Spain Park, Thompson and Oak Mountain wrestlers win sectional titles and qualify for state.
Published on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 10:28 AM
Andrew Simonson Sports Editor
Birmingham – Wrestlers from Spain Park, Thompson, Oak Mountain and Chelsea are eager to take on the challenge for a spot in the state championships, which will be held Feb. 10-11 at Bill Harris Arena. Punched a ticket to Huntsville for the district championship.
Thompson also performed well in the team standings, taking second place and solidifying his status as one of the contenders for the Class 7A team championship.
Spain Park’s Bradley Williams and Kyle Oliveira will go into the state championship undefeated after winning their respective divisions at sectionals.
Williams finished each match before the 90-second mark and earned four first-period pins and is now 51-0. In the finals, he defeated Jack Shaver of Bob Jones by pin in 26 seconds to win the section.
Oliveira secured three pins to improve to 49-0 and win the 215-pound division championship. After earning a first-round bye, he defeated Oak Mountain’s Cole Gamble in the first period to advance to the state tournament.
He then tenaciously held off Huntsville’s Griffin McKinney at the 5:06 mark and defeated Bob Jones’ Gideon Rohr at 1:36 to advance to the championship match.
Both Jags faced London Ford in Huntsville, defeating Hoover’s Bryce Mentzer and Grissom’s Jackson Lambert in the first period to advance to the semifinals and qualify for the 106-pound state championship.
In the same 106-pound division, Oak Mountain’s Jameson Thomas won the division.
Thomas won his first two matches by first-period pins to qualify for the state championship, then won a 3-0 decision in the semifinals and a 4-0 decision over Gavin Bittle of Hewitt-Trussville in the championship. , currently has 36 wins and 3 losses. Match.
Four members of the Thompson Warriors won their divisions, including Jordan Weltzin, Kiowa Vines, Paxton Miller and Avery Clark.
Weltzin earned two decisions in the first two rounds and qualified for the 132-pound state championship. He then reached the sectional win with a pin in 3:31 over Colin Finley of Vestavia Hills and defeated Ethan Johnson of James Clemens in the final with a 4-0 decision.
Vines will compete for the 138-pound state championship after getting pins in his first two matches, both with 2 minutes and 30 seconds to go. In the semifinals, he defeated Chelsea’s Landon Keith by pin at the 2:19 mark and defeated Huntsville’s Jake Cicorella by an 8-4 decision to win the division title.
Miller scored a pin at the 132-pound mark in his quarterfinal match, earning him a spot in the 157-pound state championship. He then won two major decisions, including a 15-7 decision over Hewitt-Trussville’s Jacob Triplett in the final, to take the sectional championship.
Clark won three straight to improve to 53-6 and reach the 190-pound state championship spot. He earned a spot in his quarterfinal match with a pin at the 3:47 mark.
In the semifinals, he advanced to the final with a pin in 1 minute 43 seconds and defeated Hewitt-Trussville’s DelVecchio Alston with a 4-0 decision to win the title.
There are seven state champions: Braylen Johnson at 106 pounds, Will Atkinson at 113 pounds, Henry Bettke at 144 pounds, Nick Dempsey at 150 pounds, Jayden Moore at 165 pounds, and Wyatt Massey at 175 pounds. Teammates will be added. 285-pounder Marley Kolewinski.
Dempsey secured two pins in the first period to take second place and advance to the finals. Cholewinski finished in third place with four wins in the repechage bracket.
In addition to Thomas, Oak Mountain also has 113-pounder Trey Denney, 120-pounder Griffin Gardner, 126-pounder Quinn Ivey, 150-pounder Jesse Palmer, 157-pounder Coleman Sobin, 215-pounder Gunner Peyton Gamble will be sent to state.
Chelsea had three third-place finishes and sent three wrestlers to state. Landon Keith will qualify in the 138-pound weight class, Adam Cornwell will reach Huntsville in the 157-pound weight class and Porter Schott will compete for a state title in the 190-pound weight class.