Even though the Bulldogs earned more individual championships at this year’s state meet than they did in winning the 2009 state championship a year ago, their lack of depth finally caught up with them. Wellborn reclaimed the team championship with 127 points.
Oak Grove scored 108.5 points and finished second. Piedmont, which almost made up a 22-point deficit to Oak Grove after Friday’s rounds with three champions, a second place finish and two thirds on Saturday, ended in third place with 104 points.
In winning, Wellborn had two state champions but got points from nine of its 10 qualifiers.
Oak Grove had only one individual champion but eight of Oak Grove’s nine entrants scored. Piedmont had eight qualifiers and six scored.
By Monday, the Bulldogs and coach Harley Lamey were already making plans for 2011.
“We’ve got three state finalists coming back. We’ve got some guys who I think have seen what they have to do and they’re making plans for the summer,” Lamey said.
“I don’t think it’s too far out of the realm of possibility for us to bring (the state championship) back home next year. Our younger guys and the ones from the state championship team are not very happy right now.”
Senior Jonathon Propes, junior Mickey Jackson and sophomore Clay Dent won individual titles for the Bulldogs.
Propes, who was the 130-pound winner in 2009, claimed the 135-pound title this time. He started with a 20-5 technical fall win over Mikey Nguyen of Susan Moore. Propes reached the finals with a 6-3 decision over Jonathan Boston of Holtville.
In the championship match, Propes defeated Wellborn’s Desmond Frklic. Frklic had forced Propes into overtime in the Section 1 final a week earlier but Propes scored a 17-2 technical fall win in Huntsville. He became Piedmont’s first two-time state champion.
“He just went up there and seemed to put it in another gear. That’s what champions do,” Lamey said of Propes. “He knew it was his championship to lose and he wasn’t going to have that.”
Jackson won the 285-pound title. It took Jackson only 27 seconds to pin his first opponent, Ben Chandler of Oak Grove. He followed with a 4-0 decision over Chris May of Desher. In his championship match, Jackson pinned Cody Walker of Ashville at 3:28. Walker had beaten Jackson in the Section 1 final.
“That’s all he talked about all week, getting another chance to wrestle (Walker) again,” Lamey said. “The referee blew the whistle. He just charged (Walker) and almost knocked him flat on his back.”
Dent pinned Brandon Moore of Fultondale in his first match at 171 pounds then scored a 12-6 decision over Nick Busby of St. Clair County. Dent won an 11-4 decision over senior Austin Latta of Oak Grove in the 171-pound final. Latta was runner-up at 160 in 2009.
“Everybody kept telling me to watch out for the kid from Oak Grove, Latta. I just kept my mouth shut because that kid should have been watching out for Clay,” Lamey said.
Jordan Tyree, another sophomore, finished second at 152 pounds. Tyree pinned Matt Hooper of Oak Grove and Xavier Dennard of Saks before Fultondale’s Brett Pennington pinned him. Pennington need 4:10 to best Tyree. Pennington pinned his first opponent in 34 seconds and his second in 1:59. Lamey said Pennington also owned pins over this year’s 6A state champion and the 5A runner-up.
“He wrestled (Pennington) good. I think when he got pinned the score was 8-5,” said Lamey, noting that Pennington took advantage of a mistake by Tyree to get Tyree on his back. “A kid of that caliber and that experience, it’s hard to get out.”
Seniors Eddie Alvarado and Randall Cannon each finished third. Alvarado, wrestling at 119 pounds, opened with a win before losing in the championship semifinals and falling into the consolation bracket. In the consolation semifinals, Alvarado pinned Lane Haynie of Elmore County. In the consolation final, he scored a 13-7 decision over Chris Miller of St. Clair County.
Cannon took a more difficult route to his third place finish. He lost his first match in the 130-pound bracket and had to earn three wins in the consolation bracket for his medal. Cannon defeated Kevin Tanous of St. James 5-2 in the consolation final.
“They showed guts and a little bit of class coming back and finishing third,” Lamey said.
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