The Final Four is set for the Class 7A wrestling duals state tournament, and half the field will represent both Class 7A, Region 3 and Shelby County as the Oak Mountain Eagles and Thompson Warriors advanced.
Oak Mountain reached the semifinals with a 43-23 win over the Bob Jones Patriots on Thursday, Jan. 15 at Oak Mountain High School while Thompson cruised to a 48-13 win over the Huntsville Panthers on the road at Huntsville High School.
The pair will advance to the state semifinals on Friday, Jan. 23 at the Birmingham CrossPlex, with the winners to face off for the state title later in the day.
In the Eagles' matchup with Bob Jones, Titus Slaughter got Oak Mountain going in the 108-pound match with a fall just 59 seconds in.
A technical fall gave Bob Jones the 5-4 lead after the 115-pound match, but Griffin Gardner won a 7-4 decision in the 122-pound match to restore the lead. Two takedowns in the third period helped him rally for the win.
Jameson Thomas kept the momentum going with a first-period pin at the 1:04-mark of his 128-pound match with Corbin Rickard. That led to back-to-back wins from the Dennys, first an 18-1 technical fall by Collin Denny in the 134-pound match and then a 15-3 major decision from Trey Denny in the 140-pound match.
James Franklin quickly wrapped up his 146-pound match with a pin at the 1:53 mark. Quinn Ivey's 152-pound match with Kaden Clark was much closer and required a takedown with 24 seconds left to rally for the 6-5 decision.
Brady Coggin wrapped up the seven-match win streak for Oak Mountain with a 10-2 major decision in the 159-pound match. The Patriots broke the momentum with a second-period pin from Jackson Caballero in the 167-pound match.
That was the start of the teams splitting the final six matches. William Hannum walked away with a 14-9 decision in the 177-pound match, and Peyton Gamble survived with a 5-4 lead for the entire third period to win the 217-pound match for the Eagles and finish the 43-23 win.
Thompson didn't trail during its match with Huntsville thanks to three wins to start the day. Bryant Earley won the opening 108-pound match by a first-period pin, Braylen Johnson took his 115-pound match by a 19-4 technical fall at the 1:30-mark and Tristan Nail earned a 16-1 technical fall to end the second period to take the 122-pound match.
Huntsville secured a technical fall in the 128-pound match to get on the board, but Brady Walsh eked out a 12-11 decision in the 134-pound match to put Thompson back on track.
The Panthers then got a 15-9 decision and 20-5 technical fall to win the next two matches. However, the Warriors swept the next six matches. Turner Hutson took his 152-pound match by a 15-0 technical fall after the second period, Austin Owen won the 159-pound match with an 8-4 decision and Brandon Bethea survived to earn a 7-6 decision in the 167-pound match.
Mitch McPhearson kept the momentum going with a fall at the 5:03-mark of the third period of the 177-pound match. Cayden Ervin secured a pin just 1:45 into his 192-pound match, and Wyatt Carroll won the 217-pound match with a pin at the 1:50-mark.
While Huntsville won the heavyweight match to close, the Warriors still emerged victorious in the dual and advanced to the semifinals.
Oak Mountain will face the Smiths Station Panthers in the semifinals while Thompson will battle the Daphne Trojans thanks to cross-bracketing of the Region 3 teams.
Montevallo lost a tight 42-38 dual at Beauregard to bow out in the 5A quarterfinals. The Bulldogs won six of the final eight matches but couldn't overcome their early hole.
