HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Thompson (Alabaster),
Arab and
St. Clair County (Odenville) high schools accomplished a feat last weekend that neither had ever accomplished before. All three won their first Alabama High School Athletic Association state wrestling championships.
Thompson posted 154 points in the team competition to edge defending Class 6A state champion Hoover in the Class 6A competition. The Bucs managed 144 points to finish second. Arab edged past Tallassee 137.5 to 125.5 to win the 5A state championship, and St. Clair County won its first 1A-4A state title with 110 points. Runner-up Dora had 97.5.
Freshman Brandon Womack of
Scottsboro set a state record for wins in a season with his second straight unbeaten campaign. Womack won the 112-pound state title with a pin over Pinson Valley's Morgan Franks to finish 74-0 on the year. The 74 wins is a new AHSAA state single-season record.
Womack also earned MVP honors for the second straight year, won the state title for a third straight year and moved to second all time with the 144th consecutive win of his career. His last loss came in the regular season in 2009 when he was just a seventh grader. His pin of Tallassee's Josh Epperson on Friday surpassed the previous record of 72 wins, which was set by Clay-Chalkville's Ashton Jones, who was 72-7 in 2009. The 144 match wins in a row moves Womack to second all-time behind Mike Sutton of Weaver, who won 201 in a row from 1999-2004. Steve Mordecai of Gardendale was second on the list with 141 – set over a four-year period from 1975-78.
Womack finished 61-0 last season as an eighth grader, earning MVP honors as he won his second straight state championship. He was 51-5 as a seventh grader and won his first state title by winning the last nine matches of the 2009 season at 103 pounds.
CLASS 6AThompson, coached by Shawn Weltzin, began its current wrestling program four years ago. The long road to the top meant moving past kingpins Hoover, Vestavia Hills and Grissom. It culminated in the state finals when J.A. Jones won by pin in the 145-pound finals. He nailed Vestavia Hills' Jimmy Whitt at 2:42 in the championship match to close out his season at 67-5. The pin also put Hoover's hopes of winning a second straight crown to rest. The Warriors' best previous performance was fourth in 2010.
Only two wrestlers reached the finals, but Jones' win by pin was all his team needed to seal the win. Thompson opened the finals holding an eight-point margin over Hoover.
Several wrestlers finished unbeaten in the 2011 competition.
In Class 6A, Michael Jordan of
Auburn (43-0) decisioned Thompson's other finalist, Reed Jacks (50-6), 3-2 in the 119-pound finals to win his second championship in a row. Ben Smith of
Buckhorn (New Market) (68-0) closed the 125-pound championship match with a pin at 3:42 over Josh Brown of Vestavia Hills. Eric Lee of
Oxford (65-0) edged Taylor Garlington of Hoover (45-7) in a tough match, 1-0.
Jordan Simpson of Oxford also finished at 68-1 at 130 pounds and won his second straight title with a 4-1 decision over Greg Atalona, Huntsville (36-6).
Most outstanding wrestler honors went to
Mountain Brook (Birmingham) 152-pound state champion William Byrd. He finished the season 57-2 and beat Hoover's Rush Hall 9-3 in the finals.
CLASS 5AArab's Knights won the Class 5A state title thanks in part to the performances of Blake Suttles at 171 and Cary Pierce at 215. Both won state titles with Suttles (39-3) edging Chase Matthews of Southside 3-2 in the finals. Pierce (51-5) won the 215-pound title over Southside's Davis Sims 6-4 in overtime. Chase Currier was state runner-up at 119 pounds and Levi Harper was runner-up at 285 pounds.
Brandon Brindley of
Jordan (Morris) (51-0) defeated Zac West of Southside-Gadsden (40-10), 10-5, to end his season unbeaten at 140 pounds.
CLASS 1A-4A St. Clair County won its first state championship with 110 points. Runner-up Dora had 97.5 and Oak Grove was third with 86.5.
