A solid second
- Updated: December 10, 2016
Weaver closes strong to finish second in Gene Taylor Memorial Tournament; Tallassee wins team title, Heflin’s Turner voted most valuable, Allison-Brooks match voted tournament’s best
Weaver’s Caleb Allison (L) prepares to dump Saks Jordan Brooks in the move that set up his heavyweight win. On the cover, Cleburne County’s Dylan Turner displays the most valuable wrestler belt. (Above photo by Daniel Lee)
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
WEAVER – When it became mathematically evident the Weaver wrestling team wasn’t going to catch Tallassee to repeat as winners of its own tournament, the next best thing to do was secure some hardware.
The Bearcats won the Gene Taylor Memorial Tournament last year and they wanted to at least bring some a little something for the effort this year.
With a strong close to the championship round, the Bearcats held on to second, scoring 157 behind winner Tallassee (183), but safely ahead of third-place Alexandria (143.5).
They won three weight classes – Nick Souder (126), Kyle Clapper (170) and Caleb Allison (285) – and had a consolation winner (Drake Monroe, 145). No other team had more than two weight-class winners.
“We felt like we had a pretty good chance of winning hardware and we just wanted to make sure that despite not being able to win we just wanted to finish strong,” Weaver coach Andy Fulmer said. “We preached to the kids just finish, win or lose, make sure we finished hard.
“Point-wise we were out of contention to catch Tallassee, but the good thing was we were able to finish pretty solid. Some of the matches we won this weekend weren’t pretty, but they were sufficient. I’m proud of our performance, not content, but proud.”
The Bearcats locked up the runner-up trophy with Clapper’s second-period pin of Tallassee’s Kiwanis Woods in the 170 title match. They put an exclamation point on it with Allison’s overtime decision over Saks’ Jordan Brooks for the 285 title.
“I knew going in it was us and Tallassee towards winning,” Clapper said. “That match I was thinking maybe we could at least stop them from scoring and other guys could come up and score for us, or maybe it would put us over the top.
“I knew they had a good lead on us, but I went in wanting to win for myself and for my team.”
It was the second week in a row Clapper had beaten Woods, but this match was a lot cleaner than when came from behind to score a late pin last week in the Tallassee Duals.
“A wrestled a lot smarter this time,” Clapper said. “Neutral standing he dominated me the last time we wrestled. This time I practiced all week on defense for neutral. I wanted to wrestle him on the mat more than I wanted neutral wise, because I knew I could win there.”
The Allison-Brooks match was moved the best match of the tournament. It was the last match of the day and went to overtime. Allison went ahead with an escape, but Brooks drew even on a stalling point. Allison then lifted and slammed his larger opponent to the mat and hit a late sweep single for the points to win the match.
“It was intense the whole match,” Allison said. “It kind of started slow like all heavyweight matches do, but towards the end anything could have happened. You get caught up in the moment and it just kind of goes like that.”
Cleburne County junior 113 Dylan Turner was voted the tournament’s most valuable wrestler. He went 4-0 with two pins and beat the top two seeds in his bracket in the final two rounds.
Weaver’s Kyle Clapper (L) keeps the pressure on Tallassee’s Kiwanis Woods in their 170 title match. (Photo by Daniel Lee)
GENE TAYLOR MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
At Weaver
Team scores: Tallassee 183, Weaver 157, Alexandria 143.5, Holtville 131, Cleburne County 113.5, Susan Moore 103, Madison County 98, Leeds 97.5, Scottsboro 89, Elmore County 82, Saks 74, Deshler 68, Cedartown (Ga.) 61, Ohatchee 51, Ranburne 44, Prattville Christian 32, Ashville 21, Ala. School f/t Blind 4.
Most Valuable Wrestler: Dylan Turner, Cleburne County (113)
Match of the Tournament: Caleb Allison (Weaver) vs. Jordan Brooks (Saks), 285 Championship.
106 Results
Places: 1. Jaden New, Alexandria; 2. Cody Souder, Weaver; 3. Trinity Robertson, Susan Moore; 4. Quinton Jeter, Tallassee.
Championship Match: Jaden New (Alexandria) 12-0, 7th. pinned Cody Souder (Weaver) 12-3, 8th. (0:00).
Consolation Match: Trinity Robertson (Susan Moore) 9-2, Fr. pinned Quinton Jeter (Tallassee) 10-3, So. (3:43).
113 Results
Places: 1. Dylan Turner, Cleburne County; 2. Will Jefcoat, Leeds 3. Zack Haynes, Tallassee; 4. Bailey Henry, Ranburne.
Championship Match: Dylan Turner (Cleburne County) 11-1, Jr. def. Will Jefcoat (Leeds) 6-1, So. (Dec 9-2).
Consolation Match: Zack Haynes (Tallassee) 12-1, Fr. pinned Bailey Henry (Ranburne) 9-5, So. (1:45).
120 Results
Places: 1. John McAlpin, Scottsboro; 2. Fletcher Swindall, Alexandria; 3. Kage Robertson, Susan Moore; 4. Jonovan Miller, Tallassee.
Championship Match: John McAlpin (Scottsboro) 14-0, Jr. pinned Fletcher Swindall (Alexandria) 11-1, So. (5:56).
Consolation Match: Kage Robertson (Susan Moore) 15-2, Jr. def. Jonovan Miller (Tallassee) 11-3, So. (Dec 4-1).
126 Results
Places: 1. Nick Souder, Weaver; 2. Brantley McHugh, Madison County; 3. River Hughes, Leeds; 4. Trace Wall, Elmore County.
