Thompson, Arab and Tallassee Lead After First Day of State Wrestling Competition
Thompson High School made a strong push for a fourth straight Class 6A state championship Friday as the Warriors posted 150 points in the first day’s competition. Vestavia Hills (118.5) is second heading into today’s final day of competition in the AHSAA’s 59th State Wrestling Championships at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center.
Defending 5A state champion Arab, with a 103.5 first-day score, holds a slim lead over Southside-Gadsden (91). In Class 1A-4A, Tallassee totaled 109 points and leads defending champion St. James (71) by 38 points.
The meet, normally a three-day event, is being squeezed into two days due to the inclement weather that forced postponement of Thursday’s competition. All thee classifications completed championship round matches through the semi-finals Friday, finishing at 10 p.m.
“We want to thank our teams, coaches, officials, the City of Huntsville, the Huntsville Sports Commission and their tireless staff of volunteers for their dedication in helping us make these adjustments,” AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said.
“We also want to thank the many fans who attended the wrestling the first day. It was a wonderful day of cooperation from everyone involved. We are looking forward to another outstanding day of wrestling Saturday.”
Among the wrestlers who reached the finals was Scottsboro senior Brandon Womack, who pinned both opponents in 1:25 and 1:27, respectively, to advance to the Class 5A state finals for the sixth straight year. Womack (76-0) will meet Mortimer Jordan’s Devyn McCombs (31-5) in the 160-pound finals.
Womack won state titles at 103 pounds as a seventh grader and eighth grader, captured the 112-pound title as a freshman, won at 126 pounds as a sophomore and at 160 pounds last year. He is the only wrestler in state history to record more than 400 career wins.
Wrestling gets underway today with consolation semi-finals at 9 a.m. Consolation finals will begin at 11 a.m. and championship matches for all divisions are scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
Saturday’s competition will be live-streamed by AHSAA digital partner PlayOn! Sports over the NFHS and AHSAA TV Network with Graham Dunn and Jon Lunceford calling the action. The link and instructions can be found on the AHSAA website, www.ahsaa.com.
Complete first-day results can also be found on the AHSAA website by clicking the “Live Stats” wrestling link.