RRS NOTES: Local wrestlers win state titles; Keel signs with Faulkner; Bama A-Day set
COMBINED REPORTS
HUNTSVILLE – Three wrestlers from the River Region brought home state titles from the 65th AHSAA State Wrestling Championships at the Von Braun Center over the weekend.
Tallassee’s Zack Haynes won the 126-pound title in Class 1A-5A while Jack Burt of Montgomery Catholic took the 160-pound title. Christian McCary of Tallassee finished fifth in the 132-pound category while Kurt Reichert of Prattville Christian finished fourth in 182-pounds. Elmore County’s Matt Brown was fourth in the 220-pound category.
In Class 6A, Mason Blackwell of Wetumpka, won the 182-pound weight class while his teammate, Mason Dickey, was sixth in 113-pounds. Kyler Adams of Wetumpka also finished third in 132-pound class and Ethan McCord of Stanhope Elmore finished fifth in 132 pounds. Jakarri Smith of G.W. Carver was sixth in 138 pounds and Stanhope Elmore’s Conner Russo was fifth in 145 pounds. Wetumpka’s Abe Preston was fourth in the 220-pound weight class.
In 7A, Reggie Fowler of R.E. Lee finished third in the Heavyweight (285-pounds) class.
Arab won the Class 1A-5A overall title while Gardendale won the Class 6A title where Wetumpka finished fifth. Thompson won its third-straight title in Class 7A.
Keel signs with Faulkner
Cobi Keel was offered two options to continue his athletic career at Faulkner University.
He chose them both.
The Alabama Christian Academy senior was offered an opportunity to play for the Faulkner men’s soccer team and an opportunity to kick for the football team. The sports both operate during the fall season, yet Keel intends to compete in both sports.
“I’m not exactly sure how they’ll work out those details, but Cobi is good enough and such a sparkplug enough that if there was a way you could make it work, you’d make it work for a guy like that,” Alabama Christian Academy coach Nate Sanford said.
Keel already had the attention of the Faulkner soccer coaches but his emergence this past season as a steady kicker for ACA garnered a tryout in that sport as well.
“He went over and kicked for Faulkner,” Sanford said. “He’s never gone to a single kicking camp, so basically he has nothing but upside.”
Keel played a role in the Eagles’ late-season surge as ACA rallied from a 1-3 start by winning five of its final six regular-season games. Keel’s kicking was important, Sanford noted, but his uplifting personality played a role as well.
“He had ankle issues on both ankles throughout the summer,” Sanford said. “He ended up with a boot on both feet. About the third week in the season, Tuesday of a game week, he says, ‘Coach, I’m kicking for you on Friday.’ He has ultimate confidence in himself. Sure enough, on Friday morning he shows up with no boots on his feet.
“He just has swag. If a 5-foot-5 guy can have swag, Cobi has swag. He came into our locker room and the energy level just went from a 6 to a 9.6. That’s just the kind of person he is. He believes in himself and has total confidence in what he’s doing.”
Alabama sets date for A-Day amid Bryant-Denny construction
The 2020 Alabama Golden Flake A-Day Game will be played on April 18 and is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kick at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Ongoing construction at Bryant-Denny Stadium will limit the stadium’s capacity for the 2020 A-Day Game to approximately 30,000-35,000. Seating will be available on the east and south sides in the lower and upper bowls. There will be limited concessions available at select stands and four water stations set up throughout the concourses.
Once capacity at Bryant-Denny Stadium is reached, Sewell-Thomas Stadium will be opened and fans can watch the game live on the video board while also being able to access restrooms and concessions.
The A-Day Game will serve as the 15th and final practice of the spring. Gates open at 10 a.m. and admission will once again be free to the public. It will be the program's 14th A-Day Game under the direction of six-time national championship coach Nick Saban. Television details will be released at a later date.