A Fan's Guide to the Alabama 1A-4A State Tournament

Welcome to the Fan’s Guide for the Alabama 1A-4A State Tournament

So what is a Fan’s Guide?

The Fan’s Guide is a look at the tournament as a whole and each individual weight class … from a fan’s perspective. But it is not a prediction of who will win or who will make the podium. In fact, a Fan’s Guide is a little different. It is a look at a few individual pieces from each bracket … they include:

  • Favorite: the wrestler that enters the tournament as a section champ and has the best shot to claim the top step.

  • Contenders: wrestlers we think that will most likely to make a run to the finals and challenge for the top step.

  • Darkhorse: someone off the radar that could surprise some people

  • Bracketbuster: a wrestler that finished 5 or 6 in their section, but could make a run for the podium.

The AHSAA seeds the tournament … in many respects our favorite, contenders, etc. match their seeds, but not always. We’ve included the seeds as well as our picks of who to watch.

Isn’t that kind of a prediction?

Yes and no. I do identify the favorite, but beyond that I have no idea of who will march through the bracket and claim a title (don’t get me wrong - I’ve watched a lot of wrestling this season so I have an idea of what will happen). I could give you an educated guess about a possible finals match and who will make the podium, but in the world of high school wrestling that is dangerous territory. Few wrestlers (if any) are unbeatable … but we do have past results and past accomplishments on which to make a guess or two. In reality, I am as much of a fan as any of you and like to talk wrestling. I hope each athlete goes out and performs to her ability and we, as fans, get an opportunity to watch some great wrestling.

Remember the sole purpose of the website, twitter, instagram, fan’s guides, pictures, etc. is to promote the sport in the Southeast. Have a great time this weekend, enjoy the wrestling, and best of luck to everyone competing.

NOTE: ALL INFORMATION BELOW IS ASSUMING THAT THE INFORMATION INPUTTED INTO TRACKWRESTLING EITHER BY THE EVENT DIRECTOR OR THE COACHES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON IS CORRECT.

A Look Back at 2023:

Team Race

Fairly straightforward. Weaver and Ashville were the only teams with double digit qualifiers and they finished 1st and 3rd. Qualifiers means opportunities and they had more chances to score points than the other teams. Dora, which had 8 qualifiers (still the 5th most of any team), was able to overtake Ashville for 2nd based on their performance … finishing higher on the podium means more points and Dora had 3 Champs compared to Ashville’s 1 (and 4 total placers compared to Ashville’s 5). Now there are always outliers … both Corner and WS Neal brought a large number of qualifiers, but still finished low in the standings and teams like Ohatchee and Montevallo only brought 3 or 4, but finished in the top 10 (or close to it). So when we talk about the team race below … we will lean to favoring those teams that bring a large number of qualifiers (and ideally qualifiers that were either section champs or section runners-up).

Seeding - Good, Bad and the Ugly

Things rarely work out the way we think they will and that is true in the seeding of a tournament. Rarely do you see all four of #1 seeds in the NCAA Basketball Tournament make the final four or the top seeds in the NFL playoff make the Super Bowl. We enjoy watching the underdogs (what we call in the Fan’s Guide the darkhorse or bracketbusters) make a mess of the bracket. Remember the point of the seeds - it is to reward someone for past performance - not to predict their future performance. Often those two things go hand-in-hand, but not always. Still a poorly seeded bracket can cause chaos and not see the two best individuals make the finals (which is what we want as fans - the best final the bracket can produce) … when two outstanding individuals meet in the first round or the quarterfinals and both dominate from that match through the rest of the tournament - something is lost.

We can generate a seed error based on where individuals are seeded and where they end up on the podium (if they end up on the podium). And that seed error is then translated into an error factor. Ideally you’d like to be at 0 - no error in the bracket. That rarely happens. If you can get a weight to be below .200 you are doing well and between .200 and .300 is what we might consider fair. It should be noted that the lines being drawn are my own based on looking at past events. Remember the labeling of bad isn’t a judgment on who won or who didn’t - it is an analysis of how good the committee did in seeding the bracket. That’s it. So - how did the seeding go last year?

Let’s just take a quick look at a couple of these …

160 - both of the top seeds made the finals - it just happened that Toney (the 2 seed) beat Jeffreys (the 1 seed) in the finals. And the #4 and #5 seeds were flipped when we got to the podium. Otherwise the bracket played out the way it was seeded. A 0.07 Error Factor is quite good.

