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After four years on the mat, the only thing Rocky Sullivan wants to be called is champion.
By BOB PUTNAM
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 2000
CLEARWATER -- Kevin Sullivan came into the wrestling room at Clearwater Central Catholic his freshman season with a lot of demands. He was going to wrestle only to stay in shape for football, he wasn't going to cut weight, and he wanted to be called Rocky, a nickname he had had since sixth grade.
His coach said he wasn't going to call Sullivan anything unless he proved himself on the mat.
Four years and 93 wins later, Sullivan has earned the right to be called Rocky. But the senior wants to be called something else: a state champion.
Sullivan is on his way to earning that title. He has a 28-1 record and is ranked No. 1 in Class A in the 160-pound class. Today and Saturday, he wrestles in the Class A, Region 3 wrestling tournament at Naples Gulf Coast.
"I'm confident, but I know I can't be too confident," Sullivan said. "I just know if I go out and wrestle like I have been, everything will be okay."
Such assuredness stems from his performance as a junior. Last season Sullivan lost in the state finals to senior John Solomon of Jesuit.
"I planned on doing well," Sullivan said. "I just wasn't sure I could make it all the way to the finals. Really I was just hoping to make it to states."
Although he did well, Sullivan's meteoric rise was unexpected, and he said he knew he would go from being a state runner-up last season to being a target this season.
So Sullivan started preparing right away. He went to a camp at the Air Force Academy and to the Jay Robinson technical camp in Atlanta over the summer.
"I knew there would be a lot of talk about me winning a state title this year," Sullivan said. "I'm ranked No. 1 and there's always going to be pressure with that. But I put more pressure on myself. I knew if I wasn't working on everything every day and doing things fluently, I would fall behind."
He said a trip to the state tournament as a sophomore helped him prepare for his run last season.
"The first time you go it's intimidating being there," he said. "I think it took me until last season to realize that states was just another tournament."
He will attend the University of Florida on an academic scholarship in the fall.
"I think I'll have had my fill of wrestling by then," Sullivan said.