Thompson downs Oak Mountain for area wrestling win
Published 11:04 am Wednesday, December 18, 2019
By DAWN HARRISON | Special to the Reporter
ALABASTER – The 2019 state champion Thompson Warriors took on Oak Mountain in an area wrestling match Tuesday, Dec. 18, at Thompson High School, and despite losing eight senior starters in 14 weight classes, the Warriors dominated the match, earning 59 points and only giving up 21 points.
The Warriors won 10 of the 14 weight classes with nine pins and one tech fall. A team that has won the state championship seven times in the past 10 years, the Warriors again showed why they are a force to be reckoned with, approaching the halfway mark with only eight weeks until 2020 champions are crowned in Huntsville.
Despite Oak Mountain keeping the score close for the first four matches, the Warriors began to pull away, leaving the Eagles with no way to earn enough points for a victory with four classes left to wrestle in the match.
The Eagles started out with Camden Tipton in the 106 class controlling the match with four takedowns, giving him 8 points to Nick Dempsey’s four escapes.
This gave him an 8-4 win, netting the team three points in a decision. Yanni Vines and Kirk Smitherman in the 113-pound weight class were the next to take the mat.
Vines, of Thompson, pinned Smitherman in the second period with nothing left on the clock in a 4:00 fall time for a perfect six points. Thompson’s Cory Jones continued to net the team six points with a pin in the third period at a fall time of 4:53 over Ryley Do-Boi in the 120 weight class.
Oak Mountain tried to rally in the 126-pound weight class, as Austin Buird pinned Parker Edmonson in the second period with a fall time of 2:39.
But Thompson’s James Latona took on Elijah Carlisto in the 132 class and added six more points for the Warriors. He controlled the match, pinning Carlisto early in the second period with a fall time of 2:33.
Emmanuel Oliver of Thompson faced off against Caleb Price in the 138 weight class shortly after, and Oliver continued to rack up the points against Oak Mountain. He pinned Price in the first period with a fall time of 57 seconds.
Cole Burrough with Oak Mountain was the next to face off against Thompson, as he took on Tyler Lane. Burrough quickly pinned his opponent with the quickest fall time of the night of only 43 seconds to give the Eagles one of their biggest highlights.
But again, Thompson kept Oak Mountain from gaining too much momentum with Will Miller picking up a big win for the Warriors in the 152-pound division.
He took on Landon Holcomb in a battle that lasted more than five minutes, but Miller controlled the match, earning 23 points and only allowing Holcomb to earn 8. That gave Miller a tech fall late in the third period.
Shortly after, Ashunti Perry of Thompson picked up another pin with 10 seconds to spare in the second period over Caden Evans.
Then, William Browder of Thompson helped the Warriors seal the fate of the match, as he pinned Zack Hauck with a fall time of 3:03. This pin brought the team to an insurmountable lead of 41-15.
Despite the team score, Harrison Kinsey of Oak Mountain pinned Carson Freeman in the 182 weight class early in the second period.
The next three matches, however, were all Thompson, as Michael Jackson pinned Jacob Payne in the 195-pound weight class with a fall time of 1:33, Alex Ward pinned Jacob Goldfon in the 220-pound weight class with a fall time of 5:01, and heavy weight Tucker Hutson pinned Caleb Webb early in the second period with a fall time of 2:15 to close out the match.