Swensen: 'Cox is indefinitely suspended'

To say that F.W. Springstead Kenny Cox's senior wrestling season has been rough would be like Tiger Woods sending a Valentine's Day present to his wife right now.
Cox, who finished the 2008-09 season behind a career-best 40-10 campaign and a berth in the 45th annual Class 2A State Finals in Lakeland, may never return to Polk County.
In fact, according to SHS Head Coach Eric Swensen, Cox may never return to the Eagles' mats.

From bad to worse

Cox, who went 1-2 in his first trip to states last winter, began the season on the sidelines.
He suffered a meniscus knee injury that required surgery.
As a result, he missed the Eagles' first two tournament championships at Deltona and Durant.
Despite returning to the Brooksville-Kiwanis Invitational out of shape, he easily earned a gold medal at 215.
But he got in trouble in school prior to the Dec. 16 dual meet against archrival Nature Coast Technical and was benched. His replacement, junior Daniel Ramirez, was pinned for the Sharks' only points.
He followed up with a fine effort that weekend at the Gulf Duals in New Port Richey.
After entering the event 11-2 lifetime at Gulf, Cox responded with an outstanding 6-0 run featuring five pins.
Behind a perfect 9-0 season, Cox was seeded among the top six entering this week's Oviedo Ironman VIII Tournament.
He appeared ready and fit following last Saturday's practice weighing in at 211 pounds. The weight class limit on Monday was 217.
But according to Swensen, when the entire team has an opportunity to check their weights prior to Monday at SHS, everyone did, except Cox. Hmmmmm.
On Monday morning, the entire team checked their weights before rolling to the rugged Seminole County event.
You could literally hear a pin drop when Cox stepped on the Toledos and weighed in at a startling 225.9 pounds.
He asked Coach Swensen what he should do. Swensen, in utter disbelief, told him to start running.
As Cox jogged along the Booster Stadium track, Coach Swensen and his coaching staff knew there was no way Cox would lose eight pounds in three hours. So Swensen called his father and told him to pick Kenny up. He would not be going along with the rest of the team to Oviedo.
When Coach Swensen told Cox the news, he showed no remorse, no excuses nor a willingness to compensate for his situation.
"Maybe I'd look at this (Cox's situation) in a different light, if this was his first issue," Swensen said. "But it isn't. It's like the 12th time he's broken team policies. What kind of a program are we running if we ask all the kids to abide by certain rules and one guy keeps having problems. It's not fair to all the other boys who are doing what it takes to not only become good wrestlers, but continue to be good students and good citizens."
What's Cox's status?
"I'm not kicking him off the team," reinforced Swensen. "I'm not asking him to turn in his singlet. That's his decision. He's indefinitely suspended. Maybe Kenny has better things to do with his life. So this (time off) might be a blessing for him.
"When he's stepped on the mat that has never been an issue," added Swensen. "Kenny competes and competes well. This (suspension) has everything to do with Kenny's life outside of school. There's definitely a problem. The coaches, (SHS Principal) Miss Duval and other school personnel have tried to help this young man out. He needs to help himself out."


By the Numbers: Springstead's Kenny Cox (2007-10)
- Compiled by TONY CASTRO
YEAR W L PINS
2007-08 20 16 10
2008-09* 40 10 18
2009-10 9 0 8
TOTALS 69 26 36
* Denotes state qualifier