself and trusting her ability to take the shot she needs take. Aside from practice, she does her own private workouts where she works on all the facets of her game. She wants to continue working on her craft and shoot with no hesitation.
Martinez has ambitions as an architect and hopes to design park buildings and streets. She aims to transfer somewhere local like NJIT.
She lives by the ironclad code that drives her to strive for greatness– “Anything is possible if you wanted ,you go for it, you get it.”
Rey Miller
Rey Miller is a 21-year-old Sophomore criminal justice major who earned the title of athlete of the month after his standout performance in this years wrestling season.
Miller was selected to compete in the NJCAA National Championship in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he won a match.
Miller is originally from Hawthorne, New Jersey but moved around quite a bit when he was younger. Rey is the oldest of two, and was raised in a single parent household.
That has not deterred him from being the best that he could be, as he has wrestled for a lot of clubs and towns while growing up. He credits all of that to his family structure.
Miller fell in love with wrestling because he knew that at the end of the day, his performance is what got him the results. “I didn’t have to depend on anyone and if I didn’t win, it was because of me and no one else.” he said.
Being the only male in the house forced him to grow up quicker than other kids, but he has always had the support of the one person he looks up to more than anyone else, his mother.
His mother has been the glue that has kept his family together for as long as he can remember. Miller does not just look at his mother as a parent figure, but also as his confidant. He considers his mother his “best friend.”
When he is not pinning people to a wrestling mat, he cherishes the moments he can spend with his family. Being of Hispanic descent, Miller loves the colorful cuisine that Latino food has to offer when he is not in peak season.when he must maintain a strict diet to keep his required weight to compete.
Miller hopes to finish college and be able to repay everything his mother has done for him.
Miller has built up quite the resume with an ample amount of trophies from years of working at his craft. He has been truly dedicated to wrestling and does not let temptation break him, as he is very strict with his diet.
He had high praises for both Coach Chris and Assistant Coach Mike, who he describes as the “core of this operation” that they have here at Bergen.
He is grateful for everything that has happened here on campus.
He said “If this my last season wrestling, I can’t thank enough the people who have helped me along the way: My mother, high school coaches and Coach Chris, who talked me into coming to school when I was almost a 100 percent sure I wasn’t going.”
He is not yet sure where he will be wrestling after Bergen, but he is positive he will be wrestling at a four-year university. It doesn’t matter where he goes, he will always carry that Bulldog Pride in him.