The Saints had two individual state champions, Chris Miller (40-4) at 125 pounds and Jerome Jefferson (25-2) at 285 pounds. Dillan Campbell of
Oak Grove (Bessemer) won his second straight state title and had three pins along the way to earn the 215-pound state title and 1A-4A MVP honors.
Clay Dent of
Piedmont finished 41-0 to win his second straight championship with a pin over Oak Grove's David Harmon in the 171-pound finals.
AHSAA STATE WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPFINAL STANDINGSCLASS 6AThompson, 154.0; Hoover, 144.0; Grissom, 127.5; Vestavia Hills, 103.0; Bob Jones, 100.0; Lee-Montgomery, 94.5; Oxford, 84.5; Pell City, 78.5; Opelika, 70.0; Hewitt-Trussville, 63.0; Oak Mountain, 62.0; Central-Phenix City, 55.0; Tuscaloosa County, 54.5; Clay-Chalkville, 54.0; Buckhorn, 52.5; Benjamin Russell, 49.0; Auburn, 46.0; Mountain Brook, 44.5; Smiths Station, 44.0; Spain Park, 38.0; Prattville, 29.0; Huntsville, 28.0; Gardendale, 15.0; Pelham, 7.0; Wetumpka, 6.5; Homewood, 4.0; Carver-Montgomery, 3.0.
CLASS 5AArab, 137.5; Tallassee, 125.5; Southside-Gadsden, 110.0; Scottsboro, 101.0; Fort Payne, 100.0; Brookwood, 72.5; Mortimer Jordan, 64.0; Pinson Valley, 38.0; Chilton County, 32.0; McAdory, 24.0; Erwin, 23.0; Hayden, 21.0; Muscle Shoals, 16.0; Athens, 13.0; Moody, 5.0; Madison County, 4.0; Hueytown, 1.0.
CLASS 1A-4ASt. Clair County, 110.0, Dora, 97.5; Oak Grove, 86.5; St, James, 74.0; Susan Moore, 66.0; Piedmont, 63.0; Holtville, 54.0; Fultondale, 50.0; Leeds, 49.5; Deshler, 48.5; Weaver, 46.0; Catholic, 16.0; Saks, 15.0; Lincoln, 13.0; Ashville, 9.0; Cleburne County, 9.0; Corner, 3.0; Ranburne, 3.0; Springville, 3.0; Calera, 2.0; Elmore County, 2.0.
Individual State ChampionsClass 6A Finals103 pounds: Brian White, Opelika (43-1) dec. Jake Smith, Pell City (48-1), 2-1 (2 OT)
112 pounds: Jesse Smith, Pell City (39-4) dec. Alec Cohen, Grissom ((56-5), 8-2
119 pounds: Michael Jordan, Auburn (43-0) dec. Reed Jacks, Thompson (50-6), 3-2
125 pounds: Ben Smith, Buckhorn (58-0) pinned Josh Brown, Vestavia Hills (30-17), 3:42
130 pounds: Jordan Simpson, Oxford (68-1) dec. Greg Atalona, Huntsville (36-6), 4-1
135 pounds: Eric Lee, Oxford (65-0) dec. Taylor Garlington, Hoover (45-7), 1-0
140 pounds: Zach Smith, Pell City (48-5) dec. Jackson Poe, Hoover (46-2), 3-2
145 pounds: J.A. Jones, Thompson (67-5) pinned Jimmy Whitt, Vestavia Hills (20-6), 2:42
152 pounds: William Byrd, Mountain Brook (57-2) dec. Rush Hall, Hoover (43-4), 9-3
160 pounds: Harrison Hill, Vestavia Hills (41-5) dec. Marcus Elkins, Hewitt-Trussville (45-8), 6-4
171 pounds: Carl Brown, Hoover (46-1) dec. Ryan Clark, Bob Jones (31-7), 5-4
189 pounds: Terrence Smith, Lee-Montgomery (42-1) dec. Justin Woodall, Oak Mountain (71-3), 6-5
