A New Jersey native, Shriner attended Roselle Park High School from 1977 to 1980. At Roselle Park, he was a standout athlete, earning all-state honors in football and reaching the New Jersey state finals twice. Shriner then wrestled for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1980 to 1984, where he won 80 matches, was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Champion, a two-time NCAA qualifier, and an All-American in 1984 with a 7th place NCAA finish.

After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill, Shriner served as an assistant for the Tar Heels before entering the high school coaching ranks. He coached one season at Chapel Hill High School (1986-87) before moving to Orange High School in Hillsborough, where he would coach until his retirement. In 28 years at Orange, Coach Shriner’s teams amassed a 610-89 dual record and captured ten state championships, including five NCHSAA Dual Team titles (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012) and five NCHSAA State Tournament titles (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2017). He was named NC Mat Coach of the Year for North Carolina six times and coached 24 individual state champions.

After retiring from Orange in 2017, Shriner went to work for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is currently serving in the role of character coach for the UNC Chapel Hill wrestling team. In 2022, Shriner was recognized as one of the top 50 wrestlers in the 50-year history of the Atlantic Coast Conference. He is an inductee into the Roselle Park High School Hall of Fame (1999) and the North Carolina Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2010).