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Preps

Cougars lurking behind Brandon

LAKELAND -- Whether it was the state rankings or a dual meet tournament, Brandon and Countryside have stood side-by-side all season.

The trend continued at the Class 2A state meet.

The Eagles, ranked No. 1 by Floridakids.net, hold the top spot after the first day of wrestling with 371/2 points. The Cougars, ranked No. 2, are right behind with 281/2.

On Thursday, Countryside did everything it could to leapfrog Brandon in the standings. All nine of the Cougars state qualifiers won their preliminary bouts.

It wasn't enough to catch the defending state champs, but it kept them nipping at the Eagles' heels.

"About the only thing we could have gotten were a few more pins to give us more points," Countryside coach Dave Frayer said. "Other than that, we accomplished what we wanted the first day. But we're still the chaser."

But Cougars caught a break before the tournament started. Brandon's Khalid Andwele, a defending state champion, was an ounce overweight and was eliminated from the 125-pound class.

Another Eagle, Jarod Thompson, lost in the preliminaries and dropped to the losers' bracket.

Still, Brandon has 10 in the winners' bracket.

Today's quarterfinals will determine if the Cougars can keep pace.

"This is a big round for us," Frayer said. "Some of our quarterfinal bouts might be tougher than the semifinals."

Vince Scholl (112 pounds), A. Jay Hixon (119), Dominic DeNunzio (130) and Wes Walker (145) have the toughest bouts. Scholl faces Durant's Matt Caraballo, Hixon wrestles Fort Pierce's Delrico Choate, DeNunzio meets Springstead's Fabian Lewars and Walker goes up against Central's Sergio Matos.

The quarterfinals start today at 10 a.m. and the semifinals are at 7 p.m.

OUCH!: Countryside wrestlers are not the only ones who drew tough opponents in the quarterfinals.

Admiral Farragut's Julio Viana (Class A, 275) and East Lake's Josh Prior (Class 2A, 125) each face defending state champions.

If Seminole's Joey Fabrizio gets past his quarterfinal bout, he'll also wrestle a defending state champ in the semis.

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