“I picked up the sport from
my brother Will and I really
loved it and decided that
would be my one sport.”
BRANDON KUI
TOP LEFT & RIGHT: MICHAEL KARAS; BOTTOM LEFT & RIGHT: ANNE-MARIE CARUSO
JOIE KUI WITH SON BRANDON
KING KUI (Top left & top right) Brandon Kui wins the
182 pound class state wrestling championship at
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City. (Above) Crowned state
champ this past season, Kui also has three Passaic
County Tournament titles, two District 4 championships
and three Region 1 championships under his belt.
decided that would be my one
sport that I would concentrate on.”
Early on, even before he went
to high school, Kui showed much
promise on the mat. He won the
New Jersey Kids State wrestling
championship at the age of 10,
becoming only the second state
champion in Wayne recreation
history to claim the event when
he pinned Bryan McLaughlin in
the 85-pound novice division in
3:41 in 2009.
Besides the state crown, the
younger Kui has also racked up
three Passaic County Tournament
titles, two District 4 championships, and three Region 1
championships. He has been part
of the wrestling glory days at
DePaul as the Spartans have won
three straight overall Non-Public B
championships, seven consecutive
North Non-Public B and four
straight Passaic County
Tournament championships.
An excellent student who takes
honors and advanced placement
classes, Kui wants to major in
business in college. Among the
many universities that have have
expressed interest in him are
Princeton, Pennsylvania, Stanford,
Rutgers, Virginia Tech and
North Carolina.
The 17-year-old Kui [he turns
18 July 26] will have his choice
because of his extremely strong
academic and athletic record.
Kui showed early in the season
he was a definite state medal contender when he beat highly touted
freshman Josh McKenzie of
Bergen Catholic, 3-2, in a Big
North Conference United Division
dual meet on Jan. 5. McKenzie
won the Bergen County
Tournament at 182 pounds last
season and took fifth at the state
tournament, also at 182. ■
BACK TO SCHOOL 2016
WAYNE MAGAZINE
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