By Rubin E. Grant
In the first 22 years of the Spain Park wrestling program, only two wrestlers completed undefeated seasons.
That number doubled Saturday when senior Kyle Oliveira and sophomore Bradley Williams accomplished the feat in the 69th AHSAA State Wrestling State Championships at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.
Kyle Oliveira (53-0) won the Class 7A 215-pound title and Williams (54-0) claimed the 144-pound crown.
For Oliveira, it was the culmination of a long journey.
“I came in this season with a goal to end my high school year with a great statement in front of a lot of people who’ve seen me grow up with this sport,” Oliveira said. “State has always been the ultimate goal ever since I started wrestling in high school.
“I felt tons of pressure as I felt the expectations of people to be big on me, so the way I performed at state was very nerve-racking to me.”
Oliveira, who finished second at 195 pounds in 2023, didn’t let the pressure affect his effort on the mat. He had a pin, a major decision, and two decisions in the tournament. He defeated Tuscaloosa County’s Blake Christian 7-2 in the championship match.
He joined his sister Yasmine Oliveira as an undefeated Spain Park wrestler. As a senior in 2022, she won the 147-pound title during the 2022 AHSAA Girls State Tournament, finishing with a 21-0 record.
Kyle Oliveira has mixed feelings about ending his high school career in similar fashion.
“Closing out the final chapter of wrestling at Spain Park has been a wonderful but sad experience because even my goal to be undefeated and win a state title was accomplished, the family and coaches I’ve met along the way have been a great impact in my life and I wish it could last forever, but I must move on to bigger and better things,” he said.
For the season, Oliveira totaled 35 pins, finishing his career with 140 wins, 87 by pin. He hopes to wrestle in college as his sister is doing as a sophomore at King University in Bristol, Tennessee.
“So far, my college has not been decided yet, but I’ll announce it after I thoroughly take my visits,” Kyle Oliveira said. “But that announcement will probably come after NHSCA wrestling nationals, which is a national tournament I’ll be competing in soon.”
Williams Refused to Lose
Williams had two pins and an injury default victory en route to winning his title. He beat Opelika junior Denarvious Anderson (48-9) with a pin coming at 1:51 in the match. Williams was voted Class 7A most outstanding wrestler.
“I really kind of had the mentality that I can’t lose,” Williams said. “The more I won during the season, the more I tried my hardest not to lose.
“I had placed second the last three years, so I was really hoping to finally win it and go undefeated.”
His pin in the championship match was his 100th career pin.
“I had tried to get it a few times and I had gotten a bit worried,” Williams said. “I wanted to get it in the semifinals, but the guy (Huntsville’s Jay Colebaugh) got hurt. I was happy to get it in the finals, so I didn’t have to wait until next season to get it.”
Williams won 38 of his 54 matches this season by pin, bringing his career record to 185 wins. He relished the undefeated season but is eager to attempt to do it again.
“It means a lot and motivates me to work even harder and try to go undefeated next season,” Williams said.
Mountain Brook Triumphs
Mountain Brook didn’t have any individual champions, but the Spartans still won the Class 6A title decisively.
The Spartans clinched their first state crown with 184 points through the consolation round in the morning of the final day of the three-day tournament. Mortimer Jordan was second with 165 points and Homewood third with 138.5.
“Our wrestlers were lights out,” Mountain Brook coach Justin Ransom said. “We led all divisions in pins with 17. They went above and beyond what we expected them to do.
“We had everybody healthy but one. Bill Bradford, our 144-pounder who was the No. 3 seed, had to withdraw because of an injury.
“We clinched in the morning with two pins in the consolation finals. We won all our semifinals and got to those third- and fourth-place matches.”
The Spartans had five runner-up finishers: Stephen Springfield at 120 pounds, Jude Smith at 157 pounds, Stuart Andrews at 165 pounds, Sam Carroll at 190 pounds and Daniel Ellis at 285 pounds.
“I was hurt as a coach not seeing them achieve their goal,” Ransom said. “We had one senior (Carroll) and you would have liked to see him with his hand raised. But we had five in the finals and nine on the podium.”
Mountain Brook joined Class 7A Huntsville, Class 5A Scottsboro and Class 1A-4A Weaver as champions of both the state Duals title (held in January) and the traditional state tournament this season. It’s the first time in AHSAA wrestling history that the Duals champions all repeated as state champs in the same season. The Duals tournament began in 2017.
“It’s pretty rare,” Ransom said. “It always had been that Mountain Brook had never won the state. We won the Duals two years in a row, but the traditional was always hanging out there and now we’ve won that.
“We changed what we were doing after the Duals. All the boys did everything to perfection in the sectionals and the state, getting their bodies right and their minds right. Being able to win the traditional after winning the Duals makes it sweeter. You can enjoy the moment longer.”
OTM Wrestlers AHSAA
State Championship
Match Results
CLASS 6A
120 pounds: Caleb Wright, Mortimer Jordan (40-3), Sr. def. Stephen Springfield, Mtn Brook (30-6), Jr. (dec. 5-4)
132 pounds: Noah Smith, Wetumpka (37-2) Sr. def. Moeeh Almansoob, Homewood (50-6), Sr. (dec. 6-2)
157 pounds: Cody Kirk, Pike Road (50-2), Jr. dec. Jude Smith, Mtn Brook (30-6), Jr. (maj. dec. 9-1)
165 pounds: Daishun Poe, Gardendale (44-4), Sr. def. Stuart Andrews, Mtn Brook (19-3), So. (tech fall, 25-10)
190 pounds: Oliver Howard, Decatur (40-0), def. Sam Carroll, Mtn Brook (36-7), Sr. (dec. 4-2)
285 pounds: Willie Cox, Wetumpka (47-2), Sr. def. Daniel Ellis, Mtn Brook (17-5), Jr., (dec., 8-4)
CLASS
7A
106 pounds: Jameson Thomas, Oak Mountain (39-3), Fr. def. Matthew Campbell, Vestavia Hills (13-5), Fr. (dec. 6-0)
144 pounds: Bradley Williams, Spain Park (45-0) pinned Denarvious Anderson, Opelika (48-9), Jr. (fall, 1:51).
165 pounds: Andrew Sullivan, Vestavia Hills (28-2), Jr. def. Brock Fields, Huntsville (29-5), Sr. (dec. 3-0)
215 pounds: Kyle Oliveira, Spain Park (53-0), Sr. def. Blake Christian, Tuscaloosa Co. (48-11), Jr. (dec. 7-2)
Most Outstanding Wrestler: Bradley Williams, Spain Park
