Weaver (AL)

Head Coach: Andy Fulmer (entering 20th season)

Staff: Justin Brown

Girls wrestling might just be an emerging sport in Alabama, but Coach Fulmer is beginning to build the foundation of a very solid program if/when it becomes sanctioned. Lena Johannson is a returning Fargo All American and is the type of wrestler you can build a program around … but Johnnason is just one of many at Weaver. Coach Fulmer has as many as 10 girls and that number continues to grow. Ali Anderson, Jaylee Carter, Kynlee Fulmer, and Kallie Mayfield could be joined by 7th grader Mariah Johannson. Add in Trinity Carter, Haylei Hooks, Brianna Horn, and Kendra Ransom and Weaver could is a force to be reckoned with - whether that is on the boys or girls side.

“Our girls program started with a single girl and grew to 6 last year. We were extremely excited about our 5th place team finish last year and look to build on that this season. We are looking at having anywhere from 10-12 girls on our girls team this season. We are excited about hosting 2 home dual meets this season so hopefully we can get more girls interested in the sport. Big things are taking place in our wrestling program and all of our kids are ready to compete.”

— Coach Fulmer

NOTE: All mentions of placers and qualifiers in the body are based on the 2021-22 season. If a wrestler placed higher or lower in a previous year it is not captured above.

Heritage (FL)

Head Coach: Jeff Degginger (entering 8th season)

Staff: Tom Gregg (AHC/JV) Tori Degginger (Asst) Cody Barton (Hvy Coach/JV)

Heritage returns an outstanding team that nearly broke into the top 10 at the 2A traditional tournament in 2022. Unfortunately for the Panthers they graduated State Placer Williams Clement, State Qualifiers Vicente Angel Ramirez-Ellis, and Trace Liberatore as well as lost State Placer Roman Maldonado as a transfer to Palm Bay. That is tough and will impact the Panthers ability to make a run back to the top 10.

Now just because the Panthers will be impacted - doesn’t mean they won’t make it happen. This team will be much younger, but Coach Degginger has a solid foundation to build on. State Placer Gabriel Ferreira returns and should be hunting the top step at 138 or 145. The Panthers also return State Qualifiers Kaleb Gabrielson and Aiden Baker … both of whom have the ability to make the podium in 2023. But ultimately the rise (or fall) of Heritage will likely come down to how well Nicholas Deboer, Keith Cole, and Jason Martin wrestle this season. All three have the ability to punch their ticket to Kissimmee - the question is - will they? Keep an eye on Solomon Peterson, Gustavo Ferrerira, Noah Seehaus, Stephon Barry, Jaden Saglembeni, Tyquez Smith, Daunte Daube, Devon McDonald, and Harper Noel. Trust me … at least one of those names will surprise some people and have an outstanding season.

“We’ll be significantly younger than last year. We’re returning 3 SQ’s and 1 placer with a very talented core. Our Captain, Gabriel Ferreira will be in the title hunt with Aiden Baker and Kaleb Gabrielson looking to reach the podium. Every year we challenge these kids to get better and they’ve never let us down. However, if we’re going to repeat, it’ll depend on how quickly our younger kids step up.”

— Coach Degginger

NOTE: All mentions of placers and qualifiers in the body are based on the 2021-22 season. If a wrestler placed higher or lower in a previous year it is not captured above.

Shades Valley (AL)

Head Coach: Martin Blankenship (entering 21st year of coaching)

Staff: Robert Nelson, Robert Fravel

Shades Valley welcomes the return of Coach Martin Blankenship. Blankenship returns after a few years away, but with a team that returns quite a few wrestlers that competed in the 2022 post-season including State Qualifier Malique Steele. David Barclay and Briley Brooks both return and should help solidify the bottom part of the lineup with Senior Peter Cruz and 8th-grader Alexander Boone.

Keep an eye on Ashton Benson, Amir Higgs, and Trevor Hendricks through the middle of the lineup, but the Mounties strength will likely come up top as they build around Steele (who could compete at 195). Christion Clark returns at 285, but may have to hold off Cedric McIntyre, and Carlos Ford to keep that spot on the lineup. Look for Camarius Wiley, Julian Maddox, and Carterrius Ford to fill in around Steele from 182-220.

“I was the coach here for four years and with the help of Frankie McKeown (Homewood), began to build this program back to respectability. During the three years away helping coach my son’s team (Gardendale), Shades Valley has has three coaches. I am hoping to return some stability to the program, as well as restoring their respectability. We only had a couple of clinics this summer, so this first year will be a good measuring stick for future seasons. We are slowly building our numbers up as the season approaches and we hop to keep most of them through the season.”

— Coach Blankenship

NOTE: All mentions of placers and qualifiers in the body are based on the 2021-22 season. If a wrestler placed higher or lower in a previous year it is not captured above.