Brandon wrestlers ace Alabama tune-up for Graves Duals
The Brandon wrestling team is a week away from putting its national-record 456 consecutive dual match wins on the line in the Jim Graves "Beat the Streak" Duals (Jan 4-5 at Brandon); but this weekend in Alabama, the Eagles put on an impressive showing against a strong field in winning the Heart of Dixie Classic in Alabama.
Sparked by five individual champions, the Eagles (895 points) had a convincing win over Alabama power Vestavia Hills (836) and Mount Anthony Union in Vermont (651), winners of a national-record 19 consecutive team state wrestling championships.
The individual champs were Eric Grajales (130 pounds), who won his 200th match Friday, Kevin Timothy (135), Wally Figaro (145), Joey Cozart (140) and Phil Uno (215). Nick Hutchinson (125), Mike Ettore (152), Zaq Berridge (160) and heavyweight Aaron Fullenwider had second-place finishes.
"We had some good battles," Brandon coach Russ Cozart said. "There were a lot of good individual wrestlers there."
The Jim Graves Duals, next week in Brandon, will boast some state powers like Bradenton Manatee and South Dade, along with county teams like Durant and bay area teams like Springstead.
-- JOE SMITH
The St. Petersburg Times High School Sports blog is written and compiled by the Times preps sports staff from Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties. We invite your participation in the comments area.
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