ON THE MARK
D. MARK MITCHELL
Eight Opelika High School grapplers qualified to participate in the sectional wrestling meet last week in Montgomery. Two Opelika wrestlers, Brady Campbell (145 pounds) and Jack Pritchard (195 pounds) won their respective weight class and earned a spot in the AHSAA State Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 17 to 19 at the Van Braun Civic Center in Huntsville. Kyle Epperson qualified for the state tournament as well, finishing eighth in the 220-pound class.
The following is results from Opelika’s wrestlers:
120 pounds
Derrick Hoyett (11-13) participated but did not score points.
126 pounds
Brayden Wilson (23-13) place is unknown and scored two team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Brayden Wilson (23-13) received a bye.
Champ. Round 2 – Chase Lee (Spanish Fort) 25-11 won by decision over Wilson.
Cons. Round 2 – Wilson received a bye.
Cons. Round 3 – Wilson won by decision over Carson Thomas (Elmore County School, 18-6).
Cons. Round 4 – Caleb Mooney (Shelby County, 55-15) won in sudden victory (7-5) over Wilson.
132 pounds
Tyrese Pitts’ (6-4) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Nathan McCain (Mountain Brook, 41-16) won by fall (2:20) over Pitts.
Cons. Round 1 – Pitts received a bye.
Cons. Round 2 – Pitts won by decision (3-2) over Dan Bulens (Russell County, 33-22).
Cons. Round 3 – Pitts won by major decision (13-4) over Cody Godwin (Elberta HS, 6-16).
Cons. Round 4 – Jared Cherry Daniel (Stanhope Elmore, 22-7) won by fall (1:50) over Pitts.
138 pounds
Logan Sheridan (12-9) scored 0.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Tyler Mann (Wetumpka, 16-18) won by major decision (16-5) over Sheridan
Cons. Round 1 – Sheridan received a bye.
Cons. Round 2 – Russell Phillips (Tallassee, 23-11) won by decision (10-8) over Sheridan.
145 pounds
Champion – Brady Campbell (38-2) placed first and scored 30.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Campbell received a bye.
Champ. Round 2 – Campbell won by fall (1:29) over Zach Crosthwait (Wetumpka, 25-10).
Quarterfinal – Campbell won by fall (1:07) over Bear Maxwell (Chelsea, 34-15).
Semifinal – Campbell won by fall (3:11) over Christian Griggs (Mcadory, 59-11).
1st Place Match – Campbell won by decision (4-3) over Bryce Wanagat (Pelham, 34-6).
152 pounds
Landon Willis’ (20-18) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Willis won in tie breaker (TB-1, 10-5) over Brantley Woodall (Wetumpka, 11-8).
Champ. Round 2 – Owen Elledge (Russell County, 47-15) won by fall (0:38) over Willis.
Cons. Round 2 – Willis won by decision (6-4) over Ashton Clark (Benjamin Russell,12-27).
Cons. Round 3 – Harrison Brakefield (Chelsea, 31-17) won by decision (4-1) over Willis.
195 Pounds
Champion – Jack Pritchard (39-4) placed first and scored 27.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Pritchard received a bye.
Champ. Round 2 – Pritchard won by major decision (12-4) over Elijah Holloway (Brookwood, 18-10).
Quarterfinal – Pritchard won by fall (2:51) over Jacob Clark (Beauregard HS, 42-12).
Semifinal – Pritchard won by decision (5-3) over Christian Preston (Wetumpka, 25-8).
1st Place Match – Pritchard won by decision (9-4) over Zander Terry (Pelham, 44-11).
220 pounds
Kyle Epperson (13-11) placed eighth and scored 8.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 – Epperson received a bye.
Champ. Round 2 – Landon Harville (Brookwood, 17-7) won by decision (6-0) over Epperson.
Cons. Round 2 – Epperson won by fall (0:41) over Zion Jackson (Hueytown, 3-14).
Cons. Round 3 – Epperson won by fall (4:17) over Mykah Wilson (Brewbaker Tech, 6-8).
Cons. Round 4 – Epperson won by decision (7-1) over Caiden Arnold (Robertsdale, 19-10).
Cons. Round 5 – William Courtenay (Mountain Brook, 31-10) won in sudden victory (SV-1, 4-2) over Epperson.
7th Place Match – Owen Campbell (Helena, 31-9) won by fall (4:46) over Epperson.
BASKETBALL
The OHS Lady Bulldog Basketball team (14-13) finished second in the area tournament last week after losing to Eufaula in double overtime, 74-68. Haley Sanders continued to lead the girls offensively, scoring 31 points. Ashanti Thomas and Erica Mathews added 13 points apiece.
The loss to Eufaula sent the Lady Bulldogs to Park Crossing in a Sub-Regional game Monday night.
PCHS ended Opelika’s season with a 75-60 win. Sanders played her last game as a Lady Bulldog, scoring 20 points. Mathews added 15 points in the loss.
Coach Smalley’s team finished 14-14 in his first year as head coach.
The varsity Bulldog boys’ basketball team lost to Valley, 59-51, in the first round of the Area Tournament last week. The loss to the Rams ends the season for the (6-16) Bulldogs.
SOCCER
Opelika’s girls soccer team opened the season with a 10-0 thumping of Stanhope Elmore in Millbrook last week.
The Lady Bulldogs scored early and often; Morgan Watts scored the first goal, Amiya Brown scored a hat trick (three goals) and Scarlet Posada and Anna Garcia scored two goals apiece. Ashley Hilyer and Fatima Santamaria each scored one goal; Brown, Hilyer, Watts and Garcia recorded an assist.
OHS SPORTS SCHEDULE
WEEK OF Feb. 19 THROUGH
FEB. 24
Feb. 19
– OHS Baseball vs Stanhope Elmore at Bulldog Park at 11 a.m. and Pike Road at 4 p.m. (Pike Road and SHEHS will play at 1 p.m.).
Feb. 22
-OHS Girls Tennis at Valley 3:30 p.m.
– OHS Junior Varsity Baseball at Wetumpka 4:30 p.m.
– OHS Junior Varsity Softball at Eufaula at 4:30 p.m. / Varsity Softball at Eufaula 5:30 p.m.
– OHS Varsity Girls Soccer at Valley 5:30 p.m. / Boys Soccer at Valley 7:30 p.m.
– OHS Varsity Baseball at Wetumpka at 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 24
– OHS Girls and Boys Tennis at Lagoon Park, hosted by Enterprise at 4 p.m.
– OHS Baseball: JV at 4:30 p.m. and Varsity at 6:30 p.m. at Smiths Station
– OHS Boys Varsity Soccer vs Central at W James Samford Soccer Complex at Sportsplex.
D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1310, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director.