Triumphant returns

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: November 29, 2016

Womack, Swindall enjoy winning returns to the Alexandria wrestling team after coming back from injuries

Alexandria’s Fletcher Swindall (dark singlet) holds onto Saks’ Thomas Brown during their 126-pound match Tuesday night. On the cover, Valley Cubs’ senior Gannon Womack makes a move on Lincoln’s Marrequis Arnold. (Photos by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

LINCOLN – Gannon Womack has been waiting for Tuesday night to get here for almost a year.

It was a few days before last Christmas when the Alexandria senior suffered his second hip injury in six months, spoiling his holiday and his season. On Tuesday, it felt like Christmas.

Womack returned to the high school mat for the first time since the injury in Alexandria’s season-opening match and scored two pins as the Valley Cubs defeated Lincoln 48-28 and Saks 48-24. When his moments came, he pinned Lincoln’s Marrequis Arnold in 56 seconds and Saks’ Trenton Brown in 2:48.

“Tonight has meant everything to me,” he said between matches. “Because this is my night to show everybody that I’m back, and I can prove that I’ve worked hard through the summer and through these practices to show everybody what I’ve got this year and what I’ve meant to do.

“I felt like I did pretty good and feel I worked pretty hard for that match. It’s probably an amazing feat for me just being back to wrestle for my team and support my team any way I could.”

Valley Cubs coach Frank Hartzog said it was “nice” to see his 138 return in winning style, but it also “was what I was expecting.” He projects him as a placer in the state tournament this year.

Womack was just coming back from breaking a growth plate in his left hip (running in a local 5K race) when he got hurt again. He had been back only a week (eight matches, six pins) when he was wrestling Saks’ Andrew Kilgore for the 138 championship in the Valley Cub Invitational.

He went to flip Kilgore, but landed on his repaired hip with the full weight of the Saks wrestler on it. The most frustrating part was he was anticipating a big year after finishing 10th in the state as a sophomore the winter before.

“I’ve been overly excited for today,” Womack said. “It’s been amazing to be back, to see everybody, to see how much everybody’s improved and to see my team succeed in what they’ve been working toward this entire year.”

Ironically, he would have wrestled Kilgore in one of his return matches Tuesday. The Saks senior traveled with the Wildcats wrestlers, but he has been out of competition this academic year while bravely recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident last spring.

Fletcher Swindall was another Alexandria wrestler making a triumphant return from injury. The 2016 County Champion at 122 (and third-place finisher at sectionals and state) fractured an elbow wrestling at the Georgia State Games this summer and then broke his wrist during football season.

Wrestling at 126, Swindall pinned Lincoln’s Sean Evans in 44 seconds and Saks’ Thomas Brown in 3:00.

“He’s probably one of the best technical wrestlers I’ve seen,” Hartzog said. “He’s smart, strong and a hard worker; I expected that from him. I hate to say that, especially coming off an injury, but I talked to him during football about how he was feeling and he told me, ‘I’ll be fine.’ So I knew he was going to be all right.”

ALEXANDRIA 48, LINCOLN 28
106 – Jaden New (A) pinned John Kelly; 113 – Austin Creamer (L) won by forfeit; 120 – Kaleb Mathews (A) pinned Lucas Isbell, 0:56; 126 – Fletcher Swindall (A) pinned Sean Evans, 0:44; 132 – Jordan Medders (A) pinned Austin Reason, 0:14; 138 – Gannon Womack (A) pinned Marrequis Arnold, 0:56; 145 – Jordan Nunis (L) won by forfeit; 152 – Aaron Whittaker (A) pinned Katie Threatt, 0:14; 160 – Carter (L) def. Connor Hall, 22-10; 170 – Montrell Johnson (L) pinned Randall Purdy, 1:04; 182 – Christian Knop (A) won by forfeit; 195 – Dalton Sexton (A) won by forfeit; 220 – Rashard Woodgett (L) won by forfeit; 285 – Skylar Payne (A) won by forfeit.

SAKS 48, LINCOLN 42
106 – T. Shropshire (S) pinned John Kelly, 1st period; 113 – Austin Creamer (L) won by forfeit; 120 – Lucas Isbell (L) won by forfeit; 126 – Thomas Brown (S) pinned Sean Evans, 2nd period; 132 – Austin Reason (L) won by forfeit; 138 – Trenton Brown (S) pinned Marrequis Arnold, 2nd period; 145 – Brody Johnson (S) won by forfeit 152 – Katie Threatt (L) won by forfeit; 160 – Carter (L) won by forfeit; 170 – Devionte Garrett (S) pinned Montrell Johnson, 1st period; 182 – Rodney Reddick (S) won by forfeit; 195 – Dawson Wells (S) won by forfeit; 220 – Rashard Widgett (L) won by forfeit; 285 – Jordan Brooks (S) won by forfeit.

ALEXANDRIA 48, SAKS 24
106 – Jaden New (A) pinned T. Shropshire, 0:49; 113 – Double forfeit; 120 – Kaleb Mathews (A) won by forfeit; 126 – Fletcher Swindall (A) pinned Thomas Brown, 3:00; 132 – Jordan Medders (A) won by forfeit; 138 – Gannon Womack (A) pinned Trenton Brown, 2:48; 145 – Brody Johnson (S) won by forfeit; 152 – Aaron Whittaker (A) won by forfeit; 160 – Connor Hall (A) won by forfeit; 170 – Devionte Garrett (S) pinned Randall Purdy, 0:16; 182 – Christian Knop (A) pinned Rodney Reddick, 0:59; 195 – Dawson Wells (S) pinned Dalton Sexton, 3:01; 220 – Double forfeit; 285 – Jordan Brooks (S) pinned Skylar Payne, 0:21.