113 - Chaos. As you can see below … Scelson was either criminally underseeded or he simply had an outstanding weekend. The 2 seed didn’t finish in the top 6 and the 3 seed (Tanner Jarrell) ended up on top of the podium. The error factor at 113 was 0.421 - which we consider bad. Scelson is a good example of a bracketbuster - he caused chaos in the bottom quarter of the bracket.

Keep this in mind when we talk about favorites, darkhorses, etc. below.

Team Notes

The table below is a list of every qualifier by school, along with their seed (not their place at sectionals). So we could talk about a number of different teams, but in reality there are just a handful that have enough to really make a run for a team title. They are discussed below the table.

Forgot to put a header on the table - across the top is the section place for each school

With 13 qualifiers, Weaver is going to be tough to beat. Corner is next closest (in terms of qualifiers) with 10 and then the next closest teams have 5 fewer than Weaver. Keep in mind that these are the section places, but the AHSAA seeds the tournament so while the places tell you had they did last week - it doesn’t tell you where they are placed in the bracket. The AHSAA uses a point system for seeding the tournament and usually it does exceptionally well, but there are instances where I don’t understand how someone that lost last week is seeded ahead of another.

106 lbs.

  • Favorite: Owen Burns  (Ashville) - North 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Cael Fulmer  (Weaver) - North 2nd

    • Carter Driver  (Ranburne) - South 1st

    • Myles Bailey  (Piedmont) - North 3rd

  • Darkhorse: Jacob Biggers  (Cleburne County) - South 4th

  • Bracketbuster: Cooper Elam  (Thomasville HS) - South 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Owen Burns  (Ashville) - North 1st

    • Cael Fulmer  (Weaver) - North 2nd

    • Myles Bailey  (Piedmont) - North 3rd

    • Carter Driver  (Ranburne) - South 1st

    • Noah Rains  (St James) - South 2nd

    • Micah Woodman  (Oak Grove) - South 3rd

    • Jacob Biggers  (Cleburne County) - South 4th

    • Asher Waugh  (New Hope HS) - North 4th

  • Thoughts: I saw earlier iterations of the seeds and am glad that they moved Driver up - personally I’d have him above Bailey, but much better than where he was originally. Otherwise the seeds look pretty good here.

113 lbs.

  • Favorite: David Hill  (Oak Grove) - South 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Benjamin Santy  (St. John Paul II) - North 1st

    • Peyton Andrews  (Weaver) - North 3rd

    • Jack Galloway  (American Christian Academy) - South 2nd

  • Darkhorse: Samuel Kirk  (Alabama School of Cyber Technology) - North 2nd

  • Bracketbuster: Justin Gross  (Escambia County) - South 6th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • David Hill  (Oak Grove) - South 1st

    • Benjamin Santy  (St. John Paul II) - North 1st

    • Peyton Andrews  (Weaver) - North 3rd

    • Jack Galloway  (American Christian Academy) - South 2nd

    • Justin Gross  (Escambia County) - South 6th

    • Samuel Kirk  (Alabama School of Cyber Technology) - North 2nd

    • Jalen Gunn  (Deshler) - North 5th

    • Carter Anderson  (Montgomery Catholic Prep School) - South 4th

  • Thoughts: Hill is the clear #1 - returning 106 lb. State Champ that is 47-1 on the season (only loss coming to Briscoe up at 120 in December). Again I think Kirk might be seeded a little low, but I think they got much of 113 right from my perspective.

120 lbs.

  • Favorite: Drake Wood  (Reeltown) - South 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Haiden Hise  (Weaver) - North 1st

    • Mason Hahm  (White Plains) - North 2nd

    • Owen Meads  (Ashville) - North 3rd

  • Darkhorse: Xavier Escorpizo  (St. John Paul II) - North 4th

  • Bracketbuster: Brodie Mcinnis  (Satsuma) - South 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Drake Wood  (Reeltown) - South 1st

    • Haiden Hise  (Weaver) - North 1st

    • Mason Hahm  (White Plains) - North 2nd

    • Owen Meads  (Ashville) - North 3rd

    • Xavier Escorpizo  (St. John Paul II) - North 4th

    • Aiden Sumner  (Oak Grove) - South 2nd

    • Ricky Weaver  (Alabama School for the Blind) - South 4th

    • Brodie Mcinnis  (Satsuma) - South 5th

  • Thoughts: Reeltown has never had a state champion in their history - will Wood become the first? Picking a favorite here was tough … I thought it was Hahm, but he got pinned in the North finals by Hise. From there I think it is a toss up between Hise and Wood. Keep an eye on Escorpizo.

