Wrestlers win McPhillips tourney

By Michael Butler

Tallassee took first place among 18 teams in the 2023 Julian McPhillips Invitational held at St. James in Montgomery on Friday and Saturday.

Six THS wrestlers won their weight classes; Rutland Phillips (106), Mason Nelson (113), Ethan Jones (138), Christian McCary (152), Caden Griffith (182) and Nolan Addeo (195). McCary was named the most outstanding wrestler.

McCary

"The coaching staff is extremely proud of each and every wrestler for their performance this weekend at St. James," head coach John Mask said. "We had a goal of winning this tournament and the young men went out an had an exceptional tourney. Having six young men make the finals in any tournament is a strong showing and winning all six of those is unheard of. It was a great day."

Nine wrestlers placed in the 14 different weight classes. Avery Brantley was third in the 126-pound division. Thomas Patterson was fourth in 106. Brady Adams was fourth in 120.

"Each and every wrestler is valuable not just the ones who place," said Mask. "Every wrestler who wins a match is important to the team and earns points. Individual tournaments are different from dual tournaments and the coaching staff has a different approach to each.

"What an amazing weekend of wrestling and I can’t say enough about everyone involved. Lots of hard work is put in and many tough matches have been wrestled preparing the wrestlers to excel in every situation."

St. James was second. Beauregard finished third.

Tallassee returns to the mats for the quarterfinal round of the state duals tournament vs. Elberta on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available through GoFan.