Brandon Wrestling
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Brandon Wrestling began in 1969 when wrestling was introduced in the State of Florida as a high school sport.
Contents |
[edit] History
Physical education coach at Brandon High School, Jim Graves, was asked to start the wrestling team. With little knowledge on the subject he proceeded to read books and watch tapes on wrestling to educate himself on the subject.
In 1973 the Brandon High School Wrestling team had their first undefeated season. Since then they have only tied twice once to Manatee High School in 1974 and again to Chamberlain High Schhol (both teams were coached by Ed Goodpaster).
[edit] Coaches
[edit] Russ Cozart
In 1980, Russ Cozart was hired as Head Coach. He has continued the success of the program expanding it also into a club program for younger athletes. Coach Cozart has also boasted the following accomplishments:
- Head Coach at Upland H.S. in Upland, CA (1976-1978)
- Head Coach at Chamberlain H.S. in Tampa FL (1978-1980)
- Seventeen (17) Time State Team Champions
- Dual Meet Record at Brandon H.S. 348-0
- 2004 Team Ranked #3 in the Nation
- Coached 62 State Champions and 137 State Place Winners
- 2005 Team Ranked #1 Public High School in the Nation by Intermat
- Records set at Junior Nationals - Fargo, ND
- Most finalists from one high school - 8 (5 in Greco, 3 in Freestyle)
- Most champions from one high school - 6 (3 in Greco, 3 in Freestyle)
[edit] Bob Hendrickson
In 1988 former Brandon Wrestler and Florida State Champ Bob Hendrickson returned to take on the assistant coach position as well as the head coach of the Junior Varsity program. His accomplishments are as follows:
- Coach at Brandon for 18 years
- Graduated from Brandon in 1985
- Florida State Champion in 1985
- High School Record: 58-5
- Involved in wrestling for 24 years
- Attended University of Tennessee Chattanooga
[edit] Mike Ferrario
In 1999, former Brandon Wrestler Mike Ferrario volunteered as Assistant Coach to Junior Varsity. He also is responsible for the team statistics. His accomplishments:
- Coach at Brandon for 7 years
- Graduated from Brandon in 1998
- On State Champion Team in 1997 and 1998
- 1998 All-Western Conference Champion, Undefeated in county
- Both Brothers wrestled for Brandon; Remy - graduated in 1995 and Nick - graduated in 2001
[edit] Kevin Donofrio
In 2002, local businessman an ex-wrestler Kevin Donofrio began to volunteer his time and resources to the Brandon Wrestling team. He has proceeded in chairing the Brandon Wrestling Team's non-profit organization which has helped raise money for team travel and equipment. His accomplishments:
- Started wrestling in the 2nd grade while in Pennsylvania
- 5x All-American in Greco and Freestyle
- Wrestled for Edinboro
- Local Businessman: owns The Athletic Club in Brandon and Plant City and several medical practices
- Brandon High's Fundraising Chairman
- USA Wrestling Official
- Professional Wrestler known as "Cyborg" for 8 years
[edit] The Wall
The Wall of Fame is the wall on the west side of the Brandon Wrestling Team's workout room. It lists the names of any Brandon Wrestler, since it's inception in 1969, to place in the Florida High School Wrestling State Tournament. The wall was recently repainted after the 2005-2006 wrestling season due to lack of space for new names. It should be noted that not all State Placers are on on the wall at least one Juan Edwards had a falling out with the coaching staff and left Brandon High School. His name was removed from the wall though he is listed in the FHSAA record books for winnning two state championships at Brandon. The names listed are:
[edit] 103 (102) lbs.
- Ross Wilson 3rd '74
- Tom Haynes 2nd '80
- Andrew Magann 2nd '87
- Mat Oleson 2nd '95
- Jesus Caballero 3rd '96
- Alejandro Figueroa 4th '01
- Cesar Grajales 1st '02
- Alejandro Figueroa 2nd '03
- Ken Keller 2nd '05
- Eric Grajales 1st '06
[edit] 112 (109) lbs.
- Bob Hendrickson 1st '85
- Steve Conroy 4th '86
- Doug Badia 2nd '90
- Dennis Kitko 1st '91
- Stein Edwards 2nd '92
- Mark Church 1st '95
- Shane Kossow 2nd '96
- David Emch 3rd '98
- Aaron Weiss 2nd '00
- Tom Hutchinson 6th '01
- Khalid Andwele 1st '02
- Sean Joyce 1st '04
- Kyle Keller 2nd '06
[edit] 119 (116) lbs.
- Mark McNitt 2nd '75
- John Heyman 4th '89
- John Heyman 3rd '90
- Eric Trout 3rd '91
- Dennis Kitko 1st '92
- Stein Edwards 3rd '93
- Ben Valladares 1st '97
- Ryan Joyce 3rd '01
- Alejandro Figueroa 5th '02
- Cesar Grajales 1st '03
- Franklin Gomez 3rd '04
- Franklin Gomez 1st '05
- Kevin Timothy 5th '06
[edit] 125 (123) lbs.
- Mark McNitt 2nd '75
- Pat Melton 3rd '82
- Andre Darby 3rd '83
- Chris Artalona 2nd '84
- Bret Gustafson 4th '85
- Chris Biddles 4th '88
- Bryan Barrett 1st '89
- John Heyman 1st '91
- Darrell Tabor 2nd '92
- Dennis Kitko 1st '93
- Stein Edwards 1st '94
- George Woodside III 1st '95
- Zac Lambrecht 1st '98
- David Emch 4th '99
- Cesar Grajales 1st '04
- Alex Araoz 2nd '05
- James Brown 1st '06
[edit] 130 lb.
