The Bob Jones wrestling team has come out victorious once again! They competed in the AHSAA state tournament, and left with fourth place overall. The tournament took place at the Von Braun Center on February 16, where they faced high schools James Clemens, Sparkman, and Vestavia Hills. Out of the eleven wrestlers, seven ended up placing, making this a new and very impressive record for the wrestling team and the school. Here are the placing wrestlers:

1st Place – Zaderian Toney, 106 lbs

3rd Place – Zaevian Toney, 113 lbs

4th Place – Abe Alrefai, 138 lbs

3rd Place – Jordan Whalen, 145 lbs

3rd Place – Rae McCray, 152 lbs

2nd Place – Gabe Pittman, 160 lbs

3rd Place – Cal Francovitch, 170 lbs

First place winner Zadarian Toney finished the season undefeated, going 21 – 0. In his final match, he faced Ryan Summerlin from Vestavia Hills High School with a 5 – 1 decision. “The feeling is great. I’ve trained for six years with great coaches, great wrestling partners, one of them being my twin.” Zadarian’s brother is Zavian Toney who placed third. “I still can’t believe it though, that day was truly one of the best days of my life, from getting my hand raised at the end to having my team carry me out, making me feel even better at the end,” said Zadarian about his overall feelings about taking home first place.

His preparation for the day obviously required physical preparation, but also mental preparation. “I can definitely say I was nervous before the whole tournament because I had two matches leading up to my state finals match and all I could think about was anything could happen in these matches and stop me from getting to the state finals, so I had to continuously tell myself to not worry about the other matches, think about them one at a time and the result will take care of itself.” His mental pep talk did wonders and definitely paid off for him, for not only did we win first place in the tournament, but he will sign for a full scholarship to wrestle at Allen University in South Carolina.

Congratulations to all the placing varsity wrestlers and to the wrestling team altogether. With all the work that they have put forth into building their athletic careers, they certainly have brought pride upon themselves, their mentors, and their school.

Be sure to follow @BJP_Wrestling on Twitter for future events and news.