‘Holy moly,’ Cubs repeat
- Updated: January 2, 2023
Alexandria scores big points in consolation round to win second straight county wrestling crown
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Frank Hartzog’s gaze was focused on the championship mat as the final bouts of the Calhoun County Wrestling Tournament were winding down, but his feet were firmly planted on the mat that just wrapped the consolation bouts.
Hartzog’s Alexandria wrestling team won the county title for the second year in a row Monday at Wellborn and did it with a big haul in the consolation matches.
The Valley Cubs scored 167 points to overtake Oxford and tournament favorite Weaver. They held a 7.5-point lead heading into the championship/consolation finals session but it was still too close to call and then they lost each of the first two championship weights in sudden victory.
They placed six in championship matches and won two weight classes (Preston Jones at 122 and Joseph Lomax at 140). In the consolation finals, they scored two decisions, a forfeit win and two pins in six matches. The back-to-back pins by Aiden Christopher at 184 and Stacy Jenkins at 197 gave them the points that took them over the top.
“That’s where we won it,” Hartzog said, pointing to the consolation mat. “People get their feelings hurt (losing in the semifinals) and they don’t give up and they do it for the team over here. Even though they’re heartbroken, they pour it all out and that’s what gives the team a chance to win nine out of 10 times.
“Last year I thought we had a chance (to win for the first time). This year, the best I thought we could do was runner-up. I don’t mean that negatively; if that’s the best you could do I’d be happy with it.
“It’s not like we didn’t believe we could, but on paper second’s probably a realistic goal. Anything better than that, something went our way and holy moly did it.”
Christopher pinned Pleasant Valley’s Zeke Curvin in 4:00 to give the Valley Cubs a little separation Jenkins pinned Saks’ Tyler Rucker in 3:42 to give them a margin that couldn’t be caught.
It might not have happened if they wallowed in self-pity after having their dreams of winning a county title dashed.
“Coach teaches us values and integrity and stuff like that, so everything we do we do with a purpose and do it as best we can,” Jenkins said. “I knew it was kind of close between all the teams and anything I could do for my team I needed to do. My focus was no matter how bad it looked, even if it was just consolation, always try you best.”
“I didn’t look at the scores for a while, I thought we were like in third, so I just came out there and gave it my all,” Christopher said. “Coach told I had a chance with him, gave me hope to win it, told me not to get pinned if I start getting gassed, so I came out and reversed for the pin.”
Oxford got a last-second escape from Xavier Doremus to win the 222 title and a first-period pin by Caleb Tinner at heavyweight to edge Weaver by 2.5 points for second.
The Yellow Jackets’ 154 champion Garrett Howell was voted Outstanding Wrestler and Ohatchee’s Chris Findley was voted Coach of the Year. Howell went 3-0 with a bye, two pins and a major decision in the finals.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it this year, but I’m glad I got it, though,” Howell said. “I’m going to try to keep wrestling like this the rest of the year, hopefully do something big for Oxford before I graduate.
The championship round got off to an intense start with Ohatchee sophomore Briley Carter (108) and undefeatedWhite Plains sophomore Tanner Jarrell (115) both winning their first county titles with 8-6 decisions in sudden victory.Both scored takedowns in the overtime.
“I could’ve wrestled better, I didn’t wrestle that smart, but I got it done,” Carter said. “You’ve got to be the dominant one. You’ve got to attack first and attack hard. This feels pretty good. To say you’re the best in the county is pretty good.”
“I just pushed through no matter how hard it gets,” Jarrell said. “I’ve got my whole family here. If I didn’t win, I’d be pretty upset. It’s like life or death. I’ve got to beat him.”
NOTES: Jarrell (30-0) wasn’t the only wrestler to remain undefeated in the tournament. Alexandria’s Jones (25-0) and Lomax (3-0) and Weaver’s Joshua Johannson (24-0) also kept their perfect records in tact … The mat used for the championship round was Saks’ new mat, one of four Nebraska used for last year’s Big 10 Championship. Bringing it to town was the brainchild of Saks Booster Club president Phillip Hopkins. The plan was to send it back to replace the N with a Saks S, but after thinking about it, the program thought “it was cool to have a Nebraska Big 10 mat.”
Calhoun County Wrestling Tournament
Team scores: Alexandria 167, Oxford 156.5, Weaver 154, Saks 107, White Plains 94, Piedmont 89, Ohatchee 86, Pleasant Valley 70.5, Wellborn 51.
Championship matches
108: Briley Carter (Ohatchee) dec. Dalton Fink (Weaver), SV-1 8-6
115: Tanner Jarrell (White Plains) dec. Bryson Tatiano (Alexandria), SV-1 8-6
122: Preston Jones (Alexandria) dec. Mason Hahm (White Plains), 8-1
128: Izak Duke (Piedmont) pinned Truth Thurman (Saks), 0:48
134: Baron House (Pleasant Valley) tech fall over Caden Birchfield (Alexandria), 18-1 (3:49)
140: Joseph Lomax (Alexandria) dec. Tristan Williams (Oxford), 8-5
147: Noah Screws (Wellborn) dec. DaShawn Kirby Barnes (Weaver), 2-1
154: Garrett Howell (Oxford) maj. dec. Matthew King (Ohatchee), 11-0
162: Caden Thornton (Weaver) won by forfeit
172: Joshua Johannson (Weaver) pinned Zane Cash (Pleasant Valley), 1:36
184: Anthony Usry (Weaver) dec. Cody Freer (Ohatchee), 9-2
197: Luke Campbell (White Plains) pinned Brody Latham (Oxford), 0:52
222: Xavier Deramus (Oxford) dec. Hayden Ransom (Weaver), 5-4
287: Caleb Tinner (Oxford) pinned Jacob Cromer (Alexandria), 0:59
Consolation finals
108: Tristen Garrett (Saks) maj. dec. Karbies Hubbard (Oxford), 11-3
115: Jerry Lopez (Wellborn) pinned Ethan Horn (Oxford), 1:20
122: Trent Hopkins (Saks) pinned Bryan Nguyen (Oxford), 1:38
128: Jaden Whitaker (Alexandria) won by forfeit
134: Wesley Beebe (White Plains) dec. Omega Smith (Piedmont), 5-4
140: Gianluca Torres (Weaver) pinned Gage Brown (Saks), 4:55
147: Amorea Green (Alexandria) dec. Triumph Thurman (Saks), 8-4
154: John Bussey (Saks) dec. Kaden Deline (Alexandria), 5-4
162: Jeremiah Edwards (Oxford) dec. James Howard (Ohatchee), 12-5
172: Gage Stevens (White Plains) dec. Hayden Ford (Ohatchee), 9-4
184: Aiden Christopher (Alexandria) pinned Zeke Curvin (Pleasant Valley), 4:00
197: Stacy Jenkins (Alexandria) pinned Tyler Rucker (Saks), 3:42
222: ChrisJohn Gurley (Piedmont) pinned Andrew Salter (Wellborn), 0:52
287: Connor Crump (Pleasant Valley) pinned Eric Kirby Barnes (Weaver), 0:55
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