Back on Track

It's not easy for any prep grappler, let alone Brooksville's Jesse Lee Graham, to walk away after dropping a grueling four-overtime match.
But that's exactly what happened to the four-year Leopard varsity wrestler in the finals of the Dec. 22 Ed Goodpaster Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Land O'Lakes.
Up to that moment, life had been pretty good to Graham.
He had reached the tourney finals behind a perfect 20-0 won-lost slate facing third-year school Palm Coast-Matanzas' Justin Swilling.
But life was interrupted when Swilling departed East Pasco County behind a hard-to-swallow, four-overtime, 3-2 nod.
After the meet, Graham decided to begin the second half of the season in the actual weight class he'll be hopefully competing at during the Class 1A State Championship Tournament Feb. 14-16 at the Lakeland Center - 140 pounds.
His title quest began this past weekend 2½ hours away from Brooksville in Clay County.
Ironically, Swilling was in the same building as Graham at Green Cove Springs.
Swilling, however, remained at 145. He went 4-0 to win the weight division.
Graham, too, got his wish, collecting gold at 140.

Gold rush

After dropping weight for the first time in three seasons, Graham opened the meet by folding Fernandina Beach's Kevin McEntree in 3:31.
Next, Graham mangled Palatka's Darrian Nelson via a technical fall, 20-2.
In the semifinals, Graham was focused and nearly perfect. He stuck Jacksonville-Bolles School junior Carl Holland in 64 seconds to advance to the finals.
Graham's 61st career pin permitted him to reach a Hernando County-high fifth tournament finals in five events this winter.
Oddly enough, this time he faced another Matanzas foe, unbeaten junior Mike Bizzozzaro.
Bizzozzaro, a 2007 state qualifier, came in 20-0.
In a cat and mouse finals match, neither wrestler scored in the first period.
Graham drew first blood with a one-point escape in the second period.
Bizzozzaro tied matters early in the third with an escape.
Each grappler received one penalty point for stalling as the match finished regulation deadlocked at 2-2.
Through three overtimes it remained.

Sound familiar?

In the fourth overtime, Graham chose the bottom position. All Bizzozzaro had to do to win was not allow Graham to score in the allotted 30 seconds.
But Graham pried Bizzozzaro's grip, kicked away and extracted a 1-point escape with six seconds left to win, 3-2.
With the exhausting triumph, Graham claimed his fourth gold medal in five attempts this winter, improving to 109-35 lifetime.
In the process, he passed Stephen Pritz (105 wins) and Robbie Pritz (107) on the all-time career win list at HHS.
With two more wins, he'll pass 2005 state champion Windham Rotunda for ninth all-time in school history.
Yet, despite winning 76 percent of his career matches, it's not enough.
"There are so many things I can still improve on," explained the 17-year-old Graham. "But everything starts with practice. There's no reason for anyone to miss practice. I know I don't. Wrestling is my life."
How pivotal was getting back on track?
"It tasted great to win," insisted the freckle-faced Graham. "I really wanted this. Revenge in sports is best played on the mats. I got some tonight."

By the Numbers: Jesse Graham
- Compiled by TONY CASTRO

Yr Won Lost Pins
2004-05 11 13 8
2005-06* 32 14 17
2006-07* 42 7 24
2007-08 24 1 12
TOTALS 109 35 61
* Denotes state qualifier