SPORTS

Spain Park softball coach Urse Hawkins reaches milestone for victories. Page 26 Hoover senior Nick Smith came back from two offseason knee surgeries to win his second straight state title. Page 27

Thursday, February 25, 2021 ❖ OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Vestavia Hills won the Class 7A team wrestling championship at the Birmingham CrossPlex’s Bill Harris Arena on Feb. 13, ending rival Thompson’s three-year reign. The title was a state-record 16th overall for the Rebels.

Crowning Achievement

Vestavia Hills Claims Record 16th State Wrestling Championship; Flurry Finishes Unbeaten

By RuBin E. GRant

Vestavia Hills junior wrestler Zach Flurry was determined that things would be different this time.

In the 2020 state tournament, Flurry was pinned by Thompson’s Blaise Albarado in the Class 7A 106-pound championship match.

The loss motivated Flurry throughout this season. He moved up to 113 pounds, and when he returned to the state tournament Feb. 12-13 at the Birmingham CrossPlex’s Bill Harris Arena, Flurry wouldn’t be denied. He captured the 113pound crown with a 6-4 decision over Thompson’s Thomas Giere in the 66th AHSAA State Wrestling Championships.

Flurry finished with a 21-0 record, becoming only the third wrestler in Vestavia Hills history to have an undefeated season. James Edwards, now a football player at Clemson, was 32-0 when he won the 220-pound title in 2017, and Jeff Segars, the Rebels’ athletic director, was an undefeated state champion in 1986 at 185 pounds.

“Last year after I lost in the state finals, I made it my goal to win this year,” Flurry said. “Halfway through the season, I thought I had a chance to go undefeated. It doesn’t happen often. When it happened, I couldn’t believe it. It’s nice to be part of a very small group.”

Flurry was one of four Rebels to win individual titles as Vestavia Hills won the Class 7A team competition, ending Thompson’s threeyear reign. The title was a state-record 16th overall for the Rebels.

Vestavia Hills finished with 277.5 points to earn its first state team title since 2017. Thompson was second with 240.5 points, followed by Hewitt-Trussville (150 points), Spain Park (147.5), Huntsville (144), Hoover (124.5), Smiths Station (95), Grissom (73), Sparkman (73) and Oak Mountain (72).

Sweet Revenge

Vestavia Hills bounced back from a loss to Thompson in the final of the Class 7A AHSAA Duals Wrestling Tournament on Jan. 22, making its state title extra special.

“It was very sweet to win it,” Vestavia Hills coach Monterrious ‘Tee’ Adams said. “It was

BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS

Taking Aim

Oak Mountain Makes Another Run at Final Four Berth

By RuBin E. GRant

Until 2020, the Oak Mountain boys basketball team had never been to the Alabama High School Athletic Association State Finals.

Now, the Eagles are on the verge of making it two straight trips to the Final Four.

Oak Mountain (21-9) will play either Hoover or Florence in the Class 7A Northwest Regional final at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Wallace State in Hanceville. Hoover (17-8) hosted Florence (11-13) Monday night in the regional semifinals after the game had to be rescheduled from Friday.

If Oak Mountain wins the regional championship, it will advance to the state tournament next week at UAB’s Bartow Arena.

Eagles coach Chris Love said the team has had to overcome a number of obstacles to get back to this point.

“This has been hard with COVID and some other things,” Love said. “We struggled a lot early and had some losses. We had some injuries and we didn’t have some of our football guys. It took us some time to find ourselves, especially not having a summer to work together as a team.

“We knew it would take some time for things to come together. We kept moving forward, trying to get better every day. In high school basketball, you want to be playing your best ball now. We’ve been playing well the last eight or nine games.”

See PLAYOFFS, page 26