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Former Brandon star now on other side

By BRYAN BURNS
Published January 6, 2006

After two building years, Durant High School's wrestling team seeks to upset Brandon High, the winners of five consecutive state championships when the teams face off on Jan. 12. If Durant succeeds, Brandon has only itself to blame.

Durant's coach, Dennis Kitko, earned his stripes as a star wrestler at Brandon.

Remember Kitko? He won three individual state titles at Brandon from '91 to '93. He also led the Brandon Eagles to three team titles during that time.

The coach hopes his success at Brandon will carry over to Durant. In his third year at Durant, he has seen results already.

Durant has won two consecutive district and regional titles since Kitko took over the program in 2003.

"If we keep winning regional titles, you can't complain too much about that," said Kitko, who expected it would take three years to build the Durant program. "We've got a great group of kids coming in next year, so we're right on track."

Kitko came to Durant after gaining coaching experience in Tallahassee. His assistant head coach, John Heyman, also won a state championship at Brandon.

At Durant, the coaches dish out the grueling workouts they remember from Brandon.

"A lot of high school kids don't understand how far they can push their body," Heyman said. "Coach Kitko and I have been through a program where you push the limits, and do it every day."

This season, Kitko is pleased to see his team finish close matches. Last season, that was a problem with a younger squad.

His returning core includes two of last year's regional winners, Justin Bechtold and Tim Burdine. Returning district champs include Jim Kauderman, Adam Doback and Chip Bowden.

But injuries could derail the Cougars' season. Already, an injury has temporarily sidelined a key wrestler in Kauderman, a district champion and Times all-county second team selection last season.

"We need all our guys to be strong and stay healthy to have a chance," Kitko said. "Right now, if we were injury-free, we would be right even with Brandon. But we've got a couple major injuries."

Kauderman is expected back before the team travels to Dallas for the Lonestar Duals on Jan. 6-7.

Less than a week later comes the showdown with Brandon.

Brandon matters not for state titles, but confidence. A victory over Brandon would set the stage for Kitko's bigger goal.

Kitko aims for a state title in the 3A division, where the Cougars finished 16th last year.

Beating a squad with a resume like Brandon's would go a long way to proving the Cougars are ready.

"It's not necessarily about beating Brandon but beating a team of that level," Kitko said. "If you can beat them, you know you're going to be the best."

Brandon competes in the smaller 2A division.

In Durant's 3A class, Oviedo High is the team to beat. A wrestling factory in suburban Orlando, Oviedo has won back-to-back state titles. It scored 160 points over Durant at the last state tournament.

[Last modified January 5, 2006, 08:51:07]