Staff Reports
HUNTSVILLE – Last year, David Herrick’s sophomore wrestling campaign at Cherokee County High School concluded with a state championship, but he said he was a bit disappointed with how things ended.
He said he wished could’ve done more to win.
On Saturday at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Herrick had that opportunity. He was back in the 138-pound weight class title match against Cleburne County’s Austen Mayfield. Judging by his performance at the sectional meet and throughout the weekend in Huntsville, it can’t get much better for him.
Herrick swept through his postseason competition. He didn’t allow a single point to his opponents, including against Mayfield on Saturday. Herrick won that match by a 6-0 decision to cap a 21-4 season on the mats.
“I feel a lot better about this one than the last one,” Herrick said. “I would definitely say my confidence was the difference between (last year’s) match and this match. My first state championship I won 2-0. Yeah, I won, but it was a little disappointing to me because I wished I would’ve done more. This year I definitely wanted to change that: my mindset, my body, and the way I wrestled. I finished this one out 6-0, but also finished it out without anyone getting anything, nobody able to do anything, even the slightest against me. Hopefully if I get this opportunity next year I can do it even better than I did this year.”
Not bad for someone who has been recovering from a shoulder injury.
“He didn’t get to wrestle until mid-December. He didn’t get to do much at all,” Warrior wrestling coach Andrew McBrayer said. “He just got in his state of mind that he was going to put in the work. It was an awesome scene. I’m so proud of him and looking forward to next year.”
Weaver won the Class 1A-4A state championship with 105 total points, followed by Dora (101) and Ashville (98.5). St. James (80.5) and Ranburne (76) rounded out the top five.
East Alabama Sports Today’s Joe Medley contributed to this report.