- Mike Sebetzki 3rd '81
- John Gorman 2nd '83
- Chris Artalona 3rd '85
- Ken Urquhart 1st '91
- Eric Trout 3rd '92
- Darrell Tabor 2nd '93
- Ben Valladares 2nd '98
- Brian Burgman 3rd '00
- Ryan Joyce 1st '03
- Brandon Ray 5th '04
- Sean Joyce 2nd '05
- Alex Araoz 1st '06
[edit] 135 lb.
- Derek Tabor 2nd '93
- Mark Koenig 4th '87
- David Emch 3rd '00
- Brian Burgman 2nd '01
- Tom Hutchinson 5th '02
- Eddie Hutchinson 3rd '03
- Ryan Joyce 3rd '04
- Cesar Grajales 1st '05
[edit] 140 lb.
- Eric Yoerger 3rd '91
- Damon Shiver 2nd '94
- Steven Moraldo 1st '98
- Zac Lambrecht 3rd '99
- David Emch 1st '01
- Rocky Cozart 2nd '02
- Tommy Hutchinson 2nd '03
- Eddie Hutchinson 3rd '04
- Zaq Berridge 6th '06
[edit] 145 (142) lbs.
- Robert Ludlum 3rd '77
- Dale Perazzola 2nd '84
- Dale Perazzola 3rd '85
- Bret Gustafson 1st '86
- Bret Gustafson 1st '87
- Kris Urquhart 2nd '95
- Mike Doles 4th '00
- David Craig 1st '03
- Tommy Hutchinson 3rd '04
- Marco Toledo 1st '05
- Sean Joyce 1st '06
[edit] 152 (149) lbs.
- Todd Gustafson 1st '84
- Todd Parry 1st '86
- Josh Lambrecht 3rd '97
- Kervin Dinard 3rd '98
- Rocky Cozart 1st '03
- Marco Toledo 5th '04
- Tom Timothy 2nd '05
- Keith Koziel 3rd '06
[edit] 160 (159) lbs.
- Brady Keys 1st '83
- Adam Parry 1st '88
- Mike Hickman 4th '91
- Mike Reynolds 1st '92
- Mike Reynolds 2nd '93
- Andy Yoerger 2nd '94
- Andy Yoerger 4th '95
- Kris Urquhart 1st '96
- Matt Juncal 1st '01
- Rocky Cozart 1st '04
- Rocky Cozart 1st '05
- Tommy Timothy 1st '06
[edit] 171 lb.
- Tony Ippolito 1st '74
- Richard Lentz 1st '76
- Richard Lentz 1st '77
- Bob Woodke 1st '80
- Alex Ippolito 4th '82
- Fred Cachilli 1st '84
- Andy Yoerger 1st '96
- Josh Lambrecht 1st '98
- Nick Ferrario 5th '00
- Matt Juncal 1st '02
- David Craig 1st '04
- David Craig 1st '05
- David Craig 1st '06
[edit] 189 lb.
- Andre Green 4th '83
- Gary Garner 1st '88
- Wayne Giese 3rd '95
- C.J. Ware 3rd '97
- Nick Ferrario 4th '01
- Matt Juncal 1st '03
- Stephen Caito 5th '05
- Billy Gower 5th '06
[edit] 215 (224/220) lbs.
- Wayne Giese 2nd '97
- Curtis Vognet 6th '99
- Young Kim (220) 3rd '95
- Ernest Headen (224) 3rd '79
- Stanley Scott (224) 3rd '82
- Felton Hayes (224) 2nd '84
- Chris Denison (224) 1st '85
- Rashard Goff 1st '03
[edit] 275 (UNL) lbs.
- Mike Waytovich (UNL) 3rd '81
- Kevin Mancini 1st '88
- Cory Churchill 2nd '93
- Mike Pucillo 1st '97
- Joe Papp 3rd '01
- Keith Simmons 2nd '03
- Keith Simmons 1st '04
[edit] Notable Wrestlers
[edit] Tony Ippolito
- Brandon's First State Champ in 1974
[edit] Dennis Kitko
- 3x State Champ, '91 '92 '93
[edit] Josh Lambrecht
- State Champ, '98
- Places 7th,2nd,and 3rd in NCAA tournament
- Wrestled for University of Oklahoma
[edit] Matt Juncal
- 3x State Champ, '01 '02 '03
- Currently Wrestles for Lindenwood University
[edit] Cesar Grajales
- 4x State Champ, '02 '03 '04 '05
- Beast of the East Runner-Up (04)
- Ironman Runner-Up (03)
- Currently Wrestles for University of Pennsylvania
- NCAA National Wrestling Championship Qualifier
[edit] Rocky Cozart
- 3x State Champ, '02 '03 '04 '05
- Beast of the East Runner-Up (04)
- 3rd at Ironman (03)
- Currently Wrestles for Michigan State University
[edit] David Craig
- 4x State Champ, '03 '04 '05 '06
- Beast of the East Champ (04)
- Ironman Champ (03)
- Currently Wrestles for Lehigh University
- Triple Crown Winner
- Undefeated in High School 184-0
[edit] Current Records/Statistics
- The Brandon High School wrestling team holds the national record for most consecutive wins by a high school sports team (423). This accomplishment is often referred to as "The Streak."
- The team also boasts 17 Florida Team State Championships. The most of any team in Florida.
- The team has 62 individual Florida State Champions. The most of any team in Florida.
