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Brandon Runs Away With County Championship

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By ADAM ADKINS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 27, 2008

TAMPA - This is the time of year Russ Cozart hopes his Brandon wrestlers are on top of their game as the postseason approaches.

The Eagles' performance this weekend at the Hillsborough County Championships at Wharton should help Brandon's longtime coach feel at ease heading into next week's district tournament.

Brandon flexed its muscle and ran away with the title. Sean Padgett (103 pounds), Terry Dawson (112), Eric Grajales (130), Kevin Timothy (135), Joey Cozart (140), Zaq Berridge (160), Phil Uno (215) and Aaron Fullenwider (285) each won individual titles to help Brandon amass 367.5 points, well clear of runner-up Durant (222). Alonso (203.5), Bloomingdale (190.5) and Newsome (128) rounded out the top five.

"I think on all accounts, this was a pretty good tournament for us," said Russ Cozart, who also had three individual runners-up and watched all 13 of his competing wrestlers place in the top four.

Alonso was the only other school to have multiple champions, with brothers Kurt and Kendall Ivy securing individual crowns. Kendall Ivy defeated Spoto's Rafael Rivera 8-1 in the 189-pound finals, while Kurt earned one of three finals victories against a Brandon wrestler with a 12-3 major decision against Mike Ettore at 152.

Robinson's Matt Willis earned the first victory against a Brandon wrestler in the finals. Willis scored a late takedown against Ty Jones to force overtime, then scored another takedown in the extra session to take an 8-6 decision in the 119-pound final.

"I was just trying to stay calm and see it through," said Willis, who picked up two crucial third-period points via stalling calls. "I wanted to keep being aggressive, and I got a good setup in overtime and got the takedown."

Plant City's Travis Vollick also knocked off an Eagles wrestler, holding on for a 5-4 decision against David Austin to win the 171-pound title.

Durant's Christian Reed, who picked up his 100th career victory Jan. 11, scored a first-period pin against Alonso's Laz Palma to win the 125-pound title. Also, Gaither's Matt Roach earned a hard-fought 7-5 decision against Wharton's Matt Guice to win the 145-pound title.

Armwood's James Gray (103), Robinson's Chris Rollins (112), Bloomingdale's Austin Figari (130), Riverview's Herman Hernandez (135), Bloomingdale's Chris Figari (140), East Bay's Chris Collins (160), Jefferson's Skylar McMahon (215) and Newsome's Conor O'Neal (285) were individual runners-up.

Mitchell Wins Its First SAC Championship

WESLEY CHAPEL - Three years into the job, Mitchell wrestling coach John Stanjeski led the Mustangs to the first Sunshine Athletic Conference title in the school's eight years Saturday.

Mitchell, a favorite entering the tournament, scored 234 points to beat Gulf (206), River Ridge (199) and Pasco (149.5) for the top spot in the 11-team tournament hosted by Wesley Chapel.

"Our motivation was that we wanted the conference this time. We wanted respect," Stanjeski said. "It's the first time Mitchell has won conference, and our motivation and dedication ... paid off. It's teamwork, and we came together as a team and won the conference."

The Mustangs had 13 wrestlers place in the tournament, as did Gulf, but River Ridge had the most with 14. Gulf and Pasco had the most tournament champions with three each.

River Ridge's Tyler Fleming (119 pounds) and Pasco's Eric Stroud (215) won their third consecutive SAC titles, while Gulf's Jordan Holding and Josh Przybysz, Hudson's Devin Brown and Tony Germano, Ridgewood's Dean Stupar and Pasco's Ray Perez won their second consecutive SAC crowns. Hudson's state-ranked heavyweight Travis Tindell missed out on his fourth title due to SAT testing.

Eddie Daniels

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