Hewitt, Clay wrestlers earn state titles Saturday

From AHSAA reports

HUNTSVILLE –Hewitt-Trussville, Clay-Chalkville each walked away with individual state champions at the AHSAA state wrestling championships this week. The Huskies’ Conner Smith and Stone Barden each won titles, while Braedon Keith and Bradon Treglown each finished runner up. Clay-Chalkville Sophomore Jack Jones and also won an individual title.

Vestavia Hills High School won its second Class 7A state championship in a row, Arab picked up the 1A-5A championship for its fifth consecutive state crown and Oxford posted 195 points to grab the Class 6A state crown as the AHSAA Class 2017 State Wrestling Championships concluded Saturday at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center.

Coach Monterrious Adams picked up the first state championship of his head-coaching career as Vestavia compiled 131.5 points to edge runner-up and arch-rival Hoover. The Bucs had 107.5 points, Thompson was third with 97 and Hewitt-Trussville finished fourth with 94. It was the Rebels’ 15^th state crown overall, an AHSAA state record.

Coach Michael Pruitt’s Arab Knights extended their state-championship streak to five – scoring 176.5 points with runner-up Cleburne County scoring 123. Tallassee was third with 110 and Alexandria was fourth with 104.5. The Knights won 6A state titles in 2015 and 2016 and the Class 5A crowns in 2013 and 2014. Arab also won the 5A title in 2011.

Oxford, coached by Matt Hicks, captured the school’s first state title in school history with 195 points. Southside-Gadsden was second with 171.5, Pinson Valley was third at 148 and Homewood was fourth with 115.5.

Saturday’s finals were highlighted by Montgomery Catholic senior Zachary Van Alst’s win in the 1A-5A 138-pound finals. Val Alst (67-0) joined an elite group of wrestlers to win six state titles. He beat Hayden’s Chace Phillips (60-2) with a 12-4 major decision.

Upsets were prominent, especially in the Class 6A heavyweight bout and the Class 1A-5A 113-pound finals. Stanhope Elmore junior Jacob Andrews (37-3) beat sophomore Clay Webb of Oxford (56-2) in a 4-3 decision. That match was judged as the best in Class 6A Saturday.

Hayden junior Landon Castleberry (60-9) beat Fultondale junior Macon of Edwards (73-1) of Fultondale in the 113-pound finals with a 16-7 major decision. Edwards was defending state champion after finishing 90-0 in 2016. The winning streak extended to 163 matches until Saturday’s final bout.

In other highlights, Carial Tarter of Mortimer Jordan finished with a perfect 47-0 record  with an 8-6 win over Kolton Scott of Scottsboro (37-4) in the 145-pound Class 1A-5A championship bout. That match was judged the top bout of Class 1A-5A and Tarter earned MVPs for his division with the win.

Photo by Danny Joiner

Ethan Pippin of Westminster Christian (53-0) also finished unbeaten with a win in the Class 1A-5A 170-pound finals. Other wrestlers winning state championships with unbeaten records included 182-pounder Christian Knop of Alexandria (58-0) in Class 1A-5A; Class 6A 182-pound winner Carlos Miguel Figueroa of Homewood (27-0); Class 7A 182-pound senior Brooks Schrimsher of Huntsville (41-0); and Vestavia Hills 220-pound champion James Edwards (421-0). Edwards’ twin brother Jacob Edwards (39-4) was beaten the 285-pound finals by Hoover senior Austin Carter (20-3).

Landon Thompson of Southside-Gadsden (74-2) won the 152-pound Class 6A championship with a technical fall (21-6) at 3:38 over Isaac Jackson of Park Crossing (22-3) and earned Class 6A MVP honors.

In Class 7A, sophomore Sam Latona (71-1) won the 113-pound championship for Thompson pinning Sullivan Tipton of Oak Mountain at 3:32 in the finals. He had most pins in 7A.  Junior Barrett Blakely of Oak Mountain (45-3) was name Class 7A MVP. He won the 160-pound title with a 7-3 decision over Bowman Hill of Vestavia Hills in the championship bout.

Vestavia, Oxford and Arab also swept the AHSAA Duals Tournament first-ever titles earlier this month.