126 lbs.

  • Favorite: Adrian Waugh  (New Hope HS) - North 1st

  • Contenders:

    • jayden rouse  (Dora) - North 2nd

    • Dalton Fink  (Weaver) - North 3rd

    • Tanner Jarrell  (White Plains) - North 4th

  • Darkhorse: Hayden Scelson  (Orange Beach High School) - South 1st

  • Bracketbuster: Brycen Robbins  (Corner) - North 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Adrian Waugh  (New Hope HS) - North 1st

    • jayden rouse  (Dora) - North 2nd

    • Dalton Fink  (Weaver) - North 3rd

    • Tanner Jarrell  (White Plains) - North 4th

    • Jaxon Tuiolosega  (Ohatchee) - North 6th

    • Hayden Scelson  (Orange Beach High School) - South 1st

    • Harry Grant  (Beulah) - South 3rd

    • Brycen Robbins  (Corner) - North 5th

  • Thoughts: The north at 126 was outstanding and with Waugh coming out on top - he has to be the favorite to claim a title this weekend. Robbins seeded lower than Tuiolosega is interesting especially given that Robbins just pinned him for 5th at the North sectional tournament.

132 lbs.

  • Favorite: Brody Hayes  (T. R. Miller) - South 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Kurtis Soles  (Cherokee County) - North 1st

    • Logan Hartson  (St James) - South 2nd

    • Fisher Deason  (American Christian Academy) - South 3rd

  • Darkhorse: Baron House  (Pleasant Valley) - North 3rd

  • Bracketbuster: Izak Bailey  (Piedmont) - North 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Brody Hayes  (T. R. Miller) - South 1st

    • Logan Hartson  (St James) - South 2nd

    • Kurtis Soles  (Cherokee County) - North 1st

    • Fisher Deason  (American Christian Academy) - South 3rd

    • Baron House  (Pleasant Valley) - North 3rd

    • Brysen Pugh  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 4th

    • Andy Maroyka  (St. John Paul II) - North 2nd

    • Izak Bailey  (Piedmont) - North 5th

  • Thoughts: Good with Hayes being #1 - think Soles and Hartson could be flipped, but it doesn’t matter since both are on the bottom side. Deason, House, and Pugh are all tough … this is a good weight to watch if you are just enjoying some wrestling this weekend.

138 lbs.

  • Favorite: Daymion Winfrey  (Alabama School for the Blind) - South 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Michael Yafondo  (Fultondale) - North 1st

    • Julian Lowe  (St. John Paul II) - North 2nd

    • Nathan Cox  (Madison County) - North 3rd

  • Darkhorse: Dylan Brown  (Weaver) - North 4th

  • Bracketbuster: Aiden Marky  (W. S. Neal) - South 6th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Daymion Winfrey  (Alabama School for the Blind) - South 1st

    • Michael Yafondo  (Fultondale) - North 1st

    • Julian Lowe  (St. John Paul II) - North 2nd

    • Nathan Cox  (Madison County) - North 3rd

    • Dylan Brown  (Weaver) - North 4th

    • Aiden Marky  (W. S. Neal) - South 6th

    • James andrew Ingalls  (Montgomery Catholic Prep School) - South 3rd

    • Angel Romero  (Montevallo) - South 2nd

  • Thoughts: The last wrestler to win a state title for the Alabama School for the Blind was Danny Finley in 2010 - will Winfrey be the next to put his name on the wall? I’m good with the seeds except for Ingalls - who is too low in my opinion.

144 lbs.

  • Favorite: Austen Mayfield  (Cleburne County) - South 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Dru Moore  (Oak Grove) - South 2nd

    • David Bailey  (Northside Methodist Academy) - South 3rd

    • Bryson Millwood  (Corner) - North 1st

  • Darkhorse: Noah Screws  (Walter Wellborn) - South 4th

  • Bracketbuster: Brody Pugh  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 6th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Austen Mayfield  (Cleburne County) - South 1st

    • Dru Moore  (Oak Grove) - South 2nd

    • Bryson Millwood  (Corner) - North 1st

    • Brody Pugh  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 6th

    • Gianluca Torres  (Weaver) - North 2nd

    • David Bailey  (Northside Methodist Academy) - South 3rd

    • Noah Screws  (Walter Wellborn) - South 4th

    • Connor Roberts  (Dora) - North 5th

  • Thoughts: Mayfield has been on the podium a ton - just never the top step … does that change in 2024 and if it does then Austen replaces Tyler on our most recent Champs graphic. Still there is work to be done. I’ve looked through the seeds and am good with them … Pugh taking 6th causes a bit of chaos, but overall I think they are right (or as close to right as we get).

