Wildcats send six to state in Huntsville

By Dusty Harper (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Monday, February 8, 2010

With a young team and a first-year coach, the Benjamin Russell wrestling team expected to have some growing pains during the 2009-2010 season.

But, when it was time to step up during this past weekend’s Class 6A, Section 1 Tournament in Auburn, the Wildcats performed up to their normal standards.

Six Cats finished in the top four, earning a trip to the Von Braun Center in Huntsville for Thursday’s AHSAA State Tournament. Leading the way was Connor Clark at 140 pounds. The sophomore pinned his opponent from Smiths Station in the championship match to become the only BRHS wrestler to finish

in first place.

“I thought it was a pretty good performance, about what we expected,” head coach Andrew Campbell said. “I was disappointed that we sent four guys to the final match and only came away with one.

“We were in the top three overall and had a chance to finish there, but we just couldn’t pull them out. I was still really pleased overall.”

Three Wildcats – Cody Krauel (152), Phillip Sparks (171) and Quin Allen (189) – were runners-up in their bracket.

Two more wrestlers lost a third-place match, but still advanced to Huntsville. Gavin Fuller lost a 7-1 decision at 112 pounds, while Jacob Hill lost 18-6. Campbell was especially happy with Hill’s effort.

“If there was a surprise, it was probably Jacob,” Campbell said. “He’s had some potential all season to break through, and he really stepped up and got us some big points. We’re glad to see him get a chance to continue.”

Lee-Montgomery was the run-away winner of the tournament, while Prattville came in second. Five points separated the next four teams. BRHS finished sixth with 121.5 points as a team after just being edged out by Auburn, Smiths and Opelika.

The Class 6A preliminary rounds begin at 1 p.m. Thursday. The event continues through Saturday, when consolation matches begin at 8 a.m.

Campbell said the group is looking forward to making the most of its chances at state.

“We have a good idea of what we need to do better,” Campbell said. “We struggled some in our final matches and we want to improve on that.

“We’re hoping we can make a good showing and do better than we did last year. We’re upbeat and ready to work this week to get prepared.”

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