Norstrem’s 4th State Title a Journey in the Making From Early Childhood

Tim Norstrem moved to the Tampa Bay area for a job relocation, engaged to be married and eager to find a good place to raise a family.

He met a man at work who, upon hearing that Norstrem had wrestled in college, suggested that it might be in Norstrem’s best interests to visit the school at 1101 Victoria St. in Brandon.

“He said to me, ‘Hey, if you’re a wrestler you need to live in Brandon,’ ” Norstrem recalls his co-worker telling him.

After seeing a couple of dual meets at Brandon High school, Norstrem said he told his fiance:  "We need to buy a house in Brandon.”

Norstrem had witnessed at Brandon the growth of the “The Streak,” which at the time was growing to a 34-year record of undefeated and consecutive dual-match contests, which broke in 2008.

In its remains is a second streak, which on Feb. 18 extended to a 12-year run of consecutive state championships. With seven individual state champions at the 2012 FHSAA Class 3A State Championship, the Eagles took home the school’s 23rd state championship — all but one under coach Cozart.

Among the seven champions was Kevin Norstrem, a Brandon High junior, who won his fourth state title. His younger brother, Kyle, a seventh-grader at Tampa Bay Christian Academy, won an individual state title in the Class 1A tournament.

Both brothers started wrestling as young boys in Cozart’s youth program in Brandon, where Norstrem and his intended did, indeed, buy a home.

What makes Cozart a good coach?

“Consistency,” said Tim Norstrem. “He is a leader. He is a CEO. He knows how to lead an organization and he sees the big picture. He knows where he’s going and he knows how to lead the kids to get there. If the sun comes up he’s working out. His boys know it and they love him for it."

At the Feb. 18 championship, Brandon set a new record. Never in state history had any one wrestler yet won five individual state titles in a row. At Lakeland, two Brandon wrestlers accomplished that feat: Rossi Bruno (126 pounds) and Clark Glass (160 pounds).

Also at the tournament, Norstrem’s son, Kevin, a junior at Brandon, captured his fourth state title, at 132 pounds, which puts him within shooting distance to tie the newly set state record. His brother, Kyle, wresting at 106 pounds, won a state title in Class 1A competition. Kyle Norstrem is an eighth-grader at Tampa Bay Christian Academy and plans to wrestle for Brandon in high school.

Norstrem (62-0) cruised to the semifinals, where he met a very tough Alejando Sancho (42-4) of South Miami and escaped with a 6-5 decision. In the final, Norstrem went up early on Dillon Marcus (36-1) of Palm Beach Central and controlled him for the rest of the match. The 6-0 decision hoisted Norstrem to the platform for his fourth state title and one of Brandon's seven individual state crowns.

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Following the championship match, Brandon Patch correspondent Andy Warrener was on hand to interview Kevin Norstrem about his latest state-title win.

Patch: What goes through your head when you're facing your opponent before the opening whistle?

• Norstrem: I try to think of it as just another match, that I'm not going to let anyone get to me.

Patch: How do you calm yourself down before a match like the state finals?

• Norstrem: I listen to music, try to visualize winning. I try to remember I don't wrestle for myself, I wrestle for my friends, my family, my coach, my faith.

Patch: Describe your experience as a Brandon Eagle wrestler.

• Norstrem: It's something else. There are big shoes to fill, a lot of expectations. Every day you have to go in there and work hard.

Patch: What makes Brandon wrestling so successful?

• Norstrem: Coach Cozart. He knows everything, yet he still learns about us. He knows what is best for us.

Patch: How did you survive that final match?

• Norstrem: I hurt my knee in the match before. After I got that big lead, I didn't want to push it too hard.

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RELATED COVERAGE:

• Russ Cozart on Wrestling, Streaks, Coaching and the Brandon Tradition