Bozeman's Reyes focuses on faith, returning to state

LYNN HAVEN — Brandon Reyes is a senior wrestler of few words. His mother, Rachel, put it best.

“He doesn’t say much,” she said. “But when he does say something, you listen.”

The Bozeman standout fell short of a title in the 113-pound weight class at the Panhandle Championship on Saturday, but that hasn’t changed his goals. The loss, a 9-4 decision to Wakulla’s Zach Malik, was the second of the season in 35 matches for Reyes. Both losses came against Malik and it was the first two defeats for Reyes in the regular season since he was a freshman.

Bozeman coach J.D Raybourne said Brandon is the most focused he’s been in his career, which had a rocky start as a ninth-grader. Rachel said she told Brandon it would be alright if he chose to focus on another sport other than wrestling after his freshman year. Instead, he told her he was ready to come back and show those who defeated him that he learned from the losses.

Brandon dropped to 33-2 and said prior to the match that revenge wasn’t something on his mind. He gave credit to Malik, calling him a “good wrestler and a good kid.”

It’s part of what makes Brandon different, Raybourne said. There is no cockiness coming from Brandon and the soft-spoken wrestler also has a way of not getting too emotional, win or lose.

“This is the best he’s looked in my time here,” Raybourne said. “If he’s going to do something it’s going to have to be this year.”

Brandon said the key to his success has been simply “practicing hard” and that the goal of qualifying for state for a third straight year is alive. However, he understands there are the district and regional rounds first, then he can concentrate on improving on last year’s two consecutive losses in elimination.

“It’s way harder when you get down there” to state,” Brandon said. “And anybody can beat you.”

That fact is never lost on any competitor, especially when it comes to the level of competition of established programs in South Florida. A detriment to Brandon, in some form, is the fact Bozeman has filled the majority of its schedule with dual meet events. The Panhandle Championship was the largest tournament for the Bucks this season.

“When you wrestle the same team three or more times in a season it hurts you a little,” Raybourne said. “South Florida kids wrestle year-round, there are so many clubs and it provides a huge difference in the competition.”

That said, Reyes refused to use that as an excuse for his short stint at state last year. He chose instead to hone his leadership status with the team. He also refocused his priorities, Rachel said.

After his first loss to Malik, Brandon made a spirited testimonial at church. It was filled with many more words than he typically speaks around other adults and gave Rachel pause to understand where her son’s heart resided.

“He said he was really humbled and that he forgot who got him that far,” Rachel said. “He said all of it wouldn’t have been possible without God. I was proud of him.”

Brandon, one of eight area wrestlers in Saturday championship matches, also recommitted to church after working on most Sundays. He has hopes to wrestle on the collegiate level and he has inquired about a possible spot at Flagler University.

The Panhandle Championship featured 17 teams. It fell on the next-to-last weekend of competition before district tournaments.

Mosley’s Brock Carlan at 106 was the lone area individual champion. Wewahitchka's Beau Boggess (106), Bozeman's Johnathon Kenney (126) and Kris Kenney (160), Arnold's Taylor Ryan (145), Marianna's Dalton Hendrix (170) and Rutherford's Marcus Roberts (195) placed second.

Mosley’s Dillon Humphrey (132) and Arnold’s Doug Miner (138), Dillon Lamont (182) and Reggie Gordon (220) were area third-place finishers.