One for the Record Books: PCA’s Wrestling Program Makes Program History

On Thursday night, January 7, the PCA Wrestling Panthers traveled to Montevallo High School to compete in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s (AHSAA) 1A-4A Region #3 Team Duals, where they brought home the gold and made PCA history. 

At the Dual, the Panthers emerged for the first time as the Region #3 Champions after defeating American Christian Academy 42-22, Oak Grove High School 54-30, and Montevallo High School 42-36–all huge wins! This is an amazing accomplishment, and we could not be more proud of our wrestlers. 

The team has been training hard all season, and all of that grinding has paid off.  Initially, Coach Staggs noticed that his wrestlers were “really young” and “were going to have to grow up on the mat and put a ton of work in to get better.” Since then, he has enjoyed watching the growth of the team and relays that he is proudest of “their toughness and seeing them [compete] at a [high] level, to see them really grasp the warrior heart that God has put in them.”

Led by senior Ryan Allen and juniors Andrew Allen and Chase Law, the three Team Captains and great assets to the team, this Dual was the time to do some damage. The combined efforts of Ryan Allen, Chase Law, sophomore Patrick Litz, and freshman Aidan Cockrell gained immense victories for the Panthers and really set off the scores. Furthermore, wrestlers Matthew  Post, Eli Staggs, Jacob Sabir, Brody Pugh, Alex Annotti, Jace Copeland, and Andrew Allen were all undefeated in their three matches, making great contributions to the end result. Excellent job, boys!

Coach Staggs remarks that this victory has been a principal ambition throughout the season, and he is excited for his wrestlers as “every member of the team will be able to say that they accomplished something that no other team before them did,” and he hopes to see this kind of achievement again in future years. He extends his thanks to the wrestlers, parents, coaching staff, and PCA administration for supporting the program and creating a strong Christian environment that drives the team to “become better on and off the mat.”

Although, the season is not over yet!  The Panthers will be wrestling again at the quarterfinals of the AHSAA Team State Duals Tournament for the first time in program history on Saturday, January 16.  It will be exciting to see what they can accomplish, so do not forget to cheer loud and proud.  As the wrestlers say, “FAITH, FAMILY, FIGHT!  GO PANTHERS!”

By: Maddie Jeffery ’22
Journalism Student