Former football signee flips commitment, signs wrestling scholarship

Published 3:34 pm Friday, April 13, 2018

 

By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Thompson High School’s Seth Whitlock will be wrestling collegiately after signing a scholarship offer with the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, during an April 13 ceremony at THS.

Whitlock originally was planning to focus on football after his high school career, and had signed with Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, during a February football signing ceremony.

But since then, Whitlock has received significant attention from multiple collegiate wrestling programs, and decided to shift his focus to the mat and sign with Cumberlands.

“I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity to be here. I just want to thank my coaches, my teammates, my friends and everyone for helping me to get here today,” Whitlock said. “It’s an honor to continue wrestling at University of the Cumberlands.”

Whitlock has played a major role in the THS wrestling program’s success over the past several years.

This year, he won three matches at the state tournament to pick up an individual state championship in the 285-pound weight class and help THS seal the 7A team state championship for the first time in two years.

In the state quarterfinal round, Whitlock took down Auburn’s Dimitri Anderson 3-1 to move on to the semifinal, where he won 3-2. 

From there, Whitlock took on Lee-Montgomery’s Camron Hill, who was disqualified after committing too many technical fouls, allowing Whitlock to earn the title.