Damian Weaver and Jimmy Mullen once again made history at the BCCA George Jockish Bergen County Wrestling Tournament.
On Sunday at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY, Weaver, Lyndhurst’s star middleweight, won his second Bergen County championship when he defeated Westwood’s Gavin Seiler by a 7-1 decision in the 157-pound final.
A year earlier, Weaver won the Bergen County title at 150 pounds becoming Lyndhurst’s first county champion since 2000.
“It means a lot to me. Not too many people get to say they are a two-time Bergen County champ,” Weaver said. “But none of this is possible without any of my coaches.
“I’m blessed with great coaches who are constantly pushing me and staying on top of me in practice to push me to my limits.”
Weaver’s title capped off a brilliant weekend for the uncommitted senior. On Saturday’s first day, he was selected as the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the Public A pod, winning three consecutive matches by pin.
A few matches later, Mullen, the Kearny native and St. Joseph Regional star joined Weaver in the select company of multi-time winners. Mullen repeated as the 285-pound champion, defeating Paramus Catholic’s Max Acciardi, by an 8-1 decision.
Mullen, a two-time state champion and Virginia Tech commit, defeated Acciardi in last year’s 285-pound final by decision as well.
In total, the Lyndhurst-North Arlington team had three medal winners. In addition to Weaver, Kieran McNeil took fifth at 126 pounds and Tommy Montillo finished eight at 175 pounds.
Also, at Rockland Community College, the BCWCA hosted the Bergen County Invitational, its fourth annual girls wrestling tournament, which is open to all New Jersey schools
Bloomfield’s legendary Kira Pipkins took home her fourth Bergen County title when she defeated Newton’s Liliana Zaku-Ramos, 4-1, in the 126 pound final. Pipkins, a three-time state champion, also became the first New Jersey girls wrestler to win 100 matches. Bloomfield’s Reno Prochilo won the 185 pound championship when she pinned Jade Hahn of Donovan Catholic in the final.
At 114 pounds, Ava Krzykalski of Lyndhurst took third place when she pinned Nutley’s Mariah Koster in the third place match.
Koster and the Bloomfield duo of Leanna Noel (152 pounds) and Saharia Quamina (185) all took fourth place in their respective weight classes.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)