Hoover’s Smith wins 2nd straight state wrestling title

After battling back from a knee injury, Hoover’s Nick Smith won his second consecutive individual state title in the 120-pound division of the state 7A wrestling championship.

Smith finished 10-1 on the season after coming back in January and knocked off Thompson’s Nate Dempsey 11-7 in the 120-pound final in Huntsville.

The Hoover wrestling team scored 124.5 points to finish sixth in Class 7A, while Spain Park placed fourth with 147.5 points. Vestavia Hills won the state title with 277.5 points.

Also advancing to the finals from Hoover were J.T. Foster (21-1), who lost to Grissom’s Warren Hoyt in the 182-pound final, and Dawson Rye (20-6), who fell to Hewitt-Trussville’s Hunter Jones in the 195-pound final.

Ty Sisson (106) and Jacob Johnson (152) also made it to the semifinals for the Bucs. Smith beat Grissom’s Jon Michael Turis in the semifinals, Foster beat Carson Ray from Spain Park and Rye defeated Spain Park’s Gage Hughes. 

The top Spain Park performer was seventh grader Bradley Williams, who lost to Oak Mountain’s Camden Tipton in the 106-pound final by an 8-6 decision. Williams finished the year with a 34-1 record, falling just short of a perfect season. 

Williams knocked off Mac Chandler of Vestavia Hills by a 5-3 decision in the semifinals. Will Conlon (172), Ray, Hughes and Brandon Fortenberry (220) each advanced to the semifinals as well. 

Baylor Hardy, Broc Metcalf, Logan Roberts, Keith Christein, Alex Carbajal, Evan Warren and Sky Niblett also competed for the Bucs. 

For Spain Park, Nathaniel Philman, John Robert Thompson, Granger Scarborough, Max Milazzo, Fischer Harrison, Kyle Oliveira and Rayshod Burts also wrestled. Thompson and Harrison rallied from losses to finish third in their respective weight classes.