CLASS 6A INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
6A 106 Pounds:
Championship Match
Andrew Smith (Southside-Gadsden) 71-4, Jr. over George Vazquez (Pinson Valley) 43-7, So. (Dec 7-2).
3rd Place Match
Dylan Lesueur (Clay-Chalkville) 42-7, So. over Chase Hicks (Oxford) 66-20, 8th. (Dec 5-2).
5th Place Match
Russ Boackle (Gardendale) 46-22, Fr. over Gabriel Warren (Spanish Fort) 43-11, 7th. (Dec 7-4).

6A 113 Pounds:
Championship Match
Trent Young (Athens) 35-11, Jr. over Brantley Ledbetter (Chelsea) 44-10, Jr. (Fall 1:17).
3rd Place Match
Jacob Dease (Southside-Gadsden) 42-20, 8th. over Landon Burrage (Oxford) 63-18, So. (SV-1 6-4).
5th Place Match
Bryce Wanagat (Pelham) 23-12, 7th. over Mason Shell (Pell City) 33-16, Fr. (Fall 4:15).

6A 120 Pounds:
Championship Match
Jacob Smith (Southside-Gadsden) 70-4, Sr. over Jakob Chisolm (Oxford) 46-20, 8th. (TF-1.5 6:00 (19-0)).
3rd Place Match
Gage Hudson (Gulf Shores) 48-7, So. over Marshall Stone (Homewood) 28-5, Sr. (Dec 6-3).
5th Place Match
Jacob Smith (Clay-Chalkville) 26-9, Jr. over Brandon Seawright (Minor) 20-18, Fr. (Fall 2:31).

6A 126 Pounds:
Championship Match
Wesley Slick (Oxford) 32-7, So. over Cole Blackwell (Wetumpka) 54-6, So. (Dec 5-2).
3rd Place Match
Quenmarius Byrd (Pinson Valley) 30-10, Jr. over Samuel luke Blalock (Clay-Chalkville) 35-12, Fr. (Dec 11-6).
5th Place Match
Coleman Kim (Gardendale) 6-3, Jr. over Desmond Shuman (Opelika) 48-19, Jr. (Dec 2-0).

6A 132 Pounds:
Championship Match
Justin Ingram (Spanish Fort) 53-1, Jr. over Colin Edwards (Southside-Gadsden) 54-11, Jr. (Dec 9-5).
3rd Place Match
Deacon Cowart (Athens) 28-15, So. over Jackson Stocks (Pell City) 24-15, So. (Dec 10-4).
5th Place Match
Ryan Spradley (Benjamin Russell) 30-22, Fr. over Jacob Williams (Clay-Chalkville) 19-20, So. (Dec 6-2).

6A 138 Pounds:
Championship Match
Sam Colvin (Southside-Gadsden) 66-4, Sr. over Josh Walker (Pinson Valley) 40-6, Sr. (MD 16-7).
3rd Place Match
Bailey Roan (Gulf Shores) 47-5, Sr. over Desmond Dempsy (Austin) 26-12, Sr. (Dec 12-5).
5th Place Match
Joe Harmon (Chelsea) 42-14, Sr. over Logan Farmer (Athens) 28-20, Fr. (Fall 1:30).

6A 145 Pounds:
Championship Match
Joseph Green (Muscle Shoals) 34-1, Sr. over Javonic Turner (Homewood) 28-5, Jr. (Fall 4:57).
3rd Place Match
Clint Glaze (Chelsea) 31-19, Jr. over Mason Blackwell (Wetumpka) 34-15, 8th. (Dec 3-2).
5th Place Match
Justus Venn (Southside-Gadsden) 45-28, Jr. over John paul Uter (Gulf Shores) 45-12, Fr. (Dec 10-7).

6A 152 Pounds:
Championship Match
Landon Thompson (Southside-Gadsden) 74-2, Sr. over Isaac Jackson (Park Crossing) 22-3, Sr. (TF-1.5 3:38 (21-6)).
3rd Place Match
William Cummings (Helena) 52-10, Sr. over Christian Hopkins (Pinson Valley) 41-10, Jr. (Dec 6-5).
5th Place Match
Zaquarius Harris (Columbia) 38-17, So. over Ryan Tibaldo (Athens) 29-21, Jr. (Dec 3-1).

6A 160 Pounds:
Championship Match
Matt King (Oxford) 63-4, Jr. over Trevor Muncey (Gardendale) 57-7, Jr. (MD 13-3).
3rd Place Match
Sam Ingram (Chelsea) 43-9, So. over Devin Hackworth (McAdory) 59-9, Sr. (Fall 4:54).
5th Place Match
Tobias Garrison (Stanhope Elmore) 50-8, Jr. over Ethan Stevenson (Southside-Gadsden) 52-30, So. (SV-1 7-5).

