Photo courtesy of Vestavia Hills Athletics
The Vestavia Hills High School wrestling team won the Class 7A state championship on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021.
Over the course of the year, Vestavia Voice will keep you up to date on the various Vestavia Hills High School athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
BASKETBALL
The high school basketball area tournaments took place last week, with the Rebels competing in the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament and both boys and girls teams successfully qualifying for the playoffs.
On Tuesday, the Lady Rebels cruised past Gadsden City 66-37. Emma Smith led the way with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Josie Edwards added 13 points of her own.
The boys team dominated in similar fashion on Wednesday, knocking off Hewitt-Trussville 78-42. Win Miller posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Grant Uldrich also scored 13 points. Reese Gurner finished with 12 points and six rebounds and Cole Turner posted 10 points and four boards.
The girls won their first area tournament championship since 2011 with a 66-60 win over Hewitt-Trussville on Friday night in the tournament final. Emma Smith led the way with 20 points and four steals, while Ally Smith added 11 points.
The Rebels boys fell in the area tournament final to Spain Park, 47-37. Uldrich led the way with 13 points and five rebounds for the team.
Vestavia Hills will play in the regional semifinals later this week. The girls host Huntsville on Thursday and the boys travel to Huntsville on Friday.
WRESTLING
The Vestavia Hills wrestling team reclaimed the Class 7A state crown over the weekend, winning the state tournament over three-time reigning champion Thompson. The Rebels scored 277.5 points, beating out Thompson with 240.5. The championship is a state-record 16 for Vestavia and its first since 2017.
Zach Flurry (113 pounds), John Edwards (170), Bryce Littleton (220) and Dawson Ray (285) each won individual championships. Also advancing to the finals were Carson Farris, Christopher Hays and Jack Lamey.
Semifinalists for Vestavia were Mac Chandler, Hastings Roberts, Clay Johnston and Andrew Sykes.
SOCCER
The Vestavia Hills girls soccer team got off to a strong start last week, earning a convincing 9-1 win over Prattville. Ella Denton and Rachel Hall scored a pair of goals each.
Vestavia’s boys hosted the Rick Grammer Invitational over the weekend. The Rebels began the event with a 7-0 win over Enterprise on Friday. On Saturday, the Rebels beat LaGrange (Ga.) 5-1 and then shut out Florence 3-0.
BASEBALL
The Vestavia Hills baseball team began its season last Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Chelsea, 3-2 and 6-3. In the first game, Joseph Sullivan’s walk-off home run lifted the Rebels to the win. Grant Cherry started the game on the mound for Vestavia and pitched well, allowing one hit and one run over four innings, with seven strikeouts. In the second game, the Rebels rallied after allowing three runs in the top of the first inning and pulled out the win. Connor Witherington had a couple hits, including a home run, in the contest.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
