Vestavia Hills grabs sectional from Grissom
Sunday, January 23, 2005
RON INGRAM
News staff writer
Grissom High School’s domination of the Class 6A, Section 2 high school wrestling meet finally came to an end Saturday at Hewitt-Trussville High School, but not without a fight.
Vestavia Hills won the section crown with 211.5 points over Grissom’s Tigers, who finished second at 185.5. Clay-Chalkville was third with 143 points, Bob Jones was fourth at 138.5 and Hewitt-Trussville was fifth at 129.
But with just five matches to go, the Rebels led by just five points, 191.5 to 185.5. Grissom wouldn’t win another match, and Vestavia would claim two in the championship flight and one in the consolation finals.
“Grissom has never lost this section, “said Vestavia coach Steven Gaydosh. “We have always wrestled in Section 1, but we were moved to Section 2 last year. We have a young team. This is a big, big victory for us.”
The top four qualifiers advance to the AHSAA state championships at the Pelham Civic Complex next Friday and Saturday.
Senior Jake Seitz (45-2) won the heavyweight championship with a pin over Clay-Chalkville’s Jeff Jones at 3:27 of the final match. The defending state champ touted his own teammates. “We came in and took care of business, “he said. “We had some tough matches, but we got our points.”
The Rebels had three winners in the finals – senior Rocky Alling (45-3) at 112 pounds, junior Ryan Hagan (17-0) at 160 pounds and Seitz, a UAB football commitment.
In the consolation division, senior Nathan Miles (30-21) won at 135 pounds, senior Mitch Alvarez (13-7) pinned Will Sinclair of Bob Jones at 152 pounds and junior Daniel McCarty pinned Alex Wilson of Bob Jones at 171 pounds.
Grissom had three winners in the championship division, Riley Wolfe at 125 pounds, Jonathan Prince at 130 pounds and Prince’s younger brother, Brandon, at 135 pounds. Jonathan Prince, who won all his matches by pins, was named the section tournament MVP.
The best match of the day was pretty obvious. Shades Valley’s Colt Peterson (29-8) slammed favored Hewitt senior Drew Vernon (32-5) to the mat twice in the first period, then had to battle the rest of the way to win 11-10. Peterson had another takedown in the final period to seal the win.
“I drove at him like I drive on the blocking sled, “said Peterson, who also plays football for the Mounties. “I got my arms locked and just picked him up. I was surprised I was able to do it twice.”
Class 6A, Section 2 wrestling tournament Team Scoring Vestavia Hills 211.5; Grissom 185.5; Clay-Chalkville 143; Bob Jones 138.5; Hewitt-Trussville 129; Tuscaloosa Co. 82; Sparkman 69.5; Mountain Brook 53; Shades Valley 40; Minor 35.5; Pell City 24. Championship Matches 103 pounds: Josh Lovelady, Clay-Chalkville (23-5) dec. Chase McClure, Grissom (17-7), 10-2. 112 pounds: Rocky Alling, Vestavia Hills (45-3) dec. Matt McFarling, Clay-Chalkville (34-8), 12-4. 119 pounds: Zac Clark, Bob Jones (42-4) dec. Keaton Thompson, Vestavia Hills (44-5) 4-1. 125 pounds: Riley Wolfe, Grissom (39-4) dec. Sam Farrin, Tuscaloosa Co. (37-6), 4-1. 130 pounds: Jonathan Prince, Grissom (39-3) pinned Anthony Russo, Hewitt-Trussville (23-17) (no time listed). 135 pounds: Brandon Prince, Grissom (29-9) dec. Matt Petkovich, Clay-Chalkville (27-1), 4-1. 140 pounds: Colt Peterson, Shades Valley (29-8) dec. Drew Vernon, Hewitt-Trussville (32-5), 11-10. 145 pounds: Zach Deheve, Bob Jones (34-6) dec. Stephen Brown, Vestavia Hills (27-19), 5-0. 152 pounds: Kody Bergeron, Clay-Chalkville, dec. Billy Staggs, Grissom (30-14), 8-2. 160 pounds: Ryan Hagan, Vestavia Hills (17-0) dec. Jake Elkins, Hewitt-Trussville (26-10), 6-4. 171 pounds: Eric Vincent, Hewitt-Trussville (32-2) dec. Brandon Magill, Grissom (34-9), 9-4. 189 pounds: Quinton Smith, Sparkman (31-5) dec. Ed Clark, Tuscaloosa Co. (37-8), 8-2. 215 pounds: Justin Okpara, Bob Jones (27-12) dec. John Michael Clay, Vestavia Hills (29-13), 8-3. Heavyweight: Jake Seitz, Vestavia Hills (45-2) pinned Jeff Jones, Clay-Chalkville (19-4), 3:27. Consolation Finals 103 pounds: Stirling Archibald, Tuscaloosa Co. (20-1) pinned Aaron Suddeth, Sparkman (19-13), 3:57. 112 pounds: Malcolm Nightingale, Bob Jones (32-12) dec. Trent Williamson, Hewitt-Trussville (24-15), 11-5. 119 pounds: Drew Upchurch, Clay-Chalkville (32-8) pinned Danny Rudolph, Minor (34-10) (no time given). 125 pounds: Brady Miller, Pell City (33-5) dec. Gaines Yielding, Vestavia Hills (20-15), 9-6. 130 pounds: Carter Lorant, Mtn. Brook (8-2) pinned John Appleton, Vestavia Hills (17-17), (no time given). 135 pounds: Nathan Miles, Vestavia Hills (30-21) dec. Robbie Aldridge, Hewitt-Trussville (22-9), 4-3. 140 pounds: Kevin Ogle, Mountain Brook (11-4) dec. William Ansick, Grissom (16-13), 15-5. 145 pounds: Brian Schlessel, Grissom (29-13) dec. Caanan Towns, Shades Valley (16-16), 5-0. 152 pounds: Mitch Alvarez, Vestavia Hills (13-7) pinned Will Sinclair, Bob Jones (25-18), 2:48. 160 pounds: Noel Jordan, Mountain Brook (10-8) pinned Will Caruso, Grissom (8-13), 2:00. 171 pounds: Daniel McCarty, Vestavia Hills (29-21) pinned Alex Wilson, Bob Jones (29-13), 2:11. 189 pounds: Dustin Lauterbacher, Bob Jones (27-15) dec. Sutherland Buford, Grissom (18-16), 3-2. 215 pounds: Alex Holmes, Sparkman (19-13) pinned Will Patterson, Tuscaloosa Co. (27-17), 3:56. Heavyweight: Steven Sullivan, Bob Jones (29-8) dec. Buddy Brown, Grissom (12-11), 4-3. Best match: Colt Peterson, Shades Valley, vs. Drew Vernon, Hewitt-Trussville (140 pound finals). MVP: Jonathan Prince, Grissom.
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