Brandon a winner 231 times
Bentonville senior Luke Brandon, the state’s all-time winningest wrestler, capped his career Saturday night another victory and a third state title.
Brandon’s 11-2 major decision over Benton’s William Brister for 170-pound title in the Class 6A-7A improved his career record to 231-29 in four years.
Brandon (69-3) said he didn’t feel any nerves.
“I just went out and did what I’ve always done,” said Brandon, who has moved up the weight ladder from 120 pounds as a freshman to 170 this season. “That’s what I trained to do. Why would I do anything differently? I think trusting that I bust my butt every day and I’ve done it for eight years now.”
Brandon won at 138 pounds as a sophomore and 160 pounds last season. He finished second at 120 as a freshman.
Springdale Har-Ber’s Kimble Jennings, another three-time state champion, held the career record for victories with 196 before Brandon passed him earlier this season..
Four of Brandon’s victories came by fall during the weekend’s tournament, including one in the semifinals in 12 seconds.
Bentonville Coach James Rappe was adding points as the tournament went and figured that Brandon would likely be able to close out the team title with a victory. He did not disappoint.
“When it started getting down to the wire and we started crunching the numbers and we knew that if Luke sealed that off that would pretty much slam the door,” Rappe said. “We didn’t have a finer horse in the stable to run that race.”