Bio

In four seasons as Head Coach, John Chillem has continually raised the bar for Cougars Wrestling. Under his leadership, the Cougars have climbed into the national top-15 team rankings. His teams captured and back-to-back Region 19 and Gulf Atlantic District titles in 2022 and 2023. Chillem was awarded 2x Region 19 Coach of the Year. In 2023, he earned the great honor of being voted NJCAA National Coach of the Year. During Chillem’s tenure as Head Coach, the Cougars have generated an impressive 28 National Qualifiers and 2 All-Americans. 

Chillem previously served as an Assistant Coach for the Cougars for four seasons under former Head Coach Gary Papa, National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee. Chillem was an integral part in building the wrestling program at Camden County College after their inaugural 2014-2015 season.  

As a wrestler, Chillem was team captain at Camden Catholic High School. He played a key role each year in helping win four consecutive team state championships. He went on to wrestle two seasons at Gloucester County College where he was team captain, a national qualifier, and earned Academic All-American honors in both years. While attending graduate school at Rowan University, Chillem became an NWCA All-American - the first in program history. 

Coach Chillem is highly motivated to provide South Jersey wrestlers with a great opportunity to compete at the collegiate level. He takes pride in the fact that he is in a position to help young men grow into upstanding adults so that they may thrive in school, on the mat, and throughout life. In addition to being Head Coach, Chillem is an adjunct professor at Camden County College and works as a school psychologist for the Pine Hill School District. Chillem and his wife, Jessica, reside in Cherry Hill with their daughter Kathryn.