Brandon makes it back-to-back titles at Graves Invitational

With 30 seconds remaining in his match, Kyle Koziel didn't have any doubts except that he "just had to get it done.''

The Brandon High junior was trailing 3-2 in the 171-pound match at the Jim Graves Christmas Invitational at Brandon on Saturday and was in big trouble. He reached for his opponent, Tim Gilbert (Camden County, Ga.) and flipped him to get the two points he needed, then held on for the next 20 seconds, just watching the seconds tick by.

Koziel and Brandon won the annual event easily, outscoring Camden, 629.5-431, to win for the second straight year. It also extended Brandon's winning streak to 61, far short of the 459-meet winning streak that ended in the Graves event two years ago, but it marked a nice start on the way for the quest for a 20th state championship.

Koziel and the Eagles dominated throughout the two-day event that had some wrestlers going at it at least seven times Saturday in an event that featured some of the top wrestlers from Georgia, Alabama and South Florida.

"It's a meat grinder of an event,'' Brandon coach Russ Cozart said. "Everyone has to wrestle everyone else and it's just a survival of the fittest. I've had some good teams but I see a lot of firepower in this one.''

Koziel was named one of the two top wrestlers in the tournament, along with Abe Fernandez of Strawberry Crest, who won at the 103-pound mark. Koziel has finished state runner-up in each of the past two years and said that second place wasn't going to be enough this season.

"This is the kind of match I trained for all season. I just had to hold on the last 20 seconds and get it done. This whole year, that's what I need to do. Just get it done. I don't want to settle for second place again.''

Brandon had a long list of winners. Colton Howell (112), Kevin Norstrem (125), Rossi Bruno (130), Tyler Liberatore (135), Clark Glass (152), Wally Figaro (160), and Mike Ettore (189) all won their finals. Cozart said that this is one of the deepest Brandon teams he has had in a long time.

"We are solid in eight spots,'' Cozart said. "We have a lineup that is a little deeper than we have had and I have had some good teams. This one is special.''

Other top Tampa Bay runners-up included Thomas LeBarre (Newsome, 140), and Jacob Moskowitz (Lakeland George Jenkins, 152).