Davis earns third at state tournament

By Staff
Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
HUNTSVILLE - Hartselle junior Kyle Davis hadn’t squared off against Skylar Matthews for a year, but the memory of two losses to the Fort Payne wrestler was still fresh in his mind..
This time, Davis got the upperhand on the Fort Payne wrestler Saturday in the Class 5A state tournament at the Von Braun Center.
Davis, one of three Hartselle wrestlers who qualified for the state meet, used a second-period escape to beat Matthews 1-0 in the third-place match at 130 pounds.
Davis finished the year 42-8 after going 3-1 in the state meet.
Matthews had Davis in a little trouble midway through the match when the Fort Payne wrestler picked Davis up off the mat.
When Matthews, who had finished third in the past four state tournaments, got control in the second period, Davis managed to break free to score the matches only point.
The finish was the highest for Davis in his career. He was fourth at 125 last year as a sophomore. He took fourth at 112 in 2006.
Now Davis hopes to take a step further next year.
Scottsboro dominated the 5A team standings, winning its third straight championship by beating Arab by 116.5 points.
Hartselle, the last Class 5A team to win the team championship before Scottsboro’s current run, finished tied with Brookwood for 15th place.
The Tigers’ Ethan Hamilton and Dalton Nagel were both knocked from the state tournament with losses in their only matches.
Davis was the only Hartselle wrestler to win during the three-day tournament. He finished with a 3-1 record after winning two matches in the consolation bracket.
Davis opened up the 5A tournament with a pin of Tallassee’s Chris Adams just 28 seconds into the first-round match.
But a 16-8 loss to Scottsboro’s Garon Machen ended Davis’ dream of winning a state individual championship. Machen went on to win his second 5A state title.
Davis rebounded to beat Moody’s Kent Lawley with a 2-1 decision to advance to the third place match with Matthews.
Hamilton, a junior wrestling in the 189-pound weight class, was pinned by Tallassee’s Jonathan Haynes Friday in the first round.
Haynes went on to finish fourth in the tournament.
Hamilton was beaten by Hayden’s Rusty Thigpen in the consolation bracket.
Nagel also suffered losses in both of his matches and did not place in the 5A tournament.
He opened with a loss to Tallassee’s Dav Shirley in the 119-pound weight class.
Nagel was knocked from the tournament with a loss to Brookwood’s Mike Miles in the consolation round.