County crowns 3 champions
- Updated: February 20, 2016
Alexandria’s Knop (170), Weaver’s Souder (113) and Rodgers (195) win individual titles; Weaver finishes third as a team
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
HUNTSVILLE — Calhoun County wrestlers won three individual state championships, including a repeat and an historic first of his school, Saturday at the AHSAA state championship.
Weaver claimed two titles with Nick Souder (113) and Chase Rodgers (195) and finished third as a team in Class 1A-5A.
Alexandria’s undefeated freshman Christian Knop won the Valley Cubs’ first state wrestling title in a 170-pound battle of unbeatens that was voted best match of 1A-5A.
The once-beaten Souder, who won at 106 last year, pinned Alexandria senior Lane Trapp in 4:34 to win at 113 Saturday. He won the pins award for 1A-5A, with three pins in 7:59.
It was Souder’s 63rd win in a row and 42nd pin. He is 65-1.
“It’s pretty awesome,” the Bearcats’ junior said of going back-to-back. “I just have to come back next year and get a three-peat.”
About two hours later Knop became Alexandria’s first state champion when he defeated Dora’s Caleb Lauderdale 16-10. The two wrestlers were a combined 115-0 entering the finals.
Knop, taken down for only the third time this season early in the match, scored the decisive points in the closing stages of the back-and-forth battle.
“It’s a historic day for me and my teammates,” Knop said. “Now I can go to school Monday happy. I had been telling everyone at school I was going to win the state championship.”
Alexandria coach Frank Hartzog said he wouldn’t be surprised if Knop is back again and undefeated.
And shortly after Knop’s match Rodgers avenged a loss in last year’s state final with a 1-0 win over Tallassee’s Andy Baker in the 195 final. Rodgers didn’t like the feeling of finishing second last year and was determined not to feel that way again.
“Losing is like being buried alive and winning is like skydiving,” Rodgers said. “It’s what drove me.”
Among the area wrestlers who made it to the championship match but lost, Cleburne County’s Tyler Mayfield courageously returned from a knee injury, but fell to Toren Pollard of Leeds in the 152 final, 15-8; Wellborn’s Kane Pitts was pinned by Leeds’ Alex Nickell with 29 seconds left in the second period of the 182 final; and Ohatchee’s Caleb Montgomery lost a 5-1 decision to Madison County’s once-beaten Colton Parton at 220.
The fact Montgomery was not pinned in his match allowed Weaver to edge Madison County by one point for third place.
Vestavia Hills (7A), Arab (6A) and Leeds (1A-5A) won team championships. It was Vestavia’s record-tying 14th championship, Arab’s fourth in a row (and fifth in six years).
Among the individual highlights, Fultondale sophomore Macon Edwards completed a 90-0 season with the 106 title, Montgomery Catholic’s Jeffrey van Alst won his fifth straight state title, and Pelham double-amputee Hasaan Hawthorne completed an undefeated season with a title in the 6A 145 finals.
TEAM SCORES
CLASS 1A-5A
Leeds 170, Tallassee 130, Weaver 105, Madison County 104, Deshler 98, Mortimer Jordan 82, Alexandria 76, J.O. Johnson 70.5, Moody 69, Oak Grove 63, Saint James 57.5, Hayden 54.5, Fultondale 54, Westminster Christian 50, Dora 46, St. Clair County 45, Cleburne County 41, Holtville 38.5, Piedmont 32, Saks 31, Montgomery Catholic 30, Susan Moore 29, Ohatchee 27.5, Beauregard 23, Montevallo 23, New Hope 22, Wellborn 22, ASB 18, Lincoln 16, J.B. Pennington 15, Carver-Birmingham 14, American Christian 12, Corner 9, Helena 9, Columbia 8, Ranburne 6, East Limestone 4, Elmore County 4, Sumiton Christian 4, Ashville 3, Shelby County 3, Prattville Christian 1, Calera 0, Dadeville 0, Springville 0.
CLASS 6A
Arab 197, Southside-Gadsden 148.5, Athens 144.5, Scottsboro 131, Pinson Valley 109, Homewood 107.5, Clay-Chalkville 106.5, Benjamin Russell 90, Gardendale 75.5, Oxford 71.5, Pelham 68, Stanhope Elmore 65.5, Wetumpka 57, McAdory 41, Spanish Fort 38, Chelsea 37.5, Hueytown 34, Fort Payne 29, Minor 28, Muscle Shoals 27.5, Austin 27, Park Crossing 22, Opelika 21, Pell City 20, Decatur 18, Shades Valley 18, Walker 18, Huffman 12, Daphne 8, Hartselle 7, Lee-Huntsville 5, Gulf Shores 4, Brookwood 3, Payl Bryant 1, Baldwin County 0, Carver-Montgomery 0, Center Point 0, Florence 0, Russell County 0.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
106
Championship Match: Macon Edwards (Fultondale) 90-0, So. def. Zach Clayton (Dora) 56-5, So. (Dec 6-3).
