Griswold's Brandon Walsh always knew when to make his move on the mat

Dana Cooke was well aware of Brandon Walsh's middle school wrestling accomplishments prior to his arrival at Griswold High School four years ago.

"I had heard what Brandon had done in eighth grade was great," Cooke, the Griswold coach, said before pausing. "… but it's still just eighth grade."

But when Cooke supervised Walsh's early preseason workouts as a freshman, he didn't come away all that impressed.

"He was in the same weight class as Nick Boots, who had placed third in the ECC (tournament) his sophomore year," Cooke said. "They wrestled around for the first two weeks and Nick did what he wanted.

"Then the wrestle-offs came around and Brandon beat him, and I remember thinking, 'He was holding back and not showing everything he had.' … And that's the kind of kid I discovered Brandon was. It was like, 'I know what I need to do and I don't need to show everything, but when I need to pull it out, I will.'"

It was the start of a brilliant four-year career for Walsh, who is The Day's All-Area Wrestler of the Year for the second straight season after winning Eastern Connecticut Conference, Class S and State Open titles at 138 pounds and finishing fourth in New England.

Walsh leaves Griswold with a 178-23 career record, averaging a remarkable 5.33 points (out of 6) per match. He finishes as a three-time ECC and Class S state champion, a two-time State Open champion (he was second as a sophomore), the 2011 New England champion and a 2010 All-American (he placed fourth in the sophomore national meet).

Walsh is no slouch in the classroom, either. He is a two-time Academic All-American and four-time Academic All-State pick.

"Winning the New Englands my junior year surpassed my expectations, but I worked hard for it," said Walsh, who is weighing his college options and may elect to go the junior college route. "I definitely wanted to come back and win it again my senior year, but it didn't work out. I could have done better, but what can you do?"

Walsh rarely overwhelmed his opponents with flash, but he was technically sound and rarely made mistakes.

"I never went out to try and kill a kid," he said. "(Assistant) coach (Kurtis) Strout always pounds into my head in practice that wrestling is a sport of position. You have to have some speed and athleticism, but as long as you wrestle smart and always stay in good positions you can be successful."

Added Cooke: "One of the good things about Brandon is he always knows his score and always knows when needs to score. He has the ability to defend so well, that's why he was able to win so often."

It's also why both wrestler and coach find some irony in the fact that his first loss in two seasons came on a rare mental error at the New England tournament.

Walsh was wrestling James Smith of Natick, Mass., in the semifinals, the same wrestler he defeated in the 2011 title match, and was winning 4-3 with six seconds left when they restarted from the neutral position in the middle of the mat.

"The ref blows the whistle," Walsh explains. "We're circling and I'm not expecting much, then he shot and got an ankle, I kind of froze, and as time ran out he got the second ankle, got the two points and beat me. It was a buzzer-beater."

Cooke was just as stunned.

"He looked at the clock and that's what it came down to," he said. "It's the one mistake he made in the last two years, and unfortunately it cost him. But he should have no regrets. He had a great career."

c.banning@theday.com