AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February

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AHSAA Basketball 3 AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of Dennis Victory

Starting January 16 through February 29, thousands of student-athletes will be competing in and around the Magic City for Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) titles in basketball, indoor track, wrestling and bowling.

Holding six events in four sports, students from every corner of the state will be participating at multiple venues throughout the Birmingham metro area.

$8 Million Economic Impact

According to the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, two events—the basketball and indoor track championships—will generate up to $8 million toward our local economies.

Buy your tickets now to see Alabama’s next batch of future Olympians, college stars and hometown heroes.

What to expect—Alabama’s rich high school sports history

AHSAA Basketball Championships

Birmingham—BJCC Arena
Feb. 24-29, 2020
Purchase tickets – HERE

Fun facts:

  • This first AHSAA basketball tournament was played in Birmingham 99 years ago.The state of Alabama’s most famous basketball player, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was virtually unknown until he played in the semi-finals of the State Championships. Having garnered no attention from major colleges, Barkley scored 26 points against Alabama’s number one recruit Bobby Lee Hurt. Auburn’s head coach Sonny Smith discovered him and the rest is history.
  • Mountain Brook is gunning for its fouth consecutive 7A boys’ title. Locally, Wenonah (5A), Pinson Valley (6A) boys and the Hoover (7A) girls will be defending their titles in 2020.
AHSAA basketball AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of Dennis Victory
AHSAA Girls Basketball AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of AHSAA

AHSAA Indoor Track Championship

AHSAA Indoor Track AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of AHSAA

Birmingham—Crossplex
Feb. 7-8
Purchase tickets – HERE

Fun facts:

Birmingham’s Crossplex is the premier facility nationally for indoor track. How so? In 2019 it hosted the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and multiple prestigious tournaments throughout the year. It will also host the NCAA D-I Championships again in 2022.

Screen Shot 2020 01 07 at 5.43.42 AM AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of AHSAA
  • Phillips High School, Auburn All American and New Orleans Saints Hall of Famer Frank Warren, Jr. still holds the Indoor Shot Put State Record at 63’ 6 1/2”. He set the record 43 years ago!
  • Winfield’s Trey Cunningham set the National Indoor High School record for the 60 meter high hurdles in 2017 at the Crossplex with a 7.49 time.
  • Woodlawn’s Jayla Kirkland set the state record for the 60 meter dash at 7.48 in 2017.
  • Oak Mountain’s Trey Allen topped 7 feet in the high jump in 2018 for the first time in Indoor Alabama High School Track and Field history.
AHSAA Indoor Track 2 AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of AHSAA

“Crossplex is one of the best indoor tracks in the country and has been a great platform and venue for the high school championships,” added Commissioner Oates.

“You get to see great talent. I’ll never forget, when I first started working with kids in middle school at Crossplex. The place was so different, they didn’t know what to do. By the time they get to high school they were killing it! Participating and winning in indoor—that just naturally transitions to outdoor track. It is cool as a city for us to see our kids excel and go on to compete on the college level. We expect to see some in the Olympics! Having all these high school events at the Crossplex automatically puts our kids on a national stage.”

AHSAA Wrestling Dual Championships

AHSAA Wrestling AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of AHSAA

Birmingham Crossplex
January 23-24, 2020
Purchase tickets – HERE

Fun Facts:

Move over Bo Jackson. On the SAME day Frank Warren set the High School State Indoor Track and Field record for the shot put (63 feet, 6½ inches in Montgomery, Alabama that has lasted for 43 years, he then traveled to Birmingham, participated in and won the state heavyweight wrestling championship for Phillips High School to close out that historic performance in 1977.

Locally, Vestavia Hills and Thompson High Schools are two of the top wrestling programs in the state. As of 2019, Alexandria’s Christian Knop holds the longest consecutive wrestling win streak with 235 victories in a row with no losses from 2016 thru last season.

ASHAA Bowling Championship

AHSAA Bowling Kilgo AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo of Jon Kilgo after scoring 300 a state bowling record. Photo courtesy of AHSAA

Regional Championship at Vestavia Hills Bowl
January 16-17

State Finals at Oak Mountain Lanes
January 23-24
Purchase tickets – HERE

Fun fact:

  • During the first state Bowling Championship in 2016, Jon Kilgo of Gadsden City High School bowled a perfect game—300. A year later, Kilgo kicked the longest recorded punt in Alabama state high school football history against Spain Park High School… 92 yards!
AHSAA Bowling AHSAA 2020 Championship games coming to Birmingham in January and February
Photo courtesy of AHSAA

One of AHSAA’s newest State Championships, Southside-Gadsden is “rolling” for its 4th consecutive girls bowling state championship, while Vestavia hopes to repeat as champions in 2020.

Open to the Public

Come out and support high schools throughout the state at AHSAA Championships in the Birmingham Metro area.

Purchase your tickets TODAY!

Sponsored by:

Pat Byington
Pat Byington

Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.

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