215 pounds: Brian Walker, Grissom (64-3) dec. Luke Wilson, Central-Phenix City (52-3), 2-1
285 pounds: Tyler Ratliff, Bob Jones (50-6) dec. Adam Wright, Clay-Chalkville (48-1), 2-1
Class 5A Finals103 pounds: Chris Jones, Erwin (40-5) pinned Lane Morrow, Arab (55-8), 2:23
112 pounds: Brandon Womack, Scottsboro (74-0) pinned Morgan Franks, Pinson Valley (38-5), 1:40
119 pounds: Haden Ryals, Southside-Gadsden (30-8) dec. Will Stephenson, Arab (51-9), 4-2 in OT
125 pounds: Craig Malone, Scottsboro (52-10) pinned Layton Barker, Fort Payne (38-7), 5:38
130 pounds: Seth Perman, Southside-Gadsden (44-4) maj. dec. Trey Howse, Hayden (39-6), 16-5
135 pounds: Ethyn Holbrook, Fort Payne (40-2) dec. Craton Bush, McAdory (35-8), 5-0
140 pounds: Brandon Brindley, Mortimer Jordan (51-0) dec. Zac West, Southside-Gadsden (40-10), 10-5
145 pounds: Chris Allen, Brookwood (69-3) dec. Josh Highland, Tallassee (37-5), 7-3
152 pounds: Nick Boyett, Scottsboro (62-17) dec. Chase Currier, Arab (47-14), 4-0
160 pounds: Chris Adams, Tallassee (52-2) dec. Colby Bernier, Chilton County (22-6), 12-8
171 pounds: Blake Suttles, Arab (39-3) dec. Chase Mathews, Southside-Gadsden (37-12), 3-2
189 pounds: Alex Whigham, Scottsboro (59-7) dec. Dylan Jackson, Chilton County (40-6), 3-2
215 pounds: Cary Pierce, Arab (51-5) dec. Davis Sims, Southside-Gadsden (39-12), 6-4 in OT
285 pounds: T.C. Robinson, Tallassee (30-2) dec. Levi Harper, Arab (50-8), 5-0
Class 1A-4A Finals103 pounds: Alex Nickell, Leeds (42-8) dec. Christian Cortez, Weaver (45-13), 4-2
112 pounds: Stephen Kwan, St. James (40-5) dec. Steven Lindsey, St. Clair Clounty (35-8), 13-8
119 pounds: Blake Boshell, Dora (59-5) dec. Ty Barnett, American Christian (21-2), 3-2
125 pounds: Chris Miller, St. Clair County (40-4) pinned Matthew Smith, Walter Wellborn (44-6), 5:57
130 pounds: Matt Kwan, St. James (34-2) dec. Juakeem Fuqua, Deshler (28-6), 7-5
135 pounds: Mason Ellis, Dora (56-9) dec. Zach Cummings, Fultondale (54-13), 3-2
140 pounds: Dalton Sanders, Dora (56-8) dec. Jonathan Boston, Holt (27-5), 10-4
145 pounds: Dalton Carroll, Walter Wellborn (45-0) maj. dec. Chandler Sartain, Deshler (27-5), 12-0
152 pounds: Brian Shockley, Leeds (50-6) dec. Hunter Edwards, Dora (38-15), 7-0
160 pounds: Robbie Cannon, Oak Grove (37-14) dc. Trey Carey, Dora (58-8), 6-4 in OT
171 pounds: Clay Dent, Piedmont (41-0) pinned David Harmon, Oak Grove (49-7), 3:20
189 pounds: Cody Self, Susan Moore (30-3) pinned Jeffrey Ingram, Fultondale (68-6), 1:32
215 pounds: Dillan Campbell, Oak Grove (52-4) pinned Stephen Abel, Deshler (28-12),2:47
285 pounds: Jerome Jefferson, St. Clair County (25-2) dec. Antonio Weaver, Ala. School/ Blind (45-4) , 5-4
