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Grajales Gets Milestone Win

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By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: January 25, 2009

BRANDON - Eric Grajales pulled on the Brandon singlet for the final time in his home gymnasium Saturday night, and the senior standout made sure to make it a memorable experience.

Grajales recorded his 200th victory with Brandon, pinning Robinson's Zach Boyer in the 135-pound final of the 25th annual Tony Ippolito Memorial Tournament. As impressive as reaching that milestone appears, what makes it even more special was Grajales achieved the mark without losing a match, making him the only prep wrestler in Florida history to win 200 consecutive matches and start 200-0.

"He's an amazing kid," said longtime Brandon coach Russ Cozart, whose Eagles won the tournament title. "He's one of the greatest Brandon wrestlers we've ever had."

"Tonight was my last night wrestling in the Brandon gym and it was hard, I won't lie," said Grajales, who still has next weekend's Hillsborough County Championships and the postseason before his prep career ends, though all those meets will be away from Brandon. "I grew up knowing I wanted to wrestle for Brandon, knowing what I wanted to do and what I wanted to accomplish."

One thing Grajales wanted to accomplish was an undefeated career at Brandon, something only one other wrestler (David Craig) in program history has been able to do.

Though Grajales hasn't reached that goal yet, starting 200-0 is a milestone worth enjoying, and one he feels ranks high on his extensive list of wrestling accomplishments.

"It's definitely way up there," said Grajales, who is Brandon's all-time leader in wins.

"I don't know if I can say it's my most-valued accomplishment, but it's definitely up there."

Grajales was one of seven Eagles to win individual titles. Ryan Renkey (112 pounds), Rossi Bruno (119), Clark Glass (130), Kevin Timothy (140), Joe Cozart (145) and Wally Figaro (152) also were crowned champions as the Eagles put 11 wrestlers into Saturday night's championship finals, helping the Eagles amass 358.5 team points, well clear of runner-up Bradenton Manatee (254).

Springstead (238 points), which got an individual title from 103-pounder Richard Bliss, was third, followed by Bloomingdale (167.5) and Robinson (145).

The Bulls had two wrestlers reach the finals, with 160-pounder Chris Figari earning a title with a decision over Brandon's Kyle Koziel. Carlos Montero (140) finished as a runner-up.

Robinson also had an individual champion in heavyweight Mike Benitez, who earned a decision against Plant's Tony Posada, to go with Boyer's runner-up finish to Grajales.

Alonso, which finished sixth with 125 points, was the only other Hillsborough County program with an individual title winner, as senior Kendall Ivy earned a decision against Brandon's Mike Ettore in the 189-pound final. The victory was the 100th in Ivy's career.

Brandon's Keith LeFevre (103) and Zaq Berridge (189) and Armwood's James Gray (112) also were individual runner-ups.

Seffner Christian Loses Top Scorer

One of Hillsborough County's leading scorers in girls basketball is finished for the season after suffering a serious knee injury.

Seffner Christian's Jenny Moorer was hurt in the first two minutes of the Crusaders' game against Lakeland Christian on Thursday night. On Friday, doctors told the senior guard she likely has a torn ACL. She'll have an MRI this week.

Moorer leads the Crusaders and is fifth in Hillsborough County with a 17.2 scoring average. She averages 13.1 rebounds per game, which is fourth in the county.

"She was having another great season and playing some of her best basketball," Seffner Christian coach Greg Fawbush said.

Katherine Smith

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