Championship Match: Nick Souder (Weaver) 15-0, Sr. def. Brantley McHugh (Madison County) 11-1, Jr. (MD 10-2).
Consolation Match: River Hughes (Leeds) 4-3, So. def. Trace Wall (Elmore County) 12-2, Sr. (Dec 14-7).
132 Results
Places: 1. Jordan Price, Tallassee; 2. Zeke Smotherman, Madison County; 3. Trent Mitchell, Cedartown; 4. Adam Foote, Madison County.
Championship Match: Jordan Price (Tallassee) 11-1, Sr. def. Zeke Smotherman (Madison County) 8-3, Fr. (Dec 2-0).
Consolation Match: Trent Mitchell (Cedartown) 10-7, Fr. pinned Adam Foote (Madison County) 4-2 (0:43).
138 Results
Places: 1. Zachary Williamson, Cleburne County; 2. Gannon Womack, Alexandria; 3. Tracy Strouse, Elmore County; 4. Corbin Smith, Holtville.
Championship Match: Zachary Williamson (Cleburne County) 12-0, Fr. def. Gannon Womack (Alexandria) 10-2, Sr. (Dec 8-4).
Consolation Match: Tracy Strouse (Elmore County) 11-1, Sr. pinned Corbin Smith (Holtville) 8-2, Jr. (Fall 3:21).
145 Results
Places: 1. Brady Richardson, Holtville; 2. Chandler Teems, Leeds; 3. Drake Monroe, Weaver; 4. Bruin Hathcock, Tallassee.
Championship Match: Brady Richardson (Holtville) 16-0, Jr. def. Chandler Teems (Leeds) 6-1, Sr. (Dec 5-4).
Consolation Match: Drake Monroe (Weaver) 12-4, So. def. Bruin Hathcock (Tallassee) 3-3, Fr. (Dec 13-6).
152 Results
Places: 1. Kolton Clark, Scottsboro; 2. Cody Gibson, Holtville; 3. Aaron Whittaker, Alexandria; 4. Rio Reyes, Tallassee.
Championship Match: Kolton Clark (Scottsboro) 14-0, So. pinned Cody Gibson (Holtville) 14-2, Sr. (1:45).
Consolation Match: Aaron Whittaker (Alexandria) 11-2, Jr. def. Rio Reyes (Tallassee) 9-3, So. (For.).
Saks’ Rodney Reddick (R) throws Elmore County’s Jeb Ballard in their 160 consolation final. (Photo by Daniel Lee)
160 Results
Places: 1. Channing Marmann, Deshler; 2. Peyton Johnson, Holtville; 3. Rodney Reddick, Saks; 4. Jeb Ballard, Elmore County.
Championship Match: Channing Marmann (Deshler) 3-0, So. def. Peyton Johnson (Holtville) 13-2, Sr. (Dec 5-4).
Consolation Match: Rodney Reddick (Saks) 6-3, Sr. pinned Jeb Ballard (Elmore County) 8-5, Sr. (4:03).
170 Results
Places: 1. Kyle Clapper, Weaver; 2. Kiwanis Woods, Tallassee; 3. Damien Ramirez, Scottsboro; 4. Devionte Garrett, Saks.
Championship Match: Kyle Clapper (Weaver) 14-1, Sr. pinned Kiwanis Woods (Tallassee) 7-2, Jr. (2:43).
Consolation Match: Damien Ramirez (Scottsboro) 4-1, def. Devionte Garrett (Saks) 7-2, Sr. (MD 10-1).
182 Results
Places: 1. Chrisitan Knop, Alexandria; 2. Monquavius Ricks, Deshler; 3. Stephen White, Madison County; 4. Julian Calderon, Susan Moore.
Championship Match: Chrisitan Knop (Alexandria) 12-0, So. pinned Monquavius Ricks (Deshler) 3-1, Jr. (2:29).
Consolation Match: Stephen White (Madison County) 8-4, So. pinned Julian Calderon (Susan Moore) 14-5, Jr. (4:16).
195 Results
Places: 1. Andy Baker, Tallassee; 2. Cade Smith, Cleburne County; 3. Slater Fuller, Deshler; 4. Anthony Cervantes, Susan Moore.
Championship Match: Andy Baker (Tallassee) 11-1, So. pinned Cade Smith (Cleburne County) 10-1, So. (4:48).
Consolation Match: Slater Fuller (Deshler) 4-1, Sr. pinned Anthony Cervantes (Susan Moore) 11-4, Fr. (1:00).
220 Results
Places: 1. Caleb Montgomery, Ohatchee; 2. Caleb Russell, Weaver; 3. Ross Thompson, Susan Moore; 4. Levi Ledbetter, Ranburne.
Championship Match: Caleb Montgomery (Ohatchee ) 7-0, Sr. pinned Caleb Russell (Weaver) 12-3, So. (1:32).
Consolation Match: Ross Thompson (Susan Moore) 11-6, Jr. def. Levi Ledbetter (Ranburne) 7-6, So. (Dec 7-2).
285 Results
Places: 1. Caleb Allison, Weaver; 2. Jordan Brooks, Saks; 3. Nathan Smith, Holtville; 4. Michael Guionnaud, Elmore County.
Championship Match: Caleb Allison (Weaver) 5-0, So. def. Jordan Brooks (Saks) 6-1, Jr. (SV-1 3-1).
Consolation Match: Nathan Smith (Holtville) 4-1, Sr. pinned Michael Guionnaud (Elmore County) 11-3, Sr. (4:29).
Nick Souder (L) brought Weaver the first of its three individual titles when he decisioned Brantley McHugh of Madison County in the 126 final. (Photo by Daniel Lee)
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