Cory Brannon Gonzaga Prep Year: Senior Sport: Wrestling Weight: 122

As a two-time state placer, Cory Brannon was certainly no stranger to the competition.

His performance, however, sufficiently impressed Deer Park Invitational meet officials, who named him tourney MVP after Brannon’s four-match sweep for the 122-pound championship.

“I think he was named MVP mainly because the weight class had the most depth to it,” said Gonzaga Prep coach Phil McLean. “Like I told Cory, if he wrestles to the best of his ability, no one should hang with him. I think he did that.”

Eight state veterans were in the field, including last year’s AA 122-pound fourth-place finisher, Gabe Nunez of Selah.

Brannon beat him 4-1 to complete a Saturday in which he outscored his competition 30-6.

“I had talked to my coach wanting to see how the field looked,” said Brannon. “He told me, honestly, it was the toughest weight there. I took it one match at a time.”

Brannon was AAA 108-pound state champion as a sophomore and was fourth at 122 pounds last year.

“Getting fourth was a lot tougher than winning the state championship,” he said. “It was one of the toughest things I’ve had to do.”

Although he admits to being nervous before any match, even with a last-string wrestler, winning at Deer Park was easy by comparison.

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