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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTGOMERY – The Montevallo Bulldogs and Shelby County Wildcats are heading to the Class 5A boys wrestling state tournament as multiple wrestlers secured top honors at the AHSAA South Sectional Wrestling Championships from Feb. 6-8 at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery.

Montevallo’s Drew Adams and Shelby County’s Nick Sykes, Xander Shook and Garrett Slaughter each walked away with sectional titles to walk into the state championship as the top seeds.

Unlike the other classifications in boys wrestling, Class 5A sent just the top four in each classification to the state championship, but the Bulldogs and Wildcats each sent multiple wrestlers to state even with the limitations.

Shelby County’s Slaughter won the 126-pound division with a first-period fall in the quarterfinals, a 17-4 major decision in the semifinals and a third-period fall in the finals. Montevallo’s Austin Cummings secured third in the same division with a first-period fall and 15-3 major decision in the consolation bracket.

Shelby County’s Sykes improved to 57-1 on the season with a first-place finish in the 132-pound division. He cruised to victory with a pair of first-period falls, including a 34-second pin in the finals, and a 15-0 technical fall just 47 seconds into his semifinal match.

Montevallo’s Adams won the 165-pound division and improved to 24-3 on the season with three commanding victories. He earned technical falls in each of his first two matches of the tournament before pinning his final opponent in just 28 seconds.

Shelby County’s Shook won the 175-pound division with a second-period pin in the semifinals and a 7-3 decision in the finals, improving to 39-4 on the season. Montevallo’s Colton Norris qualified in third out of the five-man bracket with a 39-second pin in the consolation semifinals as he enters state with a 16-6 record.

Montevallo’s Jaxon Lewis advanced to state by securing fourth place in the 106-pound division with a third-period pin in the consolation semifinals.

Shelby County’s Jace Gulledge earned fourth place in the 113-pound division with a second-period fall in the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match.

Montevallo’s Jakob Fowler earned fourth place in the 138-pound division. He reached the semifinals off a first-period pin but dropped down to the consolation bracket and needed to eke out an 8-7 decision to reach the third-place match and qualify for state.

Shelby County’s Aiden Pierce took fourth in the 144-pound division after he earned a pair of first-period pins in the consolation bracket to qualify for the third-place match.

Shelby County’s Logan Loyd earned second place in the 150-pound division as he reached the finals off a second-period pin in the quarterfinals and first-period pin in the semifinals.

Montevallo’s John Baggett came in third place in the 157-pound division. After reaching the semifinals of the main bracket, he won an 8-0 major decision and 53-second pin to secure third place out of the consolation bracket.

Montevallo’s Santiago Alvarenga earned fourth place in the 190-pound division. He advanced to the semifinals with a second-period pin but needed to earn a technical fall in the consolation semifinals after dropping to the lower bracket to secure his spot at state.

Montevallo’s Gustavo Garcia came in third place in the 215-pound division. He needed sudden victory to reach the semifinals but dropped into the consolation bracket with a loss to the eventual champion. There, he won an 8-3 decision and a 15-3 major decision to earn third.

Shelby County’s Ethan Burnette earned second place in the 285-pound division after earning a 9-1 major decision in the first round against Montevallo’s Kyler Mitchell and a first-period pin in the semifinals. Mitchell went on to finish fourth after winning the consolation semifinals with a first-period pin.