goldengopher

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Golden Gophers The Great Collapse of March 2008

goferphan

Special Report: The End Of The Streak
By ADAM ADKINS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 6, 2008

BRANDON - Joey Cozart wanted the weight of The Streak square on his 140-pound frame's shoulders. The only problem was The Streak ended before he got that chance.

When 135-pounder Tico Baez scored a major decision against Brandon's Kevin Timothy on Saturday night, it gave Homestead South Dade an insurmountable lead against the Eagles in the final of the sixth annual Jim Graves Challenge the Streak Dual Meet Tournament. For the first time since Feb. 20, 1973, the Brandon Eagles' wrestling team tasted defeat.

The Streak, as it has been widely known, came to an end at 459 consecutive victories and 468 matches without a defeat after South Dade's 32-28 victory. Both marks are national records for a high school team in any sport.

Following the Baez-Timothy match that gave South Dade the win, longtime Brandon coach Russ Cozart sprinted across the mat to congratulate South Dade coach Victor Balmeceda. At the same time, the entire crowd inside the Brandon gymnasium rose to its feet to applaud the Eagles' program on its lengthy accomplishment.

And Joey Cozart stood waiting near the scorer's table. He still had to wrestle the dual meet's final match, even though The Streak already had been snapped.

"I was dying inside but I couldn't show it," Joey said, his voice cracking. "I had to go out there and wrestle."

While there was plenty of visible heartache within the Brandon faithful, Russ Cozart, the architect of The Streak, refused to succumb to the moment. He talked about how the Graves Duals were created to test his program and give teams a shot at the Eagles. And he talked about how he always envisioned the night The Streak ended being a time for celebration, not for disappointment.

"No one wanted to be on the team that got beat. But let's face it," Cozart said. "This is a world record that just came to an end, you know. It's not the end of the world."

The South Dade contingent certainly seemed on top of the world after the win.

"It's surreal. The words can't explain it. It's comparable to winning the state titles, but on a national level it's bigger," said Balmeceda, who has led South Dade to four of the program's seven state titles. "I felt like the whole nation was behind us. They wanted to see that streak end."

That is, of course, everyone in the nation except those wearing Brandon's colors.

"It's hard to understand, but for the past 30 years it's been going and now it's over, just like that," Timothy said. "It's too much to comprehend right now. I never even thought we had a chance to lose."

Brandon can look back on three matches that made a difference Saturday. South Dade stole matches at 152 and 189 pounds in the final seconds, and a big pin by South Dade's Shawn King at 171 pounds proved critical, as he was nearly pinned in the opening minute. That helped South Dade win five of the first seven matches, and Brandon couldn't overcome the deficit.

"We lost some matches that were right in our hands. It just wasn't meant to be. We've been on the other side of that, where we've got those little things and things went our way," said Cozart, who happily took the blame for the loss - his first with the Eagles since taking over the program in 1980. "I finally messed up. I finally blew it. Hopefully they won't fire me."

But Brandon never gave up, even after The Streak was over. Moments before Joey Cozart stepped to the center circle, and after his father had congratulated South Dade's coaches, Russ Cozart walked over to his son and offered some advice.

"He just said go out there and do it for the team, and show everybody that we can go out there and keep winning no matter what, no matter what the circumstances are," Joey said.

Joey did just that. He pinned South Dade's Elyse Fontaine one minute, 44 seconds into the first period. But it still hurt.

"It's a fact we have to face now. There's nothing we can do," Joey said. "It's not like you can go back in time and change the way somebody wrestled."

Joey said the key was for the Eagles to mourn, and then recover. He admitted "it will sting in practice on Monday," but they'll move on.

The goal for the Eagles now is to start a new streak. And it's a goal they think they can accomplish.

"You can't stay down forever," Joey said.

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"That is what Gable would have done to Owings the second time around. (Metcalf/Caldwell)"

goferphan

I say good riddance to the streak amazing as it was.

They never went outside of their state borders to challenge that streak so if they want to claim to be the best team in Florida thats fine but thats like saying "King of the Geeks"

Time to move on.

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"That is what Gable would have done to Owings the second time around. (Metcalf/Caldwell)"

rshear13

Not a fan of the streak, only way a coach should have an undefeated team especially this long is if they have beaten all the best, a coach should seek out the toughest opponents to challenge his kids, rather than continue a streak like this

goldengopher

I agree but still think winning that many in a row is impressive. Sure they might have dodged a lot of the big boys but you have to admit that over a span that long they had to have wrestled a few "one-year wonders."

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Golden Gophers The Great Collapse of March 2008

goferphan

no, not in florida they didn't...think of the "apple valley" of florida without the in-state competition...

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"That is what Gable would have done to Owings the second time around. (Metcalf/Caldwell)"

Gripsnhips

thats like Iowa wrestling high school tourneys in New Mexico

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"Ok Class. Today we will learn 'downward dog' to 'full bring'

Zapp Brannigan

Man, you guys are haters. It is what it is. It was always Brandon haters making a bigger deal out of it then Brandon supporters. It was always "Why don't you go out of state and dual other competition!?!?! You're just afraid cause you're not the best team in the country." Then Brandon guys would say "Who said we were the best in the country?" If it was such a big deal for the Brandon haters (notably in PA), they could have signed up for the Graves Duals. They never did. Brandon owned the record, it deserved to be lost in a Brandon gym with some fanfare. Teams came and tried for a few years, and teams in Florida started stepping up their level, and now one team gave Brandon a good fight, and the next beat them. It's been great for Florida wrestling.

St.EdwardStateChamp

Who cares about such a long streak if there was no national comp. they should dual us or graham or blair.

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4x State Champ
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