3rd Place Match: Jailen Young (J.O. Johnson) 49-9, Jr. def. Zack Haynes (Tallassee) 46-4, 8th. (Dec 7-4).
5th Place Match: Jackson Elder (American Christian) 37-13, Fr. def. Jackson Howard (Saint James) 39-14, Fr. (Dec 11-5).
113
Championship Match: Nick Souder (Weaver) 65-1, Jr. pinned Lane Trapp (Alexandria) 33-6, Sr. (4:34).
3rd Place Match: Will Patterson (Moody) 76-8, Jr. pinned Jonovan Miller (Tallassee) 43-10, Fr. (0:41).
5th Place Match: Tristan Watson (Holtville) 41-11, Fr. def. Seth Ingram (Susan Moore) 32-12, Jr. (Dec 11-7).
120
Championship Match: Timothy Murphree (Fultondale) 67-2, Sr. def. Bryer Stewart (Saint Clair County) 54-5, Sr. (Dec 6-0).
3rd Place Match: Fletcher Swindall (Alexandria) 54-6, Fr. def. Bruin Hathcock (Tallassee) 37-9, 8th. (Dec 7-2).
5th Place Match: Sebastian Berres (J.O. Johnson) 45-16, 8th. pinned D`Shawn Skinner (Moody) 60-17, Jr. (3:49).
126
Championship Match: Michael Land (Moody) 69-9, Jr. pinned Chase Phillips (Hayden) 64-3, Jr. (1:46).
3rd Place Match: Paul Robertson (Susan Moore) 32-5, Sr. won by forfeit over Jordan Price (Tallassee) 42-7, Jr.
5th Place Match: Preston Jarrell (Cleburne County) 37-7, So. won by forfeit over Brantley McHugh (Madison County) 15-5, So.
132
Championship Match: Zachary Van alst (Montgomery Catholic) 53-1, Jr. def. Robert Childress (Beauregard) 53-9, Sr. (TF-1.5 5:00 (17-2)).
3rd Place Match: Zeke Lee (Oak Grove) 62-5, Sr. def. Channing Marmann (Deshler) 31-7, Fr. (MD 9-0).
5th Place Match: Jaquan Rhodes (J.O. Johnson) 47-12, Jr. def. Austin Johnson (Saint James) 36-9, Sr. (Dec 2-1).
138
Championship Match: Braxton Worthington (Mortimer Jordan) 48-1, Sr. def. Chandler Teems (Leeds) 29-7, Jr. (Dec 9-4).
3rd Place Match: Brady Richardson (Holtville) 48-11, So. def. Andrew Kilgore (Saks) 40-7, Jr. (Dec 5-3).
5th Place Match: Brian Smith (New Hope) 14-8, Sr. def. Andrew Campbell (Deshler) 36-16, Sr. (1:53).
145
Championship Match: Tyler Williams (Deshler) 48-2, Sr. def. Carial Tarter (Mortimer Jordan) 26-3, So. (Dec 3-0).
3rd Place Match: Jhovanie Yanez (Montevallo) 49-7, Sr. pinned Geoffrey Murray (Saint James) 40-7, Sr. (4:14).
5th Place Match: Dawson Anderson (Leeds) 53-6, Jr. def. Kyle Clapper (Weaver) 47-14, Jr. (Dec 8-2).
152
Championship Match: Toren Pollard (Leeds) 44-1, Sr. def. Tyler Mayfield (Cleburne County) 13-2, Jr. (Dec 15-8).
3rd Place Match: Austin Foote (Madison County) 37-9, Sr. def. Ryan King (Alabama Sch. For Blind) 46-5, Jr. (Dec 2-1).
5th Place Match: Noah Howse (Hayden) 42-5, Sr. pinned Taylor Brown (Saks) 38-8, Sr. (4:18).
160
Championship Match: Bragan Swindle (Mortimer Jordan) 50-15, Sr. def. Seth Shelton (Madison County) 36-9, Jr. (Dec 8-3).
3rd Place Match: Taylor Shirley (Deshler) 19-3, Sr. pinned Trey Snyder (Piedmont) 24-15, Jr. (4:52).
5th Place Match: William White (Leeds) 54-12, Sr. def. Jacob Humphries (Oak Grove) 59-11, Jr. (Dec 10-7).
