Schools
Teen Wrestling World Champ Returns Home To Bayville
When Paul Kenny heads to his freshman year of high school this fall, he's bringing with him a wrestling world championship title.
BERKELEY, NJ — He's a star athlete. He's a world champion wrestler after capturing the title in Turkey. And he hasn't even gone to high school yet.
Bayville native Paul Kenny won a U17 world championship this past weekend in Istanbul at the age of 15. As he heads into his freshman year at Christian Brothers Academy, Kenny takes his winning title and a slew of other history-making wins along with him. (Watch video of his return below.)
"I love competing, it's my favorite thing to do," Kenny told USA Wrestling back in May.
Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
He could've stuck with the U15 division and competed in the Pan American Games. But he decided to go for a world title.
"It feels great to be part of the winning team," Kenny told United World Wrestling.
Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The world champion's return to Bayville was celebrated with a parade of cars gathered to cheer him on.
Residents lined up in the pouring rain Monday night just to honor Bayville's latest hometown hero.
"We wish to congratulate Paul on a job well done! We are all extremely proud of him," Mayor Carmen Amato said. "We look forward to welcoming him home with a special champions escort on Monday and honoring him at our next Council meeting!"
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
