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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HUNTSVILLE – While the goal for every wrestler in Alabama is to make it to Huntsville for the state championship meet, the Oak Mountain Eagles, Chelsea Hornets and Indian Springs got a taste of success up north at the Huntsville Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 2.

Oak Mountain’s Jameson Thomas claimed first place in the 106-pound division with a perfect 7-0 record.

Thomas scored two technical falls in his opening pair of matches and then won five straight matches by way of a pin before taking a 12-0 major decision over Brentwood’s Jack Hazard in the first-place match.

Trey Denny of the Eagles also reached the first-place match of his division, coming in second place in the 120-pound division.

He took four straight wins by fall within the first minute of the match to start the tournament before winning a major decision and two more decisions to reach the finals. Denny lost by a technical fall to Huntsville’s Wallace Blue, but still reached the podium to improve to 18-2.

Griffin Gardner also brought home a medal for Oak Mountain after he came in third place in the 113-pound division. After a fall within 26 seconds of the opening match starting, he took a 17-1 technical fall in the second match to earn a pair of byes into the fifth round.

Gardner bounced back from a fifth-round loss with a first-period pin in the quarterfinals. He lost in the semifinals but got redemption in the third-place match with a 4-0 decision over Brentwood’s Ellison Abromowitz.

Quinn Ivey came in third place for Oak Mountain in the 132-pound division by winning five straight matches to start the tournament, including two falls and a technical fall. He scored a pin against Brentwood’s Graham Stanley at the 1:53 mark of the third-place match to reach the podium.

The Eagles also had a fourth-place finisher with Peyton Gamble in the 215-pound division. He earned a pair of falls to begin, including one in the third period and one in the first, and also won by pin in the quarterfinals and earn a top-four finish.

For Chelsea, Porter Schott came in second place in the 190-pound division after winning five straight matches to start the tournament. Each of those five wins came by way of a fall, including two within the first 50 seconds of the match.

He reached the finals with a pin at 3:55 of his matchup with Brentwood’s Henry Drazek to secure a top-two spot.

Tyler Rayford came in third place in the 150-pound division after the Hornets wrestler cruised to the semifinals. He earned a major decision in the first round before securing three straight first period pins, and then he took another major decision to reach the semifinals.

While Rayford lost in the semifinals, he edged out a tight 6-5 decision with over Hartselle’s Garrett Willingham in the third-place match.

Adam Cornwell of Chelsea came in fourth place in the 165-pound division. He started off on a five-match win streak that included three falls and a major decision but lost by an 8-6 sudden victory in the semifinals.

The Hornets’ Logan Sanders finished fourth in the 285-pound division. After winning his opening round match with a pin 49 seconds into the match, a bye and two forfeits placed him into the quarterfinals.

From there, Sanders won a 5-3 decision over Madison County’s Logan Joiner to secure a top-four finish.

Indian Springs’ best finish came from Will Mashburn, who placed ninth in the 120-pound division. Despite losing his first two matches, he bounced back to earn a pin and a technical fall to advance to the consolation bracket.

Mashburn kept the hot streak going by taking a win by first-period pin in the quarterfinals, a 9-5 decision in the semifinals and a 25-second fall in the ninth-place match against St. John Paul II’s Xavier Escorpizo.