Oxford wins 6A sectional

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: February 13, 2016

Yellow Jackets win South for second year in a row amid controversy, Weaver finishes third; nearly 50 local wrestlers qualify for state

By Jason Katz
For East Alabama Sports Today

MONTGOMERY — In a day filled with excitement and a bit of turmoil, the Oxford Yellow Jackets won the AHSAA Class 6A South Super Section wrestling championship for the second year in a row Saturday, although the matter in which it was achieved was not as conventional as last year’s win.

The Yellow Jackets scored 176.5 points and claimed by title by one point over Homewood, but not before a bout of controversy.

The Jackets were 20 points behind the Patriots as the final matches at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex Center were unfolding when Homewood’s Carlos Jesus Figueroa was ejected after losing his 195 consolation final, forfeiting three team points for flagrant misconduct and in being ejected all the points he accumulated in the tournament.

That moved Oxford one point behind the leaders and when freshman Clay Webb pinned his senior opponent in their heavyweight consolation match it put the Jackets over the top.

“We really were just coming down here to give 100 percent effort and take care of our business,” Oxford coach Matt Tanner said. “We took care of what we needed to and Homewood made a mistake. I tell the kids all the time, we are going to compete with class and take care of our business and tonight it worked out for us.”

As a result of his actions, Figueroa not only didn’t collect a medal, he’s not eligible to compete in next week’s state finals in Huntsville and his school was fined.

The Yellow Jackets were one of two Calhoun County teams that finished in the top three in their respective classifications. Calhoun County champion Weaver finished third in Class 1A-5A, one point behind second place Tallassee. Leeds won the section title.

Oxford fielded wrestlers in all 14 weight classes, but expectations were considered modest as they had only two seeded in the top three and eight seeded eighth or higher. They qualified eight for Huntsville.

“It was a great job by every one of them because every point counted,” Tanner said.

Oxford’s Wesley Slick (120) and Matt King (170) won 6A individual titles. Weaver’s Nick Souder (113), Collin Allison (182) and Chase Rodgers (195); Alexandria’s undefeated Christian Knop (170); and Ohatchee’s Caleb Montgomery (222) won 1A-5A titles.

Oxford’s Quintez Pearson (138) and Weaver’s Tyler Johnson (170) and Caleb Allison (285) were section runnerups.

King, the state champion at 170 last year, was hurt for the majority of this season with bone spurs and only wrestled 11 times; still, he was most valuable wrestler at the Calhoun County Tournament. He was planning to forfeit out with medical clearance to be ready for state, but in the heat of the moment he stuck it out, got the win and was a big influence on his team.

“He has been battling all year with injuries,” Tanner said. “But he is a program guy and has been with me for four years and is really a team player. I’m proud of him and really proud of the team as a whole. We did what it was going to take to win tonight and we did.”

When the tournament was over and the Yellow Jackets raised the hardwood in the air with almost a sense of surprise, Pearson and King relished on their accomplishments.

“Last year was great, but this year with all the excitement coming down to the wire, we really are enjoying this,” King said. “We had some young people this year compared to last year and this was really unexpected. We had a lot of people really step up and win key matches today compared to the past and that really separated us in the end.”

The story of the day for Weaver was the health of its team as it advanced eight wrestlers to Huntsville. The Bearcats had a slow start to the day as they did not have many matches to compete in early, but as the day progressed so did the wrestling.

The nine-time state champions picked up the pace with 42 points in the semi-finals and consolation championship round. As of lunchtime they did not have any points and were shown in last place.

“The performance was great from the kids throughout the weekend,” Bearcats coach Andy Fulmer said. “We won some really close matches and we lost a few, but moving toward the state finals we seem to be much healthier than we were a year ago.”

Key wrestlers for the Bearcats included the once-beaten Souder, who easily defeated his opponent in the first final of the day for Weaver; Collin Allison, who beat the 1 and 3 seeds on the way to his title; and Rodgers. Johnson knocked off an expected finalist on his way to the 170 final.

“There is a lot of grit and determination with this team,” Fulmer said. “Tonight made me really proud of our guys and it really says a lot about how they have bought in to this program.

“All eight guys are in the mix this year and compared to last year where we struggled with injuries to make a good run. This year we have the health on our side and I think we can make a solid effort next week at state.”
Nearly 50 wrestlers from Calhoun and Cleburne counties qualified for the state finals championship in Huntsville next week from sectional meets here and in Birmingham.

Piedmont qualified five wrestlers out of the 1A-5A North Super Section in Birmingham.

Jamie Crutcher finished second after being pinned by Madison County’s Colton Parton in the 220 final. Christian Doss (145), Trey Snyder (160) Jabari Calloway (170) and Javien Woods (285) also qualified for Huntsville.

Of local interest, Snyder will face Cleburne County’s Noah Beam in his first match in Huntsville, Crutcher will face Alexandria’s Daniel Longoria and Woods will draw Weaver’s Caleb Allison.

