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Grajales Continues To Amaze On Mat

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By ADAM ADKINS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 20, 2008

BRANDON - Eric Grajales is regarded as one of the best to ever wear a Brandon singlet, and, much to the dismay of the high school wrestling world, he still has another year with the Eagles before moving on.

But Brandon's wrestling standout will have a tall order in his final season with the Eagles. It's going to be pretty tough for Grajales to put together a run better than his junior season.

Grajales completed his third consecutive undefeated season and won his third consecutive individual state title as a junior, and he did so in dominating fashion. Not only did he post a 57-0 record, but also 52 of those wins were by way of a pin, a state record.

Grajales, regarded as one of the nation's top prep wrestlers, will enter his senior season with a chance to rewrite the record books at Brandon, and he'll do so with a huge target on his back, considering he's never lost a match in a Eagles uniform.

Then again, Grajales, The Tampa Tribune's 2008 Hillsborough County Wrestling Athlete of the Year, wouldn't want it any other way.

"I always want to walk into a gym and have people think one thing, but then totally amaze them," Grajales said in an interview in January. "That's always been my goal wherever I go."

Grajales will go to some very prestigious tournaments this summer, none bigger than the United States Olympic Team Trials, which will be held in June in Las Vegas. Grajales qualified for the trials by finishing fifth in the Senior Men's 55-kilogram/121-pound Greco-Roman division at the 2008 Las Vegas/ASICS United States National Wrestling Championships in April. Should he win his division there, Grajales will represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Grajales ultimately will return to Brandon for one last season, and he'll have a chance to leave quite a mark.

At 172-0 through three years in a Brandon uniform, Grajales can become just the second Eagles wrestler in program history to finish undefeated, joining 2006 grad David Craig, who was 183-0. Also, as a three-time state champion, Grajales will have a chance to become the third wrestler in Eagles history to win an individual state crown four consecutive years - Craig and Grajales' older brother, Cesar, are the others.

And if he gets those marks, Grajales almost certainly will accomplish his goal of amazing the crowd along the way.

WRESTLING FIRST TEAM

103 pounds: Rossi Bruno, Tampa Bay Christian, 8th

112: Tyler Liberatore, Tampa Prep, 8th

119: Clark Glass, Tampa Bay Christian, 8th

125: Nick Hutchinson, Brandon, Jr.

130: Eric Grajales, Brandon, Jr.

135: Kevin Timothy, Brandon, Jr.

140: Joey Cozart, Brandon, So.

145: Wally Figaro, Brandon, Fr.

152: Kurt Ivy, Alonso, Sr.

160: Zaq Berridge, Brandon, Jr.

171: Travis Vollick, Plant City, Jr.

189: Chris Kavouklis, Jesuit, Sr.

215: Phil Uno, Brandon, Sr.

285: Moses McCray, Hillsborough, Sr.

Coach of the Year: Russ Cozart, Brandon

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