SPORTS LEDGER Established 2006 The E-Edition Page 6 February 2026 Read More Online at www.thesportsledger.com
Scottsboro Sweeps State Bowling Titles Scottsboro High School head bowling coach Matthew Brewer had plenty of reasons to smile, as the 11th AHSAA State Bowling Championship came down to a close at the Mobile’s Bowlero Bowling Center. For starters, his Lady Wildcats rolled to their second straight Class 1A/5A girls’ state championship going 4-0 in the two-day double-elimination format beating East Limestone in the final match by a convincing 174 pins. Scottsboro totaled 1,275 pins to East Limestone’s 1,101. Four hours later, Brewer’s boys clawed out a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five Baker format to down Corner High School in the 1A/5A boys’ championship match. Thompson High School’s Lady Warriors claimed the 6A/7A girls’ state championship with a 4-0 record – averaging winning each match by 235.8 pins. The Lady Warriors of Coach Michael Craycraft downed Hoover in the finals Friday in their closest match of the tourney – 1,329 to 1,165. Thompson had a 164-pin cushion in the finals and beat the Bucs on Thursday in the winners’ bracket finals by 181 pins. Scottsboro’s girls’ strong lineup was anchored Grace Anderton, Sydney Moore, Emma Cosby, and Surina Patel. East Limestone, coached by Mark Ferris, reached the finals battling back from an 83-pin deficit to post a one- pin win over Orange Beach, 1,218-1,217. Callie Thrasher and Miley Dickerson led East Limestone, which also beat Indian Springs another nailbiter 1,195 to 1,169 – 26 pins. Hoover reached the finals beating James Clemens 1,303 to 1,176 in the consolation finals. The Jets beat Southside 1,211 to 1,179 in game 12 of the consolation play to set up the match with Hoover. Anchoring Thompson’s lineup were senior Emmas Robinson, sophomore Skilyr Harrington, Ashley Lozano, Lila Aikman, and Lily Hasenbein. Sophomore Josie Dambrino. Scottsboro’s boys relied on a senior-laden lineup including Luke Anderton, Mikey Horan, MJ Skelton, Parker Dodson, and Jacob Loett to beat Corner 3-1 in the finals with a 1,579-pin total. Corner had 1,511 pins. Scottsboro and Corner also met in the winners’ bracket finals Thursday with the Wildcats posting a 178-pin win sending the Jackets to the consolation finals. Corner, coached by Will Gray, beat Beauregard in a high-scoring match 1,511 to 1,434 to move back to the championship match. Gray strong efforts throughout the tournament from Matt Sanford, Gabe Barnes, Tucker Lee, and Heath Pierce. Beauregard downed Fairview 1,486 to 1,439 in the first consolation match of the day to move to the consolation finals. Stanhope Elmore sent Hoover to the consolation bracket Thursday, but the Bucs stormed back to the finals, thanks in big part to nine straight strikes in a row from Troy King, winning 1,490 to 1,422 to force the “if” game in the double-elimination format finals. Stanhope, coached by Kenny Wilson, clawed back from a 50-pin deficit to capture the first AHSAA bowling title in the Millbrook school’s history winning game 15 by 37 pins – 1,586 to 1,559. Leading Stanhope was a strong lineup led by Junior Seth Wilson, senior Drake Abbott, Dequan Brown, Ryan Best, and Alexis Gilbert. Hoover, coached by Dustin Edgar, beat Tuscaloosa County in the consolation finals 1,603 to 1,571. The Wildcats beat James Clemens posting 1,475 pins to the Jets’ 1,437 in game 12 of the consolation bracket. Pacing Hoover’s team was King, Kohen Reamsma, Braxton Nguyen, and Jacob Cherry. AHSAA STATE BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS Bowlero Bowling Center, Mobile FRIDAY (JAN 30, 2026) RESULTS CLASS 6A/7A BOYS CONSOLATION BRACKET G-12: Tuscaloosa County 1,475, James Clemens 1,437 G-13: Hoover 1,603, Tuscaloosa County 1,571 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Arab Defeats Hayden to Claim AHSAA 5A Duals Title The Albertville Junior Varsity boys recently won the 2026 Marshall County Basketball Tournament. The Aggies defeated Arab 67-43. Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger Marshall County JV Champions
• 159 pounds: John Kelley (Hayden) over Bronson Click (Arab) Dec 10-3 • 167 pounds: Tyce Crosswy (Arab) over Kail Collins (Hayden) TF 18-2 • 177 pounds: Kadin Walter (Arab) over Tyler Vodosia (Hayden) Fall 1:12 • 192 pounds: Brody Patrick (Arab) over Ayden Guttierez (Hayden) Fall 2:28 • 217 pounds: Kolten Motte (Hayden) over Sam Willis (Arab) Fall 1:23 • 287 pounds: Owen Ridgeway (Arab) over Jacob Baker (Hayden) Fall 3:41 • 108 pounds: Austin Waites (Arab) over Liam Swann (Hayden) Fall 5:07 • 115 pounds: Luke McLaughlin (Hayden) over Jayce Green (Arab) Dec 9-6 • 122 pounds: Eli McAlpine (Hayden) over Ethan Norbut (Arab) Maj 16-2 AHSAA 2026 WRESTLNG DUALS CHAMPIONSHIPS CLASS 7A 7A Championship Finals Thompson (18-11) 33, Oak Mountain (29-3) 28 7A Consolation Finals Daphne (16-9) 47, Smiths Station (19-5) 35 7A Semifinals Oak Mountain (29-2) 47, Smiths Station (19-4) 16 Thompson (17-11) 53, Daphne (15-8) 18 CLASS 6A 6A Championship Finals Athens (16-1) 45, Gulf Shores (18-1) 24 6A Consolation Finals McAdory (20-20) 42, Pell City 30 6A Semifinals Athens (15-1) 50, McAdory (19-20) 21 Gulf Shores (18-0) 34, Pell City 33 CLASS 5A
