AHSAA duals wrestling: Huntsville earns second straight title
Nothing has been normal for Huntsville High School wrestling this week.
A winter storm dropped ice and snow across the Tennessee Valley, closing school and forcing the Crimson Panthers into virtual training. “We had 50 kids doing push-ups on Zoom,” Huntsville coach Patrick Harris said.
It worked. Huntsville (33-1) repeated as the Class 7A wrestling duals champion, defeating Enterprise 56-16 in the championship match at Bill Harris Arena at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Weaver also beat St. James 42-23 to win the Bearcats first-ever Class 1A/4A duals title.
“This is such a hard-working team, and it’s enjoyable for us, as coaches, to watch,” Huntsville’s Harris said. “That challenge from the weather made today even more enjoyable.”
The 7A and 1A/4A competitions closed out a full day at the CrossPlex. Other champions crowned were Mountain Brook in Class 6A and Scottsboro in 5A.
Huntsville earned five wins by pin, by Cordell Lee (134 pounds), Jay Colbaugh (146 pounds), Yanik Simon (152 pounds), John McKinney (177 pounds) and Griffin McKinney (217 pounds), in the championship round. Once Huntsville built an insurmountable lead, Huntsville’s Zachary Teter (287 pounds), Kiyan Simon (115 pounds) and Wallace Blue (122 pounds) won by forfeit.
CLASS 1A-4A FINALS
WEAVER 42, ST. JAMES 23: Weaver (22-0) won three of the last four matches by pinfall and earned a victory over Saint James. Cael Fuller (108 pounds), Haiden Hise (122 pounds) and Dalton Fink (128 pounds) delivered the crucial pinfall victories. It’s the first duals title for Weaver, which has a starting lineup featuring five eighth graders and two freshmen.
“We’re young, but this is probably the scrappiest team I’ve ever had,” Weaver coach Andy Fulmer said. “They just find a way.”
CLASS 7A CONSOLATION FINALS
HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE 54, SMITHS STATION 18: The Huskies reeled off eight straight wins, starting with Tucker Winn at 140 pounds and ending with Mason Holloway at 217 pounds, en route to the runaway win.
Smiths Station’s Marshel Culbertson (287 pounds) and Timothy Luttrell (134 pounds) won by pinfall.
CLASS 7A SEMIFINALS
HUNTSVILLE 36, HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE 30: Huntsville’s Jake Ciccolella (140 pounds), Jay Colebaugh (146 pounds) and Yanik Simon (152 pounds) recorded three straight pins, and Kiyan Simon’s technical fall win at 115 pounds clinched the victory.
Hewitt trailed most of the match, but pinfall wins by Delvecchio Alston (192 pounds), Zack Chatman (287 pounds) and Gavin Battle (108 pounds) made it close.
ENTERPRISE 38, SMITHS STATION 28: Enterprise won the first eight matches, including six of the eight by decision. Smiths Station rallied with three pinfall wins in the last five matches and got another win by forfeit.
CLASS 1A-4A CONSOLATION FINALS
ST. JOHN PAUL II 41, RANBURNE 40: The Falcons earned pinfall wins in four of the first five matches and then had to rally at the end to earn third place. It all came down to the final match, as Xavier Escorpizo earned a 23-8 technical fall victory over Ranburne’s Johnny Mack English at 128 pounds. To get the team win, Escorpizo needed to win by technical fall or pin to earn the needed points for the Falcons.
Twelve of the 14 matches ended in pinfall, with each team earning six. Ranburne’s Braden Driver defeated Andy Maroyka at 140 pounds by major decision 12-3 to earn four points, and Escorpizo’s technical fall earned five points and the dual-match win.
CLASS 1A-4A SEMIFINALS
WEAVER 66, ST. JOHN PAUL II 16: Weaver (21-0) remained undefeated in dual-match action, as the Bearcats earned 11 pinfall wins, including seven in a row. St. John Paul’s Jack Von Eschenbach (42-1) won his match at 152 pounds by pin, one of the lone highlights for the Falcons.
ST. JAMES 48, RANBURNE 24: St. James (16-3) reeled off six straight wins to start the match. Ranburne was trying to return to the finals after falling to Dora in the 2023 championship match. Emmett Rasmussen (25-4) won by major decision for St. James, winning 13-3 over Connor Champion at 159 pounds.
CLASS 6A FINALS
Mountain Brook High School won the first seven matches in the finals and held on for 39-31 victory over Mortimer Jordan as the championships got underway in Birmingham. Scottsboro also handed Tallassee its first dual loss of the season to Claim the Class 5A duals title – the first duals championship by the Wildcats since winning the 1A/5A title in 2019.
