Oak Mountain, Spain Park and Pelham combined to qualify 31 wrestlers in last weekend&8217;s 6A sectionals for Friday and Saturday&8217;s state wrestling meet at the Pelham Civic Complex and will fight to bring home titles this weekend.

The Eagles lead the way with 11 wrestlers, the sixth highest amount from a school in the state, while both Spain Park and Pelham will bring 10 competitors to the mats this weekend. All three programs combined for 17 qualifiers last February.

&8220;We didn&8217;t return anybody that qualified for state last year, so our main goal this year was to qualify,&8221; said first-year Jaguars coach Cody Merrill.

&8220;I can&8217;t be more pleased with our effort and intensity through the whole weekend at sectionals. This is the most we&8217;ve ever sent to state.&8221;

&8220;We didn&8217;t have a real solid finish last year, because I had so much youth there. I&8217;d like to think that with the numbers that we have, and if they get better this week like last week, we have a chance at a Top 5 finish,&8221; said Pelham head coach Bob Parker.

Parker returns only three state qualifiers from last year&8217;s team with Tyler Anchor in the 112-pound division, Lee Hallman in the 125-pound division and Jeff Malone in the 189-pound division.

&8220;I&8217;m not sure, because of our youth, that we have a chance to make a run at being the champion. However, I do think we have a chance to make a statement at who the champion is, if it&8217;s not us, Parker said.&8221;

The same could be said for Spain Park and Oak Mountain, as all three have at least one wrestler they hope will be a contender, if not for the title, at changing the momentum of the meet.

Malone, the only Panther to advance past the first round in 2006, is in position to make a run for the 189-pound title after posting a 39-4 record on the season.

His four loses on the season came to J.P. Creekmore of Bob Jones, Chris Corley of Vestavia and twice to Hewitt-Trussville&8217;s Jake Elkins (39-2). All three are in the lower half of the bracket, setting up a possible rematch for Malone in the championship.

&8220;We&8217;ve wrestled everybody else there. For us to beat Elkins we&8217;ve got to wrestle real solid and hope he makes a mistake against us. He&8217;s due to make a mistake against us. He owes us one,&8221; said Parker.

Elkins finished runner-up in 2006 to Hoover&8217;s Dustin Arnold.

Parker hopes Malone will be the wrestler to end Pelham&8217;s two-year state champion drought.

&8220;He&8217;s definitely gotchance. but I tell you, you can&8217;t count Alek Miller out with the way he wrestled this past weekend,&8221; said Parker.

Miller (21-16) crept past his competition in Section 2 at Hoover on Saturday to upset the Bucs&8217; Tyler Luker in the 152-pound division.

&8220;He accepted the challenge of don&8217;t be satisfied and just went out and beat the boy,&8221; said Parker.

Miller will face Corey Jones of Robert E. Lee (Montgomery) in the first round.

Spain Park hopes that Taylor Bell will continue his tough attitude and make a run in the 119-pound division.

&8220;He&8217;s probably the biggest surprise,&8221; said Merrill. &8220;He&8217;s a real undersized 119-pound. Saturday, he was getting beat 17-7 with a minute to go in the match and turned over his opponent and pinned him for the win. It&8217;s a perfect example of our whole team, because all year long we&8217;ve been young, undersized and inexperienced, but we&8217;ve fought.&8221;

While Bell will look to slip past Prattville&8217;s Patrick Connors in round one, the favorite in the 119-pound division is the 2006 defending champion for the 112-pound division, Steve West of Oak Mountain.

West bolsters a 42-1 record on the year for the Eagles and joins D.J. Looney as Oak Mountain&8217;s favorites to help challenge the defending Hoover Bucs for the overall state title.

&8220;I think the only guy D.J. hasn&8217;t beat this year is Ryan Pugh, who he hasn&8217;t met&8221; said Oak Mountain head coach Steve Burough hinting at Lonney&8217;s dominance on the year.

Looney and Pugh matched up in the consolation second round last season with Looney defeating Pugh, who at the time wrestled for Spain Park. With both appearing in opposite sides of the bracket, they will have to meet for the title should they make it into the finals.

Looney and the Jaguar&8217;s Eric Jones are in position to meet in the quarterfinals.

The state meet begins Friday, Feb. 2 with weigh-ins at 7:30 a.m., followed by the Class 6A round of 16, championship quarterfinals for all classifications and first 6A consolation round. Session two will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday with the championship semifinals, followed by the second 6A consolation round.

Competition continues on Saturday with weigh-ins at 8 a.m., followed by the consolation quarterfinals, semifinals and finals taking place in session three. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. for session four with the introduction of state finalists beginning at 5 p.m., with championship matches to follow at 5:30.

Admission is $7 for sessions 1-3, $8 for the championship session and $26 for a tournament pass.