By Loyd McIntosh
Five Mountain Brook High School wrestlers advanced to the finals in the 2024 Merril Lynch Spartan Invitational Tournament held at Mountain Brook High School, on Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14.
Bobby Rutkoff and Bill Bradford captured first place, and Stephen Springfield, Christopher Brown and Beckett Smith finished in second place to lead the Spartans to a first-place finish in the prestigious annual tournament featuring wrestlers and schools throughout Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.
The Spartan Invitational was first held in 2000 and went through several format changes until it was revived under its current format in 2012, explains Mountain Head Wrestling Coach Justin Ransom. The 2024 edition brought top-flight wrestlers from 22 schools to one of the area’s most anticipated tournaments. “For many local schools, it’s a premier event that they can send their guys to. It’s got all different levels of wrestling,” says Ransom. “There are some elite wrestlers here including from out of state.”
Rutkoff, a senior in the 106-pound weight class, defeated Sricharan Kosanam of Collierville High School in Tenn., 9-0 in the final. Rutkoff, the No.-1 ranked 106-pound wrestler in tAlabama at the time of the tournament, advanced to the championship match after defeating Fabian Robles of Shelby County High School, Cale Miller of Allatoona High School (Acworth, Ga.), Owen Kane of Fairhope High School, and Kellen Mitchell of Oak Grove High School.
Bradford, a junior wrestling in the 150-pound weight class, defeated Scottsboro High School’s Josh Draskovic, 6-1, to capture the Spartan Invitational title. In earlier rounds, Bradford won matches against M. Walker of Clay-Chalkville, Braden Doss of Hewitt-Trussville, Bryce Boothe of Fairhope and Weston Neutz of Collierville to reach the finals.
Wrestling in the 132-pound weight class, Springfield ran through wrestlers from Clay-Chalkville, Moody and a fellow Spartan, Nate Carter, to reach the finals, losing 8-2 to Nick Sykes from Shelby County High School.
Brown finished second with a 17-1 loss to Scotsboro’s John Stewart in the 138-pound weight class after reaching the finals with wins over wrestlers from Clay-Chalkville, Thompson High School, Allatoona (Ga.) and Brookwood High School.
Wrestling in the 175-pound weight class, Smith advanced to the final with wins over opponents from Villa Rica (Ga.), Allatoona and Collierville before losing to Shelby County’s Xander Shook of Shelby County.
David Newell and David Smith finished in third place in the 126-pound and 132-pound weight classes respectively.
Other area wrestlers finishing in the top three include Bradley Williams from Spain Park High School who captured first place with a win over Thompson High School’s Chase Kellgren, 11-1, in the 157-pound weight class.
Ford and Josh Milazzo, also from Spain Park. finished third place in the 120-pound and 138-pound weight classes respectively.
Mountain Brook High School hosted the Mountain Brook Invitational on Saturday, January 4.
Other Wrestling News:
The Vestavia Hills Rebels came in second place in the Heart of Dixie wrestling tournament, hosted by Vestavia Hills High School on Dec.27. Individual champions include Ryan Mckelvey (108 pounds), Stone Phillips (128 pounds) and Cooper Cook (192 pounds).
Mountain Brook dominated the Mountain Brook Invitational held on Saturday, January 4. Weight class champions include Bobby Rutkoff (108 pounds), Stephen Springfield (128 pounds), Christopher Brown (140 pounds), Gibbs Watson (159 pounds), Beckett Smith (177 pounds) and Stuart Andrews (192 pounds). Chelsea High School’s Porter Schott also captured first place in the 217-pound weight class.
6A Region 3 Duals Results
Mountain Brook High School, January 10, 2025
1st Place – Mountain Brook High School
2nd Place – Homewood High School
3rd Place – Pelham High School
4th Place – Spain Park High School
5th Place – Helena High School
6th Place – Chelsea High School
