By Kyle Coppola
Ciaran Braton Makes History for First Academy-Leesburg Wrestling
LEESBURG, FL – The First Academy-Leesburg Eagles wrestling team achieved a milestone this past weekend, as sophomore Ciaran Braton dominated the competition to take first place in the 165-pound weight class at the Viper Classic held at Space Coast High School. Braton’s flawless 8-0 record not only earned him the top spot on the podium but also marked the program’s first-ever individual tournament championship.
(Ciaran Braton makes history and becomes the first athlete to earn an individual wrestling tournament win for FA-Leesburg.)
This win is a huge moment for the FA-Leesburg program as this is the first time in school history that this has been accomplished. Ciaran’s hard work and determination is inspiring and show’s what is possible for the future of FA wrestling.”
The Eagles are a young and growing program. They also celebrated standout performances from two newcomers. Freshman Cesar Quinones (215 lbs) fought his way to a strong 6th-place finish, while sophomore Chase Simmons (150 lbs) earned 10th place. Both wrestlers secured their first career victories in their debut season.
Despite competing with only three wrestlers, First Academy-Leesburg soared to an 11th-place finish in the overall team standings—their highest placement of the season.
(This is the first season FA-Leesburg has ever won an individual tournament. A big moment for this program.)
This weekend was all about heart. FA-Leesburg might not have the biggest team, but the school’s wrestlers are showing that they belong. The future of FA wrestling is bright. We can only hope that students see this success and want to be part of that next year as FA-Leesburg wrestling continues to grow.
For now, the small but mighty squad has made it clear—they’re here to compete. We look forward to seeing what this team is capable of in the coming years.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
