Undefeated Senior Demarcus Powe Helps Gardendale Capture 6A North Sectional title

Defending State Champ Mountain Brook wins South Super Section Crown

By JOSH BEAN | For the AHSAA

BIRMINGHAM, AL – Gardendale High School senior Demarcus Powe (47-0) remained undefeated and won the Class 6A 175-pound individual title at Saturday’s AHSAA North Super Section Wrestling championships held at the Birmingham CrossPlex’s Bill Harris Arena. His leadership helped the Rockets claim the North Class 6A title.

Coreu Powe, Demarcus’ younger brother, also took home the Class 6A 126-pound Super Section crown while teammates Broc Righter (215 pounds) and Gage Beyke (285 pounds) finished runner-up. The Rockets won with 213 points. Athens finished runner-up with 212.5 points, followed by Southside-Gadsden with 191 points, Hartselle and Pell City tied in fourth with 187.5 points apiece, and Mortimer Jordan sixth with 181.5 points.

Gardendale’s slim victory in the Class 6A team competition highlighted the final day of the three-day North Super Section, as the South Super Section also concluded at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. The top six section finishers in each weight class in Classes 1A-4A, 6A and 7A advance to next week’s AHSAA State Wrestling Championships, while Class 5A, which has fewer schools, advances the top four wrestlers in each weight class from each sectional.

In Class 7A, Thompson tallied 253 points to win the North Super Section team title on Saturday, followed by Vestavia Hills with 246 points and Huntsville High School with 210.5 points.

In Class 6A-7A girls, Thompson also won the North Super Section team competition, by tallying 215.5 points as Kelsey Seigler (100 pounds), Aenaya Vines (138 pounds), Elizabeth Rosenstiel (145 pounds), Talita Vas (152 pounds) and Ava Nguyen (185 pounds) won individual titles. Sparkman was second with 161 points, followed by Grissom with 90 points.

Huntsville’s Yanik Simon (34-0) remained undefeated and won the Class 7A 150-pound North Section title, as did Vestavia Hills’ Andrew Sullivan (22-0) at 175 pounds. On the girls’  side, Grissom’s Jessalyn Allen (28-0) won the Class 6A-7A 120-pound title and remained undefeated.

The 2025 AHSAA Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Thursday through Feb. 15 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.

AHSAA South Super Section

MONTGOMERY – Defending Class 6A state champion Mountain Brook posted 264.5 points to squeak past Gulf Shores (235.5) and Pike Road (201.5) to claim the 2025 South Super Section wrestling championship at Garrett Coliseum.

Enterprise captured the Class 7A South Super Section title with 223 points. Runner-up Daphne had 220 and Smiths Station finished third with 187.5. Daphne also won the first-ever Class 6A/7A girls’ Super Section Championship posting 193 points to finish 45 points ahead of runner-up Central-Phenix City (148). Enterprise was third with 139.5.

These leading teams advanced a number of wrestlers to the AHSAA State Championships at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center next week, Feb. 13-14-15.

Mountain Brook managed individual wins in the light weights with Bobby Rutkoff winning the 106-pound title with a pin at 3:00. Stephen Springfield (43-7) won the 126-pound weight class with  a pin at 3:58, and 144-pounder Bill Bradford (38-8) won a major decision 11-1 win in his weight class.

Spain Park junior Bradley Williams (51-0) won the 157-pound title with a technical fall at 2:36 (21-3). Brookwood senior Justin Harbin (16-0) won the 132-pound finals with a hard-fought 3-2 decision over the Spartans’ Davis Smith (35-7).

CLASS 7A BOYS: Enterprise captured the super section title with five individual wrestlers in the winner’s circle. Gavin Whiteside won at 190 pounds with a technical fall victory at 5:56 (16-1). Kody Sigmon (50-5) won at 165 pounds with a 13-1 major decision, Grier Hunt (47-3) won by a pin at 144 pounds. Brothers Kameron Stiffler (57-4) and Karter Stiffler (53-6) posted wins in the 132 and 120-pound weight divisions, respectively. Kameron, a senior, won with a 5-2 decision and Karter, a sophomore posted a technical fall at 3:09 (19-1).

CLASS 6A/7A GIRLS: Daphne sophomore Alanah Girard jump-started the Lady Trojans’ bid to claim   the AHSAA’s first-ever Class 6A/7A girls’ South Super Section wrestling championship Saturday winning her 100-pound weight class individual title.

Girard (43-3) earned a No. 1 seed from the South in next week’s first-ever AHSAA girls’ official  Class 6A/7A state title. Cleburne County’s girls made history Friday by claiming the first AHSAA South Girls’ Super Section wrestling championship with girls’ wrestling now officially a championship.

Daphne had four girls win individual titles – Kimber Alford (38-3) at 132 pounds; Kalyse Hill (38-1) at 126 pounds; Juliana Eldridge (32-0) at 114 pounds, and Girard.

Other key performances included Enterprise senior Evyln Homes-Smith (29-1) winning at 138 pounds; Enterprise junior MacKenzie Schultz (30-3) at 152 pounds; and Mallory Ladd (32-0),  senior for the Wildcats, who won the 185-poud title with a pin at 1:26. Schultz also won with a pin at 54 seconds.