Oak Mountain, Spain Park win individual state titles with 7A wrestlers
Published on Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 9:45 p.m.
Andrew Simonson Sports Editor
Huntsville – After two dominant seasons, Bradley Williams and Kyle Oliveira finished their undefeated season with the top prize in Alabama high school wrestling.
Williams won the Class 7A 144-pound state championship and finished the season with a record of 54-0, while Oliveira won the 215-pound state championship with a record of 53-0.
Oak Mountain’s Jameson Thomas joins as the Class 7A state champion, along with other wrestlers from Spain Park, Oak Mountain and Chelsea, on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. He had a strong performance at the Class 7A wrestling state championships.
Williams went 3-0 that week and won the Class 7A 144-pound state championship.
After securing a first-round bye with his win at the Southern Regional Championship, he quickly finished off Foley’s Cole Reed with a pin 32 seconds into the quarterfinal match.
Williams advanced to the final despite Huntsville’s Jay Colebaugh being injured 3:01 into their semifinal matchup.
He then defeated Opelika’s DeNervious Anderson in the first place match, earning his 100th career pin and the state championship.
Oliveira topped the Class 7A 215-pound division at the state championships with a 4-0 record, capping off an undefeated streak.
He got off to a strong start with a 9-0 major decision win over Oak Mountain’s Peyton Gamble, and then pinned Enterprise’s Jace Himes at the 2:35 mark in the quarterfinals.
He then achieved a shutout victory in the semifinals against Bob Jones’ Gideon Rohr, earning a 6-0 decision victory and advancing to the finals.
He then defeated Tuscaloosa County’s Blake Christian with a 7-2 decision to win the state title and his 53rd win of the season.
Oak Mountain’s Jameson Thomas also captured the state championship with a title in the Class 7A 106-pound division.
After advancing to the quarterfinals with a first-round bye, the Southern Regional champion started the week with a 7-3 decision win over Thompson’s Braylen Johnson.
He then faced Enterprise’s Carter Stifler in the semifinals, defeating him by a 7-4 decision.
He overcame the challenge in the semi-finals and performed well in the first place match. Thomas held Vestavia Hills’ Matthew Campbell scoreless in the championship match, earning a 6-0 decision victory and the state title.
Thomas finished the season at the top of the 106-pound weight class with a 39-3 record.
Three of his Eagles teammates finished in the top five, with Coleman Sovin, Griffin Gardner and Trey Denney each also performing well in Huntsville.
Sovine overcame a loss in the quarterfinals to take fourth place in the 157-pound weight class. He secured a top-four finish with three straight wins in the repechage bracket.
He defeated Central Phenix City’s Caleb Mitchell by pin at the 2:56 mark in the first repechage match, followed by a 10-1 major decision win over Tuscaloosa County’s Eilen McCoy, defeating Daphne’s He pinned Owen and advanced to the third place match. Eiland at 4 minutes 44 seconds.
Gardner won four matches throughout the week and placed fifth in the 120 pound division.
He won by decision in the first round, but was nailed in the third period of the quarterfinals.
From there, he earned his second major decision win of the week in the first repechage, this time an 8-0 decision over Charles Noto of Vestavia Hills, 2-1.
Although he lost by a 9-3 decision in the repechage semifinal, he came back and defeated Smith Station’s Sam Mock by a 6-4 decision to take 5th place.
Denny also placed fifth in the 113-pound division at Oak Mountain.
After receiving a bye in the first round, he started the week with a 5-3 decision over Will Atkinson of Thompson in the quarterfinals.
Although he lost in the semifinals by technical fall and in the repechage semifinals in a close tiebreaker, he overtook Tuscaloosa County’s Dalton Todd 3 minutes and 39 seconds into the match to take fifth place.
Chelsea finished in the top six three times, with Adam Cornwell taking third in the 157-pound weight class.
He lost his first match of the week in the quarter-finals to Daphne’s Owen Eiland, but bounced back from there and won his next four matches to secure third place.
In his first match in the repechage bracket, he first defeated Foley’s Isiah Pierce by pin at the 2:22 mark, followed by a first-period pin against Huntsville’s Noah Gross.
Cornwell advanced to the third-place match with a 13-0 major decision over Jacob Triplett of Hewitt-Trussville, and defeated Sovine with a 4-3 decision to take third place, finishing the year with a record of 29-10. finished.
Porter Schott won three matches in the 190-pound division and placed fifth in Class 7A.
He bounced back from a loss in the first match of the quarterfinals and won the next two matches. He pinned Huntsville’s Porter Shot in 1 minute 37 seconds in his first repechage match and defeated Smith Station’s Amari Allen by a 7-3 decision.
Although Schott lost in the repechage semifinals, he recovered well after that and faced Daphne’s Colton Reiner in the fifth place match, winning by a 14-2 major decision. He finished the season with 35 wins and 8 losses.
Keith defeated Max Bell of James Clemens by a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals to take sixth place in the 138-pound division. He finished the year with a record of 22 wins and 5 losses.