The 6A duals title was the second in a row for the Spartans (12-0) of coach Justin Ransom, who recorded his 171st and 172nd dual match coaching wins at Mountain Brook in the process. Jude Smith opened the championship match with a win over Cage McIsaac at 1:42. By the time Caleb Wright posted a 12-6 victory over Mountain Brook’s Stephen Springfield in the 122-pound bout, the Spartans had built a 33-0 lead, winning two more matches with pins by Sam Carroll (192 pounds) and Carter Colvin (217 pounds).
Mortimer Jordan (13-5) earned a 10-2 major decision win by John Leon at 140 pounds over Christopher Brown and picked up forfeits in the final three matches to close the gap at the end.
CLASS 5A FINALS
SCOTTSBORO 51, TALLASSEE 21: Scottsboro faced unbeaten and defending duals champion Jasper in the semifinals Friday and the Wildcats took on another undefeated team Tallassee in the finals.
Two matches into the championship match, however, the Wildcats had built a 12-0 lead with Ansel Goggans and Colton Durham winning by pins at 167 and 177 pounds, and Scottsboro was on its way to the school’s first duals title since 2019.
Tallassee (31-1) won the third match with a pin by Nolan Addeo at 192 pounds, but Scottsboro’s Cole Snyder won with a pin at 115 pounds, Stone Staton posted a major decision over Aiden Bridgman at 128 pounds and Matthew Dupree won his 134-pound match in 46 seconds to put the match out of reach.
Landon Bell gave the Tigers a big moment at 146 pounds with a pin in just 38 seconds.
CLASS 6A CONSOLATION FINALS
ATHENS 40, PIKE ROAD 37: Trailing 28-22 with five matches remaining, Athens (17-2) managed to win three matches with pins and prevented pins in their two other two matches to edge out a 40-37 win over Pike Road (14-7) in the Class 6A duals consolation finals.
Carter Campbell got the rally going with a pin in just 17 seconds to win the 134-pound match. Pike Road’s Myers Duncan won at 140 pounds over Athens’ Jaxon Unger with a major decision 17-5. The Golden Eagles’ Will Anderson and Austin Campbell then posted wins by fall at 146 and 152 pounds – with Anderson’s victory coming in just 46 seconds. Cody Kirk closed the match a technical fall 17-1 victory at 159 pounds, but Athens was able to hang on for the win.
CLASS 6A SEMIFINALS
MOUNTAIN BROOK 48, PIKE ROAD 34: In the semifinals, Mountain Brook (11-0) downed Pike Road 48-34 with every match wrestled ending in a fall except for one, the 115-pound bout between Patriots wrestler John Duncan and Mountain Brook’s Bobby Rutkoff. Duncan won with an 18-7 major decision.
Spartans heavyweight Daniel Ellis had the quickest pin winning his 287-pound match in just 13 seconds. Christopher Brown also won his 134-pound bout for Mountain Brook needing just 34 seconds to win his match. Mountain Brook, leading 48-16, forfeited its final three matches at 140, 146 and 152 pounds resulting in 18 points for Pike Road (14-6) in the semifinal tally.
MORTIMER JORDAN 44, ATHENS 30: Weston Tossie won his 192-pound bout for Mortimer Jordan with a pin in just 31 seconds. The Blue Devils (13-4) won five matches by falls and led comfortably 44-6 with four matches remaining and forfeited all four for the final score.
CLASS 5A CONSOLATION FINALS
JASPER 39, GULF SHORES 31: The Vikings (28-1) rebounded from their first duals loss of the season in the semifinals with a strong start in the consolation finals with wins in the first four matches.
Luke Horsely opened with a 5-2 decision over Miles Stoufflet of Gulf Shores (26-3) in the 167-pound match. Carter Reed, Tyson Phillips and Cole Carter won with a pin, pin and major decision and Jasper held a 19-0 lead. Back-to-back pins by Gulf Shores’ Sam Schepker and Abel Brantley cut the lead to 19-12, but Jasper won the next two matches to keep the lead the rest of the way. Garrett Caldwell of Jasper finally sealed the win in the final match winning by a technical fall to pick up 5 points. The Vikings led 34-31 heading into that 159-pound final.