150 lbs.

  • Favorite: Jack Von Eschenbach  (St. John Paul II) - North 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Andrew Young  (Cherokee County) - North 2nd

    • Jack Aaron  (Corner) - North 5th

    • Emmett Rasmussen  (St James) - South 1st

  • Darkhorse: Mykell Buchanan  (Madison County) - North 3rd

  • Bracketbuster: DaShawn Kirby Barnes  (Weaver) - North 6th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Jack Von Eschenbach  (St. John Paul II) - North 1st

    • Emmett Rasmussen  (St James) - South 1st

    • Andrew Young  (Cherokee County) - North 2nd

    • Jack Aaron  (Corner) - North 5th

    • Mykell Buchanan  (Madison County) - North 3rd

    • Matthew Post  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 2nd

    • DaShawn Kirby Barnes  (Weaver) - North 6th

    • Kaleb Pryor  (Dora) - North 4th

  • Thoughts: Von Eschenbach is the top seed and we are good with that. Thinking Young could be the 2 seed, but don’t have a problem with he and Rasmussen switching. Jack Aaron taking 5th was a bit of a surprise - I think he is a contender and the seeding obviously feels he is a top 4 seed … that said - even though I agree with the seed - having a #5 seed take that spot is tough given he is in front of several wrestlers that placed higher than him at sectionals … and Post was 2nd in the South (I think he should be higher as well) … so maybe in the end it all works out.

157 lbs.

  • Favorite: Elijah Thomas  (Escambia County) - South 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Nick Williamson  (Ashville) - North 1st

    • Caden Thornton  (Weaver) - North 3rd

    • Jaylen Fells  (Fultondale) - North 2nd

  • Darkhorse: Caleb Tidwell  (Piedmont) - North 4th

  • Bracketbuster: Brooks Covin  (Oak Grove) - South 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Elijah Thomas  (Escambia County) - South 1st

    • Nick Williamson  (Ashville) - North 1st

    • Jaylen Fells  (Fultondale) - North 2nd

    • Caden Thornton  (Weaver) - North 3rd

    • Caleb Tidwell  (Piedmont) - North 4th

    • Spencer Perkins  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 2nd

    • Joshua Byrd  (T. R. Miller) - South 3rd

    • Colton Mayfield  (Cleburne County) - South 4th

  • Thoughts: Thomas and Williamson are the top two at 157 … I think you could make a case for Williamson being the 1 seed and the favorite - especially given the strength of the North at this weight, but I think they are probably close enough for a coin flip so I’m not going to quibble over who is the top seed - both will get their shot this weekend to prove that they are the best at the weight.

165 lbs.

  • Favorite: Tyler Ebner  (Ashville) - North 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Pruitt Conner  (St James) - South 1st

    • Aiden Richardson  (Dora) - North 2nd

    • Drew Adams  (Montevallo) - South 2nd

  • Darkhorse: Troy Thomas  (Corner) - North 3rd

  • Bracketbuster: CHRISTOPHER THORNTON  (Weaver) - North 4th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Tyler Ebner  (Ashville) - North 1st

    • Pruitt Conner  (St James) - South 1st

    • Aiden Richardson  (Dora) - North 2nd

    • Drew Adams  (Montevallo) - South 2nd

    • Troy Thomas  (Corner) - North 3rd

    • Antoine Pitts  (Thomasville HS) - South 5th

    • Mirio Crenshaw  (Escambia County) - South 6th

    • CHRISTOPHER THORNTON  (Weaver) - North 4th

  • Thoughts: Another weight where we could have seen #1 and #2 flipped, but again I’m not hating the seeding here. Especially given that Conner will likely have to beat #2 from the North Richardson and Ebner will likely have to beat #2 from the South Adams … I’m not a fan of them seeing their section final opponent in the semis. And yes I know that isn’t a consideration in the criteria, but it is just a preference for me.

175 lbs.

