Bloomfield wrestler Gabriel McCulloch celebrates his 100th career victory with his family and coaches.
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Five days after winning the 285-pound title at the Essex County Tournament title, Bloomfield High School senior boys wrestler Gabriel McCulloch won his 100th career match.
McCulloch achieved the milestone during the Bengals’ 50-19 home win over Lyndhurst on Tuesday, Jan. 28, as he pinned Ryan Kropp in 18 seconds. He became the seventh BHS wrestler ever to win at least 100 matches.
In an email to The Independent Press, McCulloch said, “Winning 100 matches was not a goal from my freshman year as a varsity heavyweight. It’s a positive consequence from wanting to place in the state tournament. I’m glad I have a supportive mother (Laurie Venezia) and father (Cliff McCulloch). I’m also really appreciative of Bloomfield High School and my coaching staff at BHS.”
The Bengals, under head coach Ryan Smircich, then defeated Montclair, 53-10, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, on the road; and Glen Ridge, on Friday, Jan. 31, at home, and swept two home matches on Saturday, Feb. 1, beating Verona, 57-21, and Columbia, 37-33, to retain the Gray Cup and extend their winning streak to 10 matches to improve to 19-7 on the season.
Bloomfield, seeded fourth, will face fifth-seeded Morristown in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5 state tournament on Monday, Feb. 10, at top-seeded Passaic County Tech. The winner will face the winner between Passaic County Tech and No. 8 seed Passaic in the semifinals, also on Feb. 10. The final is Feb. 12.
Photo Courtesy of Bloomfield Wrestling
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