By Staff
Hartselle records perfect 8-0 slate on way to the title
Charles Prince, Hartselle Enquirer
The Hartselle Tiger wrestling team appears to be in mid-season form after attending the Appalachian State wrestling camp in Boone, N.C. The Tigers dominated the camp and came home the champions with a perfect 8-0 record.
Head coach Keith Corder expressed his satisfaction with the Tigers' triumph.
"To win the event with that many teams and that level of competition says a lot about our team," Corder said. "It's a pretty big deal to come out on top of so many good wrestling programs. It was a tough camp, but it was a great experience for us."
Hartselle competed against 35 other schools from several states during the camp. The Tigers opened with a 24-7 win over Ledford High of North Carolina. In their second match Hartselle topped Ragsdale, Tenn. 24-6. Next, the Tigers took on Rock Hill, S.C., winning by a 20-13 count. Up next was Irmo, S.C., the Tigers won again 19-8. In match number five, Hartselle topped Palmetto, Fl. 22-6. In the quarterfinals, the Tigers stopped defending Georgia Class 6A champion Lafayette 21-13. In the semi-final round, Hartselle ran its winning streak to seven with a hard-fought 17-11 win over CB Aycock High out of North Carolina.
In the finals, the only two unbeaten schools faced off when the Tigers took on Cabell High of West Virginia. Hartselle took the title with a 24-10 win.
Three Tigers went unbeaten during the camp, Brad Eubanks, Dennis Smith and Andrew Watson all went a perfect 8-0 while Kurt Hamilton and Jake Watkins went 7-1.
Rico Elliott and Corey Farmer both compiled 6-2 records while Travis Lightle and Dallas Kalber both won five matches and lost three.
Luke Mize won five and lost two while missing one match. Lee McCravy, Andrew Durham, Brett Bidwell and Matt Zartuche all recorded 4-4 records while Caleb Blanton went 4-3.
Chad Vest won his only two matches while four Tigers suffered losing records.
Hunter and Ryder Brasher both went 3-5 while Barrett Eubanks went 2-4 while first-year wrestler JD Glenn went 1-7.
Corder praised Hunter Brasher for continuing on after an injury in the camps first day.
"He broke his hand on day one," Corder said. "But he had it tapped and wanted to continue to wrestle. That showed me a lot of guts."