CLASS 5A SEMIFINALS
SCOTTSBORO 49, JASPER 20: The Wildcats (12-1) beat the defending duals state champion Vikings (28-1) to advance to the finals. Matthew Dupree won his 128-pound bout with a pin in just 13 seconds. Stone Staton also won his match with a pin in just 25 seconds. Jasper heavyweight Cole Carter won his match with a pin in just 48 seconds to lead the Vikings.
TALLASSEE 36, GULF SHORES 31: The semifinal battle featuring two teams with just one dual match loss this season between them turned out to as close as expected. Tallassee junior Landon Bell (40-0) sealed the win for the Tigers with a 17-1 technical fall victory in the 146-pound match – which was the 13th of 14 matches in the semis. Christian McCary won his 167-pound division match with a pin in just 36 seconds. Leading Gulf Shores’ effort were Landon Everett and Sam Schepker, both winning close matches to keep the Dolphins close. Everett edged Nolan Addeo in a 3-2 decision at 192 pounds, and Schepker posted a 1-0 decision over Braden Arnold at 287 pounds.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
AHSAA 2024 STATE WRESTLING DUALS CHAMPIONSHIPS
CLASS 7A DUALS FINALS
HUNTSVILLE 56, ENTERPRISE 18
134 pounds: Cordell Lee (Huntsville) over Torrian (Enterprise HS) (Fall 1:33)
140 pounds: Grier Hunt (Enterprise HS) over Jake Ciccolella (Huntsville) (Dec 11-5)
146 pounds: Jay Colebaugh (Huntsville) over Konner Galvez (Enterprise HS) (Fall 3:36)
152 pounds: Yanik Simon (Huntsville) over Carmine Hernandez (Enterprise HS) (Fall 0:55)
159 pounds: Lemuel Lynon (Enterprise HS) over Shane Smith (Huntsville) (Dec 5-3)
167 pounds: Brock Fields (Huntsville) over Marcus Holder (Enterprise HS) (TF 19-3)
177 pounds: John McKinney (Huntsville) over Kody Sigmon (Enterprise HS) (Fall 0:40)
192 pounds: Troy McDanels (Huntsville) over Xavier Henderson (Enterprise HS) (Dec 4-1)
217 pounds: Griffin McKinney (Huntsville) over Jace Himes (Enterprise HS) (Fall 1:52)
287 pounds: Zachary Teter (Huntsville) won by forfeit
108 pounds: Karter Stiffler (Enterprise HS) over Lewis Carter (Huntsville) (Fall 0:47)
115 pounds: Kiyan Simon (Huntsville) won by forfeit
122 pounds: Wallace Blue (Huntsville) won by forfeit
128 pounds: Kameron Stiffler (Enterprise HS) won by forfeit
CLASS 6A DUALS FINALS
Mountain Brook 39, Mortimer Jordan 31
167 pounds: Jude Smith, Mtn Brook pinned Cage McIsaac, M. Jordan (Fall, 1:41).
177 pounds: Stuart Andrews, Mtn Brook dec. Cort Bulloch, M. Jordan (8-2).
192 pounds: Sam Carroll, Mtn Brook pinned Weston Tossie, M. Jordan (Fall, 5:01).
217 pounds: Carter Colvin, Mtn Brook pinned Jack Hawkins, M. Jordan (Fall, 4:45).
287 pounds: Daniel Ellis, Mtn Brook dec. Davis Heron, M. Jordan, (6-2).
108 pounds: Wyatt Chavez, Mtn Brook dec. Brooks Morton, M. Jordan (6-2).
115 pounds: Bobby Rutkoff, Mtn Brook dec. Aiden Morris, M. Jordan (5:10, injury default).
122 pounds: Caleb Wright, M. Jordan dec. Stephen Springfield, Mtn Brook (12-6).
128 pounds: Brodie Christmas, M. Jordan pinned Douglas Johnson, Mtn Brook (Fall, 4:26).
134 pounds: Davis Smith, Mtn Brook pinned Brody Helm, M. Jordan (Fall, 3:33).
140 pounds: John Leon, M. Jordan dec. Christopher Brown, M. Brook (Major decision, 10-2).
146 pounds: Kaiden Smith, M. Jordan won by forfeit
152 pounds: Caden Todoroff, M. Jordan won by forfeit
159 pounds: Cruz Rainwater, M. Jordan won by forfeit
CLASS 5A DUALS FINALS
167 pounds: Ansel Goggans, Scottsboro pinned Jacob Patterson, Tallassee (Fall, 1:09).
177 pounds: Colton Durham, Scottsboro pinned Christian McCary, Tallassee (Fall, 5:44).