The complete state finals brackets are expected to be available on www.trackwrestling.com Sunday.

This story will be updated.

SOUTH SUPER SECTIONAL

TEAM SCORES
CLASS 1A-5A

1. Leeds 243.5, 2. Tallassee 191.5, 3. Weaver 190.5, 4. St. James 175.5, 5. Cleburne County 157.5, 6. St. Clair County 155, 7. Moody 147.5, 8. Holtville 141, 9. Alexandria 133.5, 10. Ohatchee 109, 11. Wellborn 84.5, 12. Saks 77, 13. Montgomery Catholic 75, 14. Beauregard 67, 15. Helena 61, 16. Elmore County 57, 17. Ranburne 54, 18. Prattville Christian 46, 19. Dadeville 45, 20. American Christian 42, 21. Shelby County 39, 22. Lincoln 29, 23. Springville 23, 24. Sidney Lanier 22, 25. ASB 19, 26. Beulah 4, 27. Oneonta 3.

CLASS 6A

1. Oxford 176.5, 2. Homewood 175.5, 3. McAdory 160.5, 4. Benjamin Russell 158, 5. Chelsea 143.5, 6. Pelham 132, 7. Wetumpka 129, 8. Stanhope Elmore 123, 9. Park Crossing 90, 10. Spanish Fort 85, 11. Hueytown 65, 12. Daphne 58.5, 13. Opelika 58, 14. Pell City 55, 15. Gulf Shores 53.5, 16. Brookwood 41, 17. Baldwin County 35, 18. Carver Montgomery 19, 19. Russell County 6, 20. Selma 0.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
CLASS 1A-5A SOUTH

106
3rd Place Match: Jackson Elder (American Christian) 33-11, Fr. def. Dylan Turner (Cleburne County) 29-10, So. (Dec 6-4).
5th Place Match: Reed Hill (Ohatchee) 42-15, 8th. pinned Spencer Gordon (Holtville) 34-15, Fr. (3:56).

113
1st Place Match: Nick Souder (Weaver) 61-1, Jr. def. Will Patterson (Moody Hs) 72-7, Jr. (MD 10-2).
3rd Place Match: Lane Trapp (Alexandria) 30-5, Sr. def. Tristan Watson (Holtville) 38-9, Fr. (Dec 7-1).
5th Place Match: Jonovan Miller (Tallassee) 39-8, Fr. pinned Bailey Henry (Ranburne) 29-12, Fr. (5:11).

120
3rd Place Match: Fletcher Swindall (Alexandria) 49-5, Fr. pinned D`shawn Skinner (Moody Hs) 57-14, Jr. (Fall 2:47).
7th Place Match: Brady Rinehard (Walter Wellborn) 28-8, Jr. pinned Austin Turner (Cleburne County) 19-19, Sr. (Fall 4:51).

126
3rd Place Match: Preston Jarrell (Cleburne County) 33-5, So. pinned David Wood (Elmore County) 23-21, Sr. (3:25).
7th Place Match: Sam Sims (Leeds) 9-9, So. def. Jackson Henry (Ohatchee) 26-19, Jr. (Dec 8-2).

132
3rd Place Match: Robert Childress (Beauregard) 50-8, Sr. pinned Aaron Whittaker (Alexandria) 42-9, So. (2:50).
7th Place Match: Spencer Jordan (Ranburne) 28-14, 8th. pinned Tanner Strickland (Saint Clair County) 40-21, So. (4:31).

138
3rd Place Match: Andrew Kilgore (Saks) 36-5, Jr. def. Justin Roblee (Walter Wellborn) 28-11, Jr. (Dec 5-4).
5th Place Match: Drake Monroe (Weaver) 50-22, Fr. pinned Noah Wood (Elmore County) 31-15, Jr. (1:33).

145
3rd Place Match: Logan Burch (Saint Clair County) 23-5, Sr. def. Kyle Clapper (Weaver) 44-11, Jr. (Dec 5-3).
5th Place Match: Jonathan Oliphant (Saks) 26-10, Sr. def. Nick Langston (Tallassee) 16-4, So. (Dec 11-7).
7th Place Match: Cody Gibson (Holtville) 41-13, Jr. def. Justin Conner (Wellborn) 28-10, Sr. (MD 11-1).

152
1st Place Match: Toren Pollard (Leeds) 40-1, Sr. def. Tyler Mayfield (Cleburne County) 10-1, Jr. (Dec 10-3).
5th Place Match: Taylor Brown (Saks) 35-5, Sr. pinned Tyler Palm (Saint Clair County) 53-18, Sr. (1:41).

160
3rd Place Match: William White (Leeds) 50-10, Sr. def. Hayden Pitts (Ohatchee) 33-12, Jr. (Dec 7-2).
5th Place Match: Noah Beam (Cleburne County) 27-13, Sr. pinned Dustin Womack (Saint Clair County) 45-24, Sr. (2:58).

