Let’s be Frank: Cousins is exceptional

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Let’s be Frank: Cousins is exceptional

Sports

Thursday, 25 February 2010 02:31

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
The list of state wrestling champions from St. Cloud High is long, but there seems little question that the name now atop of that list belongs to Frank Cousins Jr.
Cousins won his second consecutive Class 2A 160-pound state championship Saturday night at the Lakeland Center with a dominating 7-2 decision over Oviedo’s Erin O’Dell.
It was Cousins fourth win over O’Dell this year and capped a perfect season, 52-0. His career record, 184-32, includes three trips to the state tournament.
His teammate, heavyweight Josh Chattin, placed sixth Saturday.
The Bulldogs finished 12th behind champion Oviedo.
Cousins, who hugged head coach Matt Milton and assistant Jose Vasquez after winning the championship, said he felt confident throughout the tournament.
“I wrestled (O’Dell) three times (previously) and he’s tough, but I felt like I had a good chance,” he said.
Cousins was never in jeopardy in the title match, building a 4-2 lead after two periods and dictating the action during the final two-minute period.
Milton said that Cousins was favored entering the championship match, but facing an opponent four times in the same season can be problematic.
“Even though Frank had a lot of success against O’Dell, you can’t take that for granted. You have to be prepared because he’s a good kid from a good program, and you can’t go in there overconfident,” Milton said. “Frank handled it well.”
Cousins, a USA Wrestling All-American, said he is proud to be considered as perhaps the best wrestler at St. Cloud’s storied program, the 2002 Class 3A state champion.
“I wrestled with a lot of really good wrestlers when I got here, our first two teams were really strong,” he said. “I guess I had a pretty good senior year. You can always do better.”
Milton, who took over as the Bulldogs’ head coach two years ago, said Cousins is a rare talent.
“There’s no if about it, he is the best I’ve ever coached,” Milton said. “He’s a different kid. Whatever you tell him to do, he does it. He’s a leader on the team; he’s great for the other kids in the program. He’s the poster child for what you want the St. Cloud program to be.”
Cousins rolled through his first three opponents at the state tournament. He defeated Cody Chaney, of Plant City, by a technical fall in the first round and then pinned Jacob Kinsel from Citra North Marion in 3:16 of the second round. He won by major decision (11-0) in the semifinals against Basil Minto from Cape Coral Mariner.
Cousins will join several Osceola High wrestlers at the USA Wrestling Tournament of Champions at Virginia next month.
A coach from North Carolina State talked to Cousins after the championship match.
“North Carolina has talked to him and several more schools have expressed interest,” his father, former Gateway wrestler Frank Cousins Sr., said. “We’ll concentrate on the Tournament of Champions for now, and let the decision come when we’ve had a chance to look over all of the options.”
Chattin won his first two matches to reach the semifinal round of the state tournament.