Best of the best
- Updated: February 24, 2019
Knop, New, Chisolm score two wins in Battle of the Best; Chisolm beats national record-setter
By East Alabama Sports Today
ALABASTER – Even when he’s not feeling well Christian Knop shows he’s one of the best of the best.
The Alexandria senior who recently completed an unprecedented fourth straight undefeated state championship season woke up Saturday with flu-like symptoms, but he still had the strength and skill to beat two other state champions and top 20 All-Americans in the Battle of the Best at the old Thompson High School.
Knop beat Homewood’s Carlos Figeuroa in a nine-minute overtime 4-2 and decisioned three-time Scottsboro state champion Kolton Clark 6-3. Clark was rated No. 17 by FloWrestling at 182 and Figueroa was No. 17 at 220.
Knop (N.C. State) and Clark (Virginia Tech) are both headed to wrestle in the Atlantic Coast Conference next year. Before their match, Knop gifted his Virginia Tech warmup jacket to Clark.
Alexandria’s two other state champions, Jaden New and Fletcher Swindall, also wrestled in the event. New went 2-0 and Swindall, the most valuable wrestler in Class 1A-5A, sustained an injury default to three-time Georgia state champion Nick Masters.
Meanwhile, Oxford 145 state champion Jakob Chisolm scored an impressive 13-6 victory over record-setting Steven Bell (McAdory). Bell recorded the winningest season in AHSAA history this year and tied the national record when he completed a title season at 91-0. Chisolm scored a second-period pin in his other match.
The Yellow Jackets also placed three of four wrestlers in the Junior High/9th Grade division.
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