170
1st Place Match: Christian Knop (Alexandria) 52-0, Fr. def. Tyler Johnson (Weaver) 31-16, Sr. (MD 12-4).

182
1st Place Match: Collin Allison (Weaver) 61-4, Sr. pinned Chase Kelly (Moody) 58-16, Jr. (Fall 3:32).
3rd Place Match: Alex Nickell (Leeds) 38-3, Sr. def. Kane Pitts (Wellborn) 25-3, Jr. (Dec 10-3).
5th Place Match: Jeremy Noah (Tallassee) 38-10, Sr. def. Christian Seale (Cleburne County) 18-20, 8th. (Dec 9-5).

195
1st Place Match: Chase Rodgers (Weaver) 60-5, Sr. def. Bryan Tutton (Saint Clair County) 46-10, Sr. (Dec 4-3).
5th Place Match: Andy Baker (Tallassee) 41-5, Fr. def. Austin Snelling (Ohatchee) 16-11, Jr. (Dec 7-0).
7th Place Match: Tryston Gentry (Beauregard) 49-10, Jr. pinned Samuel Day (Cleburne County) 7-11, So. (3:05).

220
1st Place Match: Caleb Montgomery (Ohatchee) 49-5, Jr. def. Tre Nation (Leeds) 40-5, Sr. (Dec 4-2).
5th Place Match: Matthew Elston (Weaver) 30-10, Jr. pinned Travis Bell (Cleburne County) 24-16, Sr. (5:42).
7th Place Match: Daniel Longoria (Alexandria) 23-8, Sr. pinned Hunter Tomblin (Beauregard) 27-16, Jr. (2:17).

285
1st Place Match: Josephus Smith (Leeds) 30-0, Sr. def. Caleb Allison (Weaver) 59-4, Fr. (Dec 3-2).
7th Place Match: Jordan Brooks (Saks) 26-15, So. pinned Chace Nappier (Springville) 12-11, Sr. (1:08).

CLASS 6A SOUTH
(Weights with Calhoun County qualifiers)

106
4th Place – Landon Burrage of Oxford
3rd Place Match: Marshall Stone (Homewood) 32-9, Jr. pinned Landon Burrage (Oxford) 29-17, Fr. (3:38).

113
4th Place – Jakob Chisolm of Oxford
3rd Place Match: Romeo Underwood (McAdory) 41-13, So. def. Jakob Chisolm (Oxford) 11-8, 7th. (Dec 7-6).

120
1st Place – Wesley Slick of Oxford
1st Place Match: Wesley Slick (Oxford) 25-12, Fr. def. Nathan Pender (Pell City) 27-7, Sr. (Dec 5-2).

126
8th Place – Jackson Hurst of Oxford
7th Place Match: Mykel Evans (Hueytown) 17-6, 8th. pinned Jackson Hurst (Oxford) 21-25, So. (1:49).

138
2nd Place – Quintez Pearson of Oxford
1st Place Match: Vershone Graham (Wetumpka) 23-2, Sr. def. Quintez Pearson (Oxford) 41-11, Sr. (MD 10-2).

145
4th Place – Gryce McDaniel of Oxford
3rd Place Match: Tamarcus Tarver (Park Crossing) 17-7, Jr. def. Gryce McDaniel (Oxford) 21-24, So. (Dec 5-2).

170
1st Place – Matt King of Oxford
1st Place Match: Matt King (Oxford) 13-2, So. def. Carlos Daniel Figueroa-Ordono (Homewood) 33-3, Sr. (Dec 10-3).

285
3rd Place – Clay Webb of Oxford
3rd Place Match: Clay Webb (Oxford) 17-3, Fr. pinned Marquise Lavender (Hueytown) 19-5, Sr. (3:55).

CLASS 1A-5A NORTH
(Weights with Calhoun County qualifiers)

145
6th Place – Christian Doss, Piedmont.
5th Place Match: Stephen White (Madison County) 31-18, Fr. pinned Christian Doss (Piedmont) 13-20, So. (2:39).

160
4th Place – Trey Snyder, Piedmont.
3rd Place Match: Seth Shelton (Madison County) 33-8, Jr. pinned Trey Snyder (Piedmont) 21-13, Jr. (3:48).

170
4th Place – Jabari Calloway, Piedmont
3rd Place Match: Samual Bramlett (Madison County) 27-13, Jr. def. Jabari Calloway (Piedmont) 11-9, Sr. (Dec 13-6).

220
2nd Place – Jamie Crutcher,
1st Place Match: Colton Parton (Madison County) 39-1, Sr. pinned Jamie Crutcher (Piedmont) 15-7, Sr. (4:55).

285
7th Place – Javien Woods, Piedmont.
7th Place Match: Javien Woods (Piedmont) 16-9, Jr. pinned Michael Barnes (Mortimer Jordan) 29-19, Fr. (4:54).

NEWS TICKER