6A 170 Pounds:
Championship Match
Thomas Carter (Athens) 42-3, Jr. over Nathan Dunaway (Helena) 61-5, Fr. (MD 16-8).
3rd Place Match
Khymel Chaverst (Pinson Valley) 52-4, Jr. over Isaiah Mcdougal (Columbia) 45-9, Jr. (Fall 4:29).
5th Place Match
Johon Peavey (Oxford) 55-8, Sr. over Jabari Blackmon (Homewood) 17-9, Jr. (Fall 4:48).

6A 182 Pounds:
Championship Match
Carlos miguel Figueroa (Homewood) 27-0, So. over Tony Norman (Austin) 31-5, Jr. (Dec 9-3).
3rd Place Match
Alex Montgomery (Pelham) 36-6, Sr. over Trent Barrett (Wetumpka) 45-6, Sr. (Dec 5-3).
5th Place Match
Thad jackson Prater (Athens) 33-14, Sr. over Justin Lewis (Carver-Montgomery) 39-9, Jr. (Fall 2:04).

6A 195 Pounds:
Championship Match
Carlos jesus Figueroa (Homewood) 30-3, Sr. over Joshua Thomas (Oxford) 28-14, Sr. (For.).
3rd Place Match
David Pike (Pinson Valley) 38-5, Sr. over David Hunter (McAdory) 56-11, Jr. (Fall 3:15).
5th Place Match
Noah Barclay (Wetumpka) 37-14, So. over Dremere Woods (Paul Bryant) 25-11, Jr. (Dec 5-1).

6A 220 Pounds:
Championship Match
Jackson Jones (Clay-Chalkville) 49-1, So. over Reynard Ellis (Shades Valley) 22-2, Sr. (Dec 9-6).
3rd Place Match
Jacquez Dixon (Park Crossing) 18-5, Sr. over Dangelo Humphrey (Columbia) 34-15, Sr. (Dec 4-3).
5th Place Match
John ellis Rawls (Wetumpka) 51-2, Sr. over Michael Dawson (Opelika) 32-10, Fr. (Dec 6-1).

6A 285 Pounds:
Championship Match
Jacob Andrews (Stanhope Elmore) 37-3, Jr. over Clay Webb (Oxford) 56-2, So. (Dec 4-3).
3rd Place Match
Trent Holley (Wetumpka) 50-4, Sr. over Taylor Rhodes (Pinson Valley) 41-5, Sr. (Fall 2:03).
5th Place Match
Nasir Hilaire (Minor) 24-6, Sr. over Brian Gardner (Hueytown) 30-15, Jr. (Fall 5:29).

CLASS 7A FINAL RESULTS
Team scoring
Vestavia Hills 131.5; Hoover 107.5; Thompson 97; Hewitt-Trussville 94; Oak Mountain 78.5; Huntsville 71.5; Central-Phenix City 44; Sparkman 42; Grissom 39; Bob Jones 33; Spain Park 21; Auburn 19; James Clemens 16; Prattville 16; Jeff Davis 12; Mountain Brook 12; Fairhope 10; Buckhorn 8; Smiths Station 5; Lee-Montgomery 3.
Most Valuable Wrestler: Barrett Blakely, Oak Mountain.
Most Pins: Sam Latona, Thompson (3 pins, 7:49 total).
Best Match: (132 Pounds) Heath Willliamson, Hewitt-Trussville vs. Jawaun Doughty, Huntsville.

CLASS 7A INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
7A 106 Pounds:
Championship Match
Sam Latona (Thompson) 71-1, So. over Sullivan Tipton (Oak Mountain) 29-11, Fr. (Fall 3:32).
3rd Place Match
James Hughes (Grissom) 30-2, Jr. over Jack Rivers (Spain Park) 42-14, So. (SV-1 4-2).

7A 113 Pounds:
Championship Match
Chandler Akins (Thompson) 60-11, So. over Tyler Ivey (Grissom) 47-3, So. (Dec 6-4).
3rd Place Match
Kobe Frazier (Jeff Davis) 34-2, Sr. over Cole Thomas (Oak Mountain) 25-10, So. (Dec 5-3).

