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Photos by Dawn Harrison.
Hoover’s Nick Smith at the state tournament. Smith won the state title in the 120-pound division.
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Photos by Dawn Harrison.
Spain Park's John Robert Thompson finished as the runner-up in 113-pound weight class at the state tournament.
The Hoover and Spain Park high school wrestling teams both had individuals finish as state champions, but both teams fell below their desired placement in Class 7A at the State Wrestling Championship on Feb. 13-15 in Huntsville.
Hoover placed fourth and Spain Park placed sixth as a team during the tournament. The Bucs finished with 58 team points and the Jaguars had 46 team points.
Hoover head coach Jacob Gaydosh said it was disappointing to finish in fourth as a team, but he praised some of his individual finishers.
“We were disappointed overall in how the team performed at state,” he said. “From top to bottom we did not wrestle our best, but there were some guys who wrestled really well, and it was pleasing to see those individuals wrestle well.”
Junior Nick Smith brought home a state championship with a win in the 120-pound weight class. Smith won by fall in the quarter and semifinals before winning by majority decision over Zander Fields from Huntsville. Gaydosh said Smith was motivated by his loss in the title match last year.
“Nick was disappointed how his sophomore season ended by losing in the state finals,” Gaydosh said. “That motivated him in the offseason and he came in very confident this season. Coach Ryan Romano had Nick prepared to wrestle well at the state tournament and he did. It's always fun to have a front row seat when one of the guys achieves a lifelong goal of being a state champion.”
JT Foster finished in second place in the 182- pound division. He finished runner-up in the state to undefeated Dylan Pearson of Auburn by fall at the 1:41 mark. Jacob Johnson placed third in the 145-pound division and Dawson Rye placed fourth in the 195-pound weight class for the Bucs.
Spain Park’s Jaxon Bast was crowned 7A’s 285-pound weight class champion with a win by fall over Thor Zogg of Tuscaloosa County at the 5:00 mark. The senior won all three of his state tournament matches by fall.
Freshman John Robert Thompson finished as the runner-up in the 113-pound weight class after being defeated by Yanni Vines of Thompson by a 6-0 decision. Thompson won by decision in the quarter and semifinals of the state tournament.
