BENTONVILLE -- It took Bentonville's Luke Brandon some time to adjust to the move from youth to high school wrestling this season. But the freshman's performance late in the year showed he's turned the corner.
Brandon scored five points in the final 10 seconds to snap a 1-1 tie and earn a spot in the state finals at 120 pounds with a win over Springdale Har-Ber's Cristian Arredondo.
Profile
Luke Brandon
School: Bentonville
Weight: 120
Class: Freshman
Notable: Finished second in Class 6A-7A state tournament with a 42-14 record. … Won the Big West tournament and took second in four other events.
He finished second at state with a tough 4-2 loss in the finals, but thanks to his accomplishments, Brandon was selected as the NWA Media Wrestling Newcomer of the Year.
Brandon acknowledged he likely surprised others and even himself at times in his first year wrestling at the high school level. His semifinal win was something that definitely stuck out from his season.
"At the beginning, I started out not doing so well, but about halfway through the season, something hit me and I started doing better than I expected to do," Brandon said. "I just didn't think anybody expected me to make the finals."
That's true since Brandon was seeded third behind second-seeded Arredondo. He split two matches with Arredondo, winning in overtime to claim the Big West title a couple of weeks before the state tournament.
"Part of it was learning how to sprawl," Bentonville wrestling coach Bill Desler said. "Once he learned to get his legs back, they wouldn't take him down. We knew he had potential."
Bentonville assistant coach Steve Grigsby said the learning curve for a wrestler going from youth to high school is typically about a year, but Brandon made the transition more quickly.
"He was ahead of the game, no doubt," Grigsby said. "He faced some tough matches early on. He didn't really have time to settle in before he saw some top-level guys. He faced Kimble Jennings before he went down in weight and was a state champion at 113. He faced another former state placer in Joey Adams, the Webster kid from Little Rock Central all that first tournament."
Brandon agreed that first weekend was difficult.
"I lost some matches I shouldn't have, but I was just nervous more than anything," Brandon said. "Winning conference was big. It was my first win over Arredondo."
Grigsby and Desler agreed Brandon is very motivated on the mat and in the classroom.
"He's quiet, but he's a kid you don't really have to push that hard," Grigsby said. "He holds himself accountable."
Working against two state champions -- Aaron Grigsby and Jeff Bizzle -- in the practice room has also helped Brandon, Desler said.
"They catch him every time he's out of position," Desler said. "His technique will be really good."
Sports on 03/29/2014