7A 120 Pounds:
Championship Match
Stone Barden (Hewitt-Trussville) 29-3, So. over Alex Thomas (Vestavia Hills) 23-3, Jr. (Dec 6-4).
3rd Place Match
Emmanuel Oliver (Thompson) 47-26, Fr. over Marc Hurt (Central-Phenix City) 52-16, Jr. (MD 8-0).

7A 126 Pounds:
Championship Match
Gabe Hixenbaugh (Thompson) 75-4, So. over Braden Treglown (Hewitt-Trussville) 41-16, Sr. (MD 16-5).
3rd Place Match
Maxwell Kauffman (Central-Phenix City) 56-3, Jr. over Gage Camp (Hoover) 13-6, Sr. (Dec 10-4).

7A 132 Pounds:
Championship Match
Heath Williamson (Hewitt-Trussville) 52-11, Sr. over Jawaun Doughty (Huntsville) 58-3, Sr. (Dec 8-7).
3rd Place Match
Blake Randle (Oak Mountain) 42-5, Sr. over Larry Wallace (Hoover) 23-16, Jr. (Dec 8-4).

7A 138 Pounds:
Championship Match
Patterson Huff (Hoover) 40-4, Sr. over Carson Lester (Oak Mountain) 28-10, Sr. (Dec 2-1).
3rd Place Match
Jacob Megois (Thompson) 57-25, Sr. over Peter Dazzio (Vestavia Hills) 38-10, So. (Fall 2:52).

7A 145 Pounds:
Championship Match
Conner Smith (Hewitt-Trussville) 57-5, Jr. over Jack Stoves (Vestavia Hills) 38-6, Sr. (Dec 3-2).
3rd Place Match
Jonathan Handy (Grissom) 46-7, Jr. over Cameron Harbin (Sparkman) 35-11, Sr. (Fall 2:14).

7A 152 Pounds:
Championship Match
Robert Morales (Central-Phenix City) 37-1, Jr. over Houston Curtis (Huntsville) 52-2, Sr. (Fall 3:04).
3rd Place Match
Spencer Haddock (Vestavia Hills) 24-4, Jr. over Cole Holmes (Mountain Brook) 43-8, Sr. (Dec 6-0).

7A 160 Pounds:
Championship Match
Barrett Blakely (Oak Mountain) 45-3, Jr. over Bowman Hill (Vestavia Hills) 37-8, Jr. (Dec 7-3).
3rd Place Match
Charlie Freidenreich (Auburn) 42-9, Jr. over Jordan Hunter (Buckhorn) 22-7, So. (Fall 4:24).

7A 170 Pounds:
Championship Match
Randy Jenkins (Hoover) 23-3, Sr. over Braedon Keith (Hewitt-Trussville) 39-13, Sr. (Dec 13-10).
3rd Place Match
Zachary Nelson (Vestavia Hills) 18-4, Sr. over George Francovitch (Bob Jones) 25-4, So. (Fall 1:06).

7A 182 Pounds:
Championship Match
Brooks Schrimsher (Huntsville) 41-0, Sr. over Zack Noble (Prattville) 40-4, Sr. (Dec 10-5).
3rd Place Match
Seth Bruder (James Clemens) 26-5, Jr. over Rob Barrentine (Vestavia Hills) 36-16, So. (Fall 2:54).

7A 195 Pounds:
Championship Match
D`angelo Dewitt (Hoover) 35-3, Jr. over Jaeger Clark (Huntsville) 55-3, Jr. (Dec 9-4).
3rd Place Match
Manny Allan (Spain Park) 40-3, Sr. over Joshua Little (Sparkman) 47-14, Sr. (Dec 6-5).

7A 220 Pounds:
Championship Match
James Edwards (Vestavia Hills) 41-0, Sr. over Branden Moore (Sparkman) 46-10, Sr. (Dec 8-2).
3rd Place Match
Seth Dupree (Bob Jones) 29-6, Jr. over Jack Smith (Fairhope) 19-3, So. (Fall 4:27).

7A 285 Pounds:
Championship Match
Austin Carter (Hoover) 20-3, Sr. over Jacob Edwards (Vestavia Hills) 39-4, Sr. (Dec 5-2).
3rd Place Match
Zackary Cangelosi (Sparkman) 35-7, Sr. over Drimitri Anderson (Auburn) 33-6, Jr. (Dec 1-0).