Brandon Clinches 22nd State Title, 7 Wrestlers Win Individual Crowns (and the Koziel 'Curse' Is Lifted)

The Brandon High School wrestling team comes home from Lakeland tonight, Feb. 19, with its 11th consecutive state title — and 22nd state crown overall.

Seven wrestlers earned individual state titles, which is a Brandon High record, a milestone first reached in 2004. That's the year Brandon scored 271 points, just two more than they did tonight.

"Seven's the record, we tied the record," said assistant coach Bob Hendrickson, who played for Cozart as a high schooler and has coached with him for 22 years.

It was the second year in a row that Brandon qualified for state competition wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes, a true sign of Brandon's dominance.

Bringing home state titles: James Flint, Kevin Norstrem, Rossi Bruno, Tyler Liberatore, Clark Glass, Wally Figaro and Kyle Koziel. Also helping Brandon achieve its 269 points at state competition were runner-up finishers Devan Berrian and Travis Berridge. Mike Ettore placed third and Brice Jones placed fifth. Victor Fugate and Lorenzo Martinez also competed; Jo Dudley's heavyweight match was forfeited.

Keith Koziel said earlier in the day he knew what he would do if his brother won a state title  at the Flordia High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 3A state title.

He said he would cry — and he did.

Keith Koziel, now an assistant wrestling coach at King High School, as a player found the state title elusive. He made it to the finals five times and was runner-up three times.

"I've been working my whole career for this," Kyle Koziel said before the state tournament, "trying to be the first in my family to live the dream."

Following his victory, Keith Koziel could relax a bit.

"It got the monkey off my back, that's for sure!" Keith Koziel said. "It's a huge thing in my family to bring home the gold. Between the two of us, we had five silvers. I guess the curse has been lifted."

Liberatore, in the 135-pound weight class, was one of two Brandon wrestlers to win with a pin. Glass did it, too, in the 152-pound weight class.

"I was pretty confident going into the match," Liberatore said. "I know none of these kids work as hard as I do but you still never know until the match is over. It's an adrenalin rush when you win, especially if you pin your opponent."