170
Championship Match: Christian Knop (Alexandria) 56-0, Fr. def. Caleb Lauderdale (Dora) 60-1, Sr. (Dec 16-10).
3rd Place Match: Shon`derious Spralling (J.O. Johnson) 35-10, Jr. def. Reid Singles (Westminster Christian) 31-15, Sr. (Dec 1-0).
5th Place Match: Tyler Johnson (Weaver) 35-18, Sr. def. Nathan Dunaway (Helena) 20-7, 8th. (SV-1 8-6).
182
Championship Match: Alex Nickell (Leeds) 42-3, Sr. pinned Kane Pitts (Walter Wellborn) 28-4, Jr. (3:31).
3rd Place Match: Ethan Pippin (Westminster Christian) 31-2, So. def. Jeremy Noah (Tallassee) 41-12, Sr. (SV-1 5-1).
5th Place Match: Collin Allison (Weaver) 64-6, Sr. pinned Brenen Gibbs (Madison County) 25-20, Jr. (2:05).
195
Championship Match: Chase Rodgers (Weaver) 64-5, Sr. def. Andy Baker (Tallassee) 44-6, Fr. (Dec 1-0).
3rd Place Match: Jackson Brown (Leeds) 40-13, Jr. pinned Richard Williamson (Saint James) 48-3, Sr. (3:38).
5th Place Match: Bryan Tutton (Saint Clair County) 50-12, Sr. pinned Clint Mcleary (Deshler) 45-9, Sr. (3:46).
220
Championship Match: Colton Parton (Madison County) 43-1, Sr. def. Caleb Montgomery (Ohatchee) 52-6, Jr. (Dec 5-1).
3rd Place Match: Tre Nation (Leeds) 44-6, Sr. pinned Jamisson Crutcher (Piedmont) 18-9, Sr. (2:51).
5th Place Match: De`Audre` McCurry (Carver-Bham) 16-7, Sr. def. Kendall Farr (Westminster Christian) 45-9, Jr. (SV-1 9-7).
285
Championship Match: Jake Baker (Tallassee) 40-3, Jr. def. Josephus Smith (Leeds) 33-1, Sr. (SV-1 3-1).
3rd Place Match: Zach Turner (Oak Grove) 73-4, Sr. pinned Zabian Smith (Lincoln) 40-8, Sr. (3:45).
5th Place Match: Geronimo Galvan (J.B. Pennington) 36-7, So. pinned Spencer Killough (Deshler) 40-13, Sr. (2:29).
CLASS 6A
(Oxford weight classes only)
120
Championship Match: Cameron Hamby (Pinson Valley) 39-7, Jr. def. Seth Hyatt (Arab) 64-6, Jr. (MD 14-5).
3rd Place Match: Coleman Kim (Gardendale) 33-7, So. def. Nathan Pender (Pell City) 31-9, Sr. (SV-1 2-0).
5th Place Match: Wesley Slick (Oxford) 28-14, Fr. def. Colin Edwards (Southside-Gadsden) 30-18, So. (Dec 15-9).
138
Championship Match: Joseph Green (Muscle Shoals) 38-3, Jr. def. Vershone Graham (Wetumpka) 26-3, Sr. (SV-1 7-2).
3rd Place Match: Sam Colvin (Southside-Gadsden) 53-7, Jr. def. Ian Hilyer (Fort Payne) 35-7, Sr. (Dec 7-6).
5th Place Match: Quintez Pearson (Oxford) 45-13, Sr. pinned Clay Jones (Arab) 54-12, So. (3:29).
170
Championship Match: Will Spencer (Arab) 69-3, Jr. def. Thomas Carter (Athens) 54-8, So. (Dec 7-6).
3rd Place Match: Carlos daniel Figueroa-ordono (Homewood) 38-4, Sr. def. Tanner Woodall (Scottsboro) 36-18, Fr. (Dec 6-5).
5th Place Match: Matt King (Oxford) 16-4, So. won by forfeit over Steve Marshall (Park Crossing) 32-8, Jr.
285
Championship Match: Daniel Bland (Benjamin Russell) 50-1, Sr. def. Jacob Andrews (Stanhope Elmore) 26-5, So. (Dec 7-2).
3rd Place Match: Clay Webb (Oxford) 21-4, Fr. pinned Marquise Lavender (Hueytown) 22-7, Sr. (3:52).
5th Place Match: Dakota Birdyshaw (Walker) 44-7, Sr. won by forfeit over Taylor Rhodes (Pinson Valley) 49-5, Jr.
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