192 pounds: Nolan Addeo, Tallassee pinned Jacob Anderson, Scottsboro (Fall, 2:11).
217 pounds: Luke Calfee, Scottsboro dec. Jude Rogers, (3-1).
287 pounds: Drake Talley, Scottsboro pinned Braden Arnold, Tallassee (Fall, 0:18).
108 pounds: Thomas Patterson, Tallassee dec. Gage Staton, Scottsboro (major dec. 11-2).
115 pounds: Cole Snyder, Scottsboro pinned Mason Nelson, Tallassee (Fall, 2:11).
122 pounds: Ramon Lozada, Tallassee pinned Jackson Dupree, Scottsboro (Fall, 1:16).
128 pounds: Stone Staton, Scottsboro dec. Aiden Bridgman, Tallassee (major dec. 10-2).
134 pounds: Matthew Dupree, Scottsboro pinned Dylan Price, Tallassee (Fall, 0:46).
140 pounds: John Stewart, Scottsboro dec. Avery Brantley, Tallassee (Tech Fall, 20-5).
146 pounds: Landon Bell, Tallassee pinned Caleb Johnston, Scottsboro (Fall, 0:38).
152 pounds: Josh Draskovic, Scottsboro dec. Ethan Jones, Tallassee (9-2).
159 pounds: Aiden Goggans, Scottsboro pinned Tra’mel McCoy, Tallassee (Fall, 1:26).
CLASS 1A-4A DUALS FINALS
WEAVER 42, ST. JAMES 23
134 pounds: Gabriel Snyder (Weaver) over Luke Robbins (St James) (Dec 6-3)
140 pounds: Dylan Brown (Weaver) over Logan Hartson (St James) (Dec 5-4)
146 pounds: Gianluca Torres (Weaver) over Conner Johnston (St James) (Dec 6-3)
152 pounds: Miles Zukowski (St James) over Dashawn Kirby Barnes (Weaver) (Dec 3-2)
159 pounds: Caden Thornton (Weaver) over Emmett Rasmussen (St James) (Dec 9-2)
167 pounds: Christopher Thornton (Weaver) over Gavyn Capilouto (St James) (Fall 2:23)
177 pounds: Pruitt Conner (St James) over Hunter Hise (Weaver) (TF 15-0)
192 pounds: Brooks Bacheler (St James) over Zachary Hooks (Weaver) (Dec 5-3)
217 pounds: Brandon Jolliff (Weaver) over Cecil Edwards (St James) (Fall 0:54)
287 pounds: Owen Penney (St James) over Caden Green (Weaver) (Fall 1:53)
108 pounds: Cael Fulmer (Weaver) over Easton Turner (St James) (Fall 3:28)
115 pounds: Noah Rains (St James) over Peyton Andrews (Weaver) (Fall 4:40)
122 pounds: Haiden Hise (Weaver) over Andrew Shalayda (St James) (Fall 1:25)
128 pounds: Dalton Fink (Weaver) over Braylen Corley (St James) (Fall 2:49)
AHSAA 2024 STATE WRESTLING DUALS CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Birmingham CrossPlex, Bill Harris Arena, Jan. 19
CLASS 5A
Semifinals
Tallassee (31-0) 36, Gulf Shores (26-2) 31
Scottsboro (11-1) 49, Jasper (27-1) 20
5A Finals
Scottsboro (12-1) 51, Tallassee (31-1) 21
5A Consolation Finals
Jasper (28-1) 39, Gulf Shores (26-3) 31
CLASS 6A
Semifinals
Mountain Brook (1-0) 48, Pike Road (14-6) 34
Mortimer Jordan (13-4) 44, Athens (16-2) 30
6A Finals
Mountain Brook (12-0) 39, Mortimer Jordan (13-5) 31
6A Consolation Finals
Athens (17-2) 40, Pike Road (14-7) 37
CLASS 1A/4A
Semifinals
Saint James (16-3) 48, Ranburne 24
Weaver (21-0) 66, St. John Paul II Catholic 16
1A/4A Finals
Weaver (22-0) 42, Saint James (16-4) 23
1A/4A Consolation Finals
St. John Paul II Catholic 41, Ranburne 40
CLASS 7A
Semifinals
Enterprise 36, Smiths Station (16-12) 28
Huntsville (32-1) 36, Hewitt-Trussville 30
7A Finals
Huntsville (33-1) 56, Enterprise 16
7A Consolation Finals
Hewitt-Trussville 54, Smiths Station 18