Bearcats Rumble
- Updated: January 6, 2024
Weaver caps big week with team title, three individual titles in Cleburne County’s annaul Rumble in the Jungle. Cleburne County’s Mayfield most valuable wrestler.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
HEFLIN — There Hunter Hise was, on his upper back and teetering on defeat in the Cleburne County Rumble in the Jungle 177-pound final Saturday.
Hise’s right shoulder pressed the mat, and Ranburne’s Zack Buchanan had an arm wrapped around Hise’s left leg and arm, trying to get that side of Hise’s body down for a pin.
Oh, and Hise trailed 7-1 in the third period.
From that predicament, Hise found a way to pin Buchanan for the last of Weaver’s three individual titles, the topper in a day that saw the Bearcats prevail over second-place Dora 198.5-159.
Cael Fulmer won the 108-pound division, and Haiden Hise was the 122 champion as Weaver won the 14-team annual gem on the area’s high school wrestling slate.
Weaver’s victory came three days after the Bearcats came within three points of unseating now-three-time Calhoun County champions Alexandria. They also won Class 1A-4A Region 6 duals tourney to advance to state.
“It’s been a long week,” Weaver coach Andy Fulmer said. “We can get back to the room and try to fix some things, practice and get where we need to be, weight wise, and make an impression in state duals next week.”
Weaver wasn’t the only big winner from the area Saturday. Weight class winners included Cherokee County’s Kurtis Soles (134) and David Herrick (159) and Oxford’s Caleb Tinner (287).
Cleburne County’s Austen Mayfield won the 146-pound division and came away as most valuable wrestler. He pinned Alabama School for the Blind’s Daymion Winfrey in the final.
“He was tough,” Mayfield said. “He was one of the top-rated 44s, and I just dropped to 44. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I thought it was going to go six minutes, but I saw the opportunity.”
Weaver’s highlights included Cael Fulmer’s run to victory in the 108-pound division.
“I’ve been putting in the work, just trying to grind,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get back on the leader board because I kind of fell off and just trying to help my team out more than myself.”
Weaver had three champions, three runners up, two third-place finishers and a fourth.
The most remarkable finish involved Hunter Hise’s rally from mat to raising his hand within seconds. He and his coach acknowledged “luck.”
“You take anything you can get, especially in a tournament like this,” Andy Fulmer said.
Hunter Hise said he was “just trying to last six minutes in that match.”
How did he get from trailing 7-1 and nearly pinned to winning by pin at 4:44?
“Honestly, my shoulder was up, and he tried to pull me back more to make my shoulder go to the mat,” he said. “That’s when he pinned himself. The ‘banana split’ is really a risky move, because it’s really what the ref sees on that side of the mat. If that guy pins himself, the match is over.
“Sometimes, you get lucky, and tonight was my night to get lucky.”
Rumble updates
TEAM SCORES
–With consolation quarterfinals and championship semifinals underway
Weaver 98, Cleburne County 82, St. John Paul II 75, Oak Grove 68, Oxford 63, Dora 61, Ranburne 56, Piedmont 29, Wellborn 27.5, Pleasant Valley 26, Saks 26, Cherokee County 23, Montevallo 23, Alabama School for the Blind 22.
–Headed into championship finals. Weaver leads and has six in championship finals.
Weaver 158, Dora 118, St. John Paul II 112.5, Cleburne County 102, Ranburne 93, Oak Grove 89, Oxford 77, Cherokee County 61.5, Wellborn 39.5, Pleasant Valley 39, Montevallo 37, Piedmont 35, Alabama School for the Blind 34, Saks 27.
–With championship and consolation final matchups set:
Weaver 175, Dora 137, Cleburne County 125, St. John Paul II 119.5, Oak Grove 106, Ranburne 105, Oxford 101, Cherokee County 61.5, Wellborn 46.5, Alabama School for the Blind 46, Pleasant Valley 46, Piedmont 45, Montevallo 37, Saks 32.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
108: Cael Fulmer (Weaver) def. Jacob Biggers (Cleburne County), TF-1.5 2:58
115: David Hill (Oak Grove) def. Benjamin Santy (St. John Paul II), Fall, 2:15
122: Haiden Hise (Weaver) def. Xavier Escorpizo (St. John Paul II), Fall, 1:36
128: Jayden Rouse (Dora) def. Dalton Fink (Weaver), Fall, 0:28
134: Kurtis Soles (Cherokee County) def. Andy Maroyka (St.John Paul II), MD, 11-0
140: Julian Lowe (St. John Paul II) def. Baron House (Pleasant Valley), TB-1 5-4
146: Austen Mayfield (Cleburne County) def. Daymion Winfrey (ASB), Fall, 1:29
152: Jack Von Eschenbach (St.John Paul II) def. Andrew Young (Cherokee County), MD, 14-3
159: David Herrick (Cherokee County) def. Caden Thornton (Weaver), MD, 10-0
167: Aiden Richarson (Dora) def. Drew Adams (Montevallo), Dec., 9-4
177: Hunter Hise (Weaver) def. Zack Buchanan (Ranburne), Fall, 4:44
192: Cameron Richardson (Dora) def. Olen Bryant (Oak Grove), MD, 11-3
217: Korion Pryor (Dora) def. Brandon Jolliff (Weaver), Dec., 6-4
287: Caleb Tinner (Oxford) def. Zaden Benefield (Ranburne), Fall, 0:35
FINAL TEAM SCORES
Weaver 198.5, Dora 159, Cleburne County 134, St. John Paul II 133.5, Oxford 121, Oak Grove 115, Ranburne 108, Cherokee County 71.5, Wellborn 51.5, Alabama School for the Blind 50, Pleasant Valley 45, Piedmont 45, Montevallo 37, Saks 35.
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