Courtesy of AHSAA, Josh Bean Arab High School has won more dual matches than any other Alabama high school wrestling program. That’s why it seemed odd that the Knights failed to reach the AHSAA wrestling duals final four in 2024 and 2025 before arriving Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex Bill Harris Arena. Arab walked out a few hours later with the Class 5A duals title after beating Hayden 41-33 in the final. “It’s a testament to all of our guys,” Arab coach Klay Cranford said. “They wanted to be back and they made it happen.” Arab (23-8) previously won duals titles in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022. The Knights defeated Hayden in a tight match earlier this season and Cranford anticipated another nip-and- tuck affair in Friday’s final. He was right. Hayden won four of the first six matchups, with Hudson Best winning by pin at 146 pounds and Tanner Vodosia winning by pin at 152 pounds. The Knights later took control by earning four pinfall wins in a five-match stretch – Kadin Walter at 177 pounds, Brody Patrick at 192 pounds, Owen Ridgeway at 287 pounds and Austin Waites at 108 pounds. Waites’ third- period pin clinched the match for the Knights. “Our guys really battled, guys who pulled out decisions and didn’t get pinned,” Cranford said. Hayden fell just shy of winning its first duals title, having finished fourth in Class 5A in 2023. Arab defeated Beauregard 63-16 in a semifinal match earlier Friday, and Hayden defeated Elmore County 54-19 in the other semifinal. Elmore County defeated Beauregard 46-30 for third place. The Class 5A finals and consolation finals closed out the AHSAA 2026 Duals competition. Teams now will turn their attention to getting ready for the upcoming AHSAA traditional wrestling championships. The post-season will include competition in the North and South Super Sectional meets at Bill Harris Arena and Montgomery’s Garrett Coliseum Feb. 5-7. The 71st AHSAA traditional state wrestling championships will close out the season Feb. 12-14 at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center. • AHSAA Class 6A Duals Championship: Arab 41, Hayden 33 • 128 pounds: Skylar Owens (Hayden) over Emmett Silva (Arab) TF 19-2 • 134 pounds: Brice Patrick (Arab) over Christopher Mayle (Hayden) Fall 1:50 • 140 pounds: Colby Silva (Arab) over Harley Briscoe (Hayden) Fall 2:36 • 146 pounds: Hudson Best (Hayden) over Nolen Dunn (Arab) Fall 3:43 • 152 pounds: Tanner Vodosia (Hayden) over Dale Ray Morton (Arab) Fall 3:35
5A Championship Finals Arab (23-8) 41, Hayden 33 5A Consolation Finals Elmore County 26-7) 46, Beauregard (20-9) 30 5A Semifinals Arab (22-8) 63, Beauregard (20-8) 16 Hayden 54, Elmore County (25-7) 19 CLASS 1A/4A 1A/4A Championship Finals Tallassee (38-1) 42, Oak Grove (30-5) 30 1A/4A Consolation Finals Alexandria (13-4) 59, Deshler (22-6) 18 1A/4A Semifinals Oak Grove (30-4) 53, Deshler (22-5) 24 Tallassee (37-1) 34, Alexandria (12-4) 26
Super Bowl LX Set For February 8 The New England Patriots (17-3) and Seattle Seahawks (16-3) will meet in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8 (6:30 p.m. ET, NBC) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. It will mark the first Super Bowl since the 1970 merger between teams that each ranked in the top four in scoring offense and scoring defense during the regular season. The Patriots will make their 12th Super Bowl appearance, the most among all teams. New England can also become the first team to win seven Super Bowls and surpass San Francisco (40 wins) for the most postseason wins by a franchise in NFL history. The Seahawks, who will appear in the Super Bowl for the fourth time, can secure the second Super Bowl victory in franchise history, previously winning Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 season (Seattle 43, Denver 8). New England and Seattle are the 10th pair of teams to meet in multiple Super Bowls, previously facing off in Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona following the 2014 season (Patriots 28, Seahawks 24). Super Bowl LX marks the 32nd consecutive season to feature a different Super Bowl matchup than the season before.
G-14: Hoover 1,490, Stanhope Elmore 1,422 G-15: Stanhope Elmore 1,586, Hoover, 1,559 (Stanhope is 6A/7A Boys’ stater champion)
CLASS 1A/5A BOYS CONSOLATION BRACKET
G-12: Beauregard 1,486, Fairview 1,439 G-13: Corner 1,511, Beauregard 1,434 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH G-14: Scottsboro 1,579, Corner 1,503 (Scottsboro is 1A/5A Boys’ state champion)
CLASS 6A/7A GIRLS CONSOLATION BRACKET
G-12: James Clemens 1,211, Southside 1,179 G-13: Hoover 1,303, James Clemens 1,176 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH G-14: Thompson 1,329, Hoover 1,165 (Thompson is 6A/7A Girls’ state champion)
Photo by David Holtsford, AHSAA
Sophomores Ryder Linville of Scottsboro and Kyle Zeisset of Guntersville sprint to the finish line in the 56th AHSAA Indoor State Track Championships with Linville winning the Class 4A-5A 800 meters with a time of 1:56.11. Zeisset clocked 1:56.25 and Montgomery Catholic’s Cole Henson was third clocking 1:56.44.
CLASS 1A/5A GIRLS CONSOLATION BRACKET
G-12: East Limestone 1,195, Indian Springs 1,169 G-13: East Limestone 1,218, Orange Beach 1,217 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH G-14: Scottsboro 1,275, East Limestone 1,101 (Scottsboro is 1A/5A Girls’ state champion)
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