Russ Cozart
Brandon High School
Impact Statement
Brandon High School’s average margin of victory under Coach Cozart was 72.76.
Biography
Under Russ Cozart’s leadership, Brandon High has become one of the top programs in the Southeast. He just completed his 20th year as Brandon’s head coach, and he has led Brandon to six state team titles during the decade of the 1990s. Brandon won the state’s Class 6A crown in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1998, never finishing lower than fifth during the decade.
This year’s team finished second in the Class 2A state tournament. However, the statistic that really defines Brandon is “The Streak.” Cozart was unbeaten in dual meets at Brandon from 1980 until 2008, winning all 385 team competitions, which is a national record for any school in any sport. In 2009-10, his team’s average dual meet score 74.92-2.16. Brandon boasted 146 consecutive individual matches won in the 2012-13 season. Cozart’s best team, in 1991-92, won its 21 dual meets that year by an average of more than 62 points, a national record at the time. Cozart has established a record as a competitor that is nearly equal to his record as a coach. He has won five gold medals in the Masters World Freestyle Championships at 136.5 pounds.
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