  • Favorite: JACOB BLANCHARD  (Corner) - North 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Layton Pohl  (New Hope HS) - North 2nd

    • Zack Buchanan  (Ranburne) - South 1st

    • Ryan Parker  (Montgomery Catholic Prep School) - South 2nd

  • Darkhorse: Mika Smith  (Ashville) - North 3rd

  • Bracketbuster: James Howard  (Ohatchee) - North 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • JACOB BLANCHARD  (Corner) - North 1st

    • Layton Pohl  (New Hope HS) - North 2nd

    • Zack Buchanan  (Ranburne) - South 1st

    • Ryan Parker  (Montgomery Catholic Prep School) - South 2nd

    • Mika Smith  (Ashville) - North 3rd

    • Carter Copeland  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 3rd

    • Hunter Hise  (Weaver) - North 4th

    • Brayden Beam  (Cleburne County) - South 4th

  • Thoughts: A weight where picking the seeds would have been tough … I like the seeding and again I like them because they separated the top 4 in my opinion and did so by section so they wouldn’t face their section final opponent in the semis. I don’t think there is a clear favorite here - whoever is wrestling best will claim the title.

190 lbs.

  • Favorite: Ross Mills  (Deshler) - North 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Brady Thrash  (Ashville) - North 2nd

    • Christopher Weaver  (Alabama School for the Blind) - South 4th

    • Charles Chappelle  (Montgomery Catholic Prep School) - South 1st

  • Darkhorse: Spencer Unruh  (Corner) - North 3rd

  • Bracketbuster: Cameron Richardson  (Dora) - North 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Ross Mills  (Deshler) - North 1st

    • Brady Thrash  (Ashville) - North 2nd

    • Cameron Richardson  (Dora) - North 5th

    • Christopher Weaver  (Alabama School for the Blind) - South 4th

    • John Bussey  (Saks Sr) - South 2nd

    • Bronson Dubose  (Beulah) - South 6th

    • Charles Chappelle  (Montgomery Catholic Prep School) - South 1st

    • Spencer Unruh  (Corner) - North 3rd

  • Thoughts: I’m good with Mills and Thrash being 1 and 2 … think Chappelle should in the top 4 for winning the South … Weaver and Richardson have both been solid, but taking 4th and 5th at sectionals doesn’t get you a top 4 seed in my opinion.

215 lbs.

  • Favorite: Devin Bragg  (Reeltown) - South 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Noah Breland  (Bayside Academy) - South 2nd

    • Korion Pryor  (Dora) - North 1st

    • Brandon Jolliff  (Weaver) - North 2nd

  • Darkhorse: Stephen Walls  (New Hope HS) - North 3rd

  • Bracketbuster: Isaac Manzano  (Escambia County) - South 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Devin Bragg  (Reeltown) - South 1st

    • Noah Breland  (Bayside Academy) - South 2nd

    • Korion Pryor  (Dora) - North 1st

    • Brandon Jolliff  (Weaver) - North 2nd

    • Stephen Walls  (New Hope HS) - North 3rd

    • Braylin Stidham  (W. S. Neal) - South 4th

    • Will Johnson  (Cleburne County) - South 3rd

    • Brandon Murphree  (Corner) - North 6th

  • Thoughts: Could Reeltown have two champs in the same year? Certainly looks possible with Bragg at 215. He’s only lost once this year and that was to Jude Rogers of Tallassee … he is the #1 seed and the favorite to win the weight for us. Breland being the 2 seed is good with Pryor the 3 and Jolliff the 4 is fine.

285 lbs.

  • Favorite: Silas Mccarthy  (Brooks) - North 1st

  • Contenders:

    • Aidan Cockrell  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 1st

    • Zaden Benefield  (Ranburne) - South 2nd

    • Kesean Pryor  (Dora) - North 2nd

  • Darkhorse: Connor Crump  (Pleasant Valley) - North 4th

  • Bracketbuster: Andrew Salter  (Walter Wellborn) - South 5th

  • Seeds (in order from 1 to 8):

    • Zaden Benefield  (Ranburne) - South 2nd

    • Silas Mccarthy  (Brooks) - North 1st

    • Aidan Cockrell  (Prattville Christian Academy) - South 1st

    • Knox Wilson  (Oak Grove) - South 4th

    • Kesean Pryor  (Dora) - North 2nd

    • Connor Crump  (Pleasant Valley) - North 4th

    • Andrew Salter  (Walter Wellborn) - South 5th

    • Jordan McKinney  (Corner) - North 3rd

  • Thoughts: Not a fan of sectional finalists possibly meeting one another in the semis … especially given that Pryor beat Cockrell in late January. Now Pryor has many losses so I get why he is not above Cockrell and Benefield (Pryor and Benefield have split this season) … but I like when wrestlers have to see someone else and McCarthy hasn’t wrestled Cockrell or Benefield this season. Perhaps Knox Wilson will win that quarter and this argument will all be for nothing anyway (Wilson is 2-1 against Pryor this season … so again I understand why he is seeded 5th).

Jason Fulmore