Here are 18 wrestlers to watch in the postseason from the Tuscaloosa area
High school wrestling super section tournaments begin this weekend.
The North Super Section Tournament will be held at the Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, while the South Super Section Tournament will be held at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. Following conclusion of the super section tournaments, qualifiers will advance to the state tournament from Feb. 15-17 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.
There are six schools in the Tuscaloosa area with wrestling programs: Paul W. Bryant, Tuscaloosa County, Northside, Northridge, Brookwood and Central, with Central in its first season as a program under coach Drew Emerson.
Here are 18 wrestlers to watch in the postseason from the Tuscaloosa area.
Caleb Shealey
Paul W. Bryant, Jr., 215-weight class
Why chosen: Shealey, who is in his first season of wrestling, is coming off a first-place finish in the 215-weight class at the Brookwood Wrestling Invitational. He is 13-1 on the season.
Ruben Gomez
Paul W. Bryant, eighth grade, 160-weight class
Why chosen: The eighth grader has an 11-2 record on the season. Most recently, he came in third place at the Brookwood Wrestling Invitational.
Donny Burnett
Northridge, Jr., 175-weight class
Why chosen: Burnett is 33-6 on the season. Going into sectionals, Burnett has placed in the top four at every tournament he has competed at this season.
Hunter Evans
Northridge, Fr., 165-weight class
Why chosen: Evans has a record of 38-8 on the season, the best record posted by a freshman at Northridge.
Jayden King
Tuscaloosa County, Jr., 126-weight class
Why chosen: King is a returning state qualifier after finishing fourth at the state meet last season. He has compiled a record of 35-13 this season with first place wins at the Barbara Pill Invitational (Palm Bay, FL). He's part of a Tuscaloosa County wrestling team that took home first place overall finishes at the Ricky Miller Invitational (Tuscaloosa, AL), the St. Marks 55th Lonestar Invitational (Dallas, TX) and the Charlie Moore Invitational (Reading, OH).
Blake Christian
Tuscaloosa County, Jr., 215-weight class
Why chosen: Christian has a 41-9 record on the season. He has first place finishes at the Barbara Pill Invitational (Palm Bay, FL), the Rocket City Invitational (Huntsville, AL), the St. Marks 55th Lonestar Invitational (Dallas, TX) and at the Charlie Moore Invitational (Reading, OH).
Dalton Todd
Tuscaloosa County, Jr., 113-weight class
Why chosen: Todd has a 33-14 record on the season, with first places finishes at the Barbara Pill Invitational (Palm Bay, FL), the St. Marks 55th Lonestar Invitational (Dallas, TX) and at the Charlie Moore Invitational (Reading, OH).
Luis Melendez
Tuscaloosa County, Jr., 150-weight class
Why chosen: Melendez, also who plays goalkeeper on the soccer team, is 39-13 on the season. He has first place finishes at the Barbara Pill Invitational (Palm Bay, FL).
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CENTRAL WRESTLING: Central wrestling program making strides in its first year
Airen McCoy
Tuscaloosa County, Jr., 157-weight class
Why chosen: The junior is 39-15 on the season. He has third place finishes at the Barbara Pill Invitational (Palm Bay, FL) and at the St. Marks 55th Lonestar Invitational (Dallas, TX) and the Charlie Moore Invitational (Reading, OH), along with a second-place finish at the Mortimer Jordan Invitational (Kimberly, AL).
Andrew Anderson
Tuscaloosa County, Jr., 165-weight class
Why chosen: Anderson's current record on the season is 39-13. He took first place at the Barbara Pill Invitational (Palm Bay, FL), the Charlie Moore Invitational (Reading, OH) and at the Mortimer Jordan Invitational (Kimberly, AL).
Cayden Ervin
Tuscaloosa County, So., 175-weight class
Why chosen: The sophomore is 32-11 on the season, with first place finishes at the Barbara Pill Invitational (Palm Bay, FL) and at the Charlie Moore Invitational (Reading, OH).
Owen Herbert
Tuscaloosa County, Jr., 120-weight class
Why chosen: The 120-pound junior is 33-19 on the season. Herbert has taken home third place finishes at the St. Marks 55th Lonestar Invitational (Dallas, TX), the Charlie Moore Invitational (Reading, OH) and the Rocket City Invitational (Huntsville, AL) this season.
Jesus Quezada
Tuscaloosa County, Sr., 144-weight class
Why chosen: The senior is 34-14 on the season. He took home first place at the Rocket City Invitational (Huntsville, AL) this season.
Lakendrick Clancy
Tuscaloosa County, Sr., 285-weight class
Why chosen: The heavyweight is in his first season of wrestling and has compiled a 40-16 record on the season. He has first place wins at the St. Marks 55th Lonestar Invitational (Dallas, TX).
Justin Harbin
Brookwood, So., 108-weight class
Why chosen: The sophomore is 33-6 on the season, with wins this season against top wrestlers in the state.
Tyler Cooper
Brookwood, Fr., 159-weight class
Why chosen: Cooper is 46-5 on the season, and coach Ivan Bailey said he looks to make a big run at sectionals and state.
Noah Davis
Brookwood, So., 134-weight class
Why chosen: The sophomore in 37-5 on the season, taking quite a few of his losses early in the season.
Antoine Williams
Brookwood, Sr., 287-weight class
Why chosen: Williams is looking to make a big statement this year, and coach Ivan Bailey said he has big wins under his belt this season.
Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama softball and football recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: High school wrestling: Wrestlers to watch in the postseason
