Athlete Spotlight: Brady Campbell, Opelika HS

Campbell, a sophomore at Opelika High School, earned the Bulldogs’ just their second individual 7A state championship last week.

Brady Campbell became the second athlete at Opelika High School to take home an individual 7A state championship with a win at the state wrestling championships two weeks ago.

As a sophomore with the Bulldogs, Campbell is not new to the championship scene. Last year, he competed for the 145-pound state title, but fell short to Pelham’s Bryce Wanagat seconds before the buzzer. Despite losing, he kept his head held high knowing how far he made it as a freshman.

“It sucked losing in the finals, but I looked back and I was a freshman in the state finals,” Campbell said. “That extra three seconds that I lost by, just pushed me to get past those three seconds.”

He entered this season with a hunger to not only get back to where he made it last year, but to improve his team and take home the 7A state title.

“I had been practicing all summer, lifting all summer,” he said. “We started the season; I was feeling good. I had to get my weight down a little bit, just kept training throughout the season– all leading up to the state finals.”

Although he is a sophomore, Campbell already has his eyes set on the next couple of seasons of high school and the next level beyond that.

“My goal is to get to Division I,” Campbell said. “I want to get the high school to a team state title and to improve on all these kids and just grow up in wrestling.”

— By Christopher Mendoza