Story By: Chad Strickland
MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Wrestling for some people may be only a pastime or a somewhat irrelevant sport, but for Montevallo’s Cole Hunt, wrestling is everything. Growing up in Sugar Valley, Georgia, Hunt was born into a wrestling family.
His father wrestled in high school and his brother started wrestling when he was young. “I watched my brother start wrestling when I was very young,” Hunt said, “by the time I could walk I wanted to be out on the mat” It was only fitting for Hunt to follow suit.
His brother, Tyler Hunt, went on to wrestle in college at the U.S. Naval Academy. Out of high school, Hunt went to wrestle at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Here, Hunt was able to wrestle with some of the best wrestlers in the country. He also got to learn from head coach Coleman Scott and assistant coach Jamill Kelly.
In 2024, Hunt transferred to Montevallo from the University of North Carolina where he wrestled. “I like the team aspect a lot more here,” Hunt said. “It feels more like a family.” Despite liking his new team, transferring to Montevallo still came with its own problems for Hunt.
Because of certain rules and regulations the NCAA has when transferring from Division I to Division II, it made his transferring process difficult. “We hit some roadblocks when transferring here,” Hunt said. “I realized that I wouldn’t be eligible for my first year here.”
Despite this being heartbreaking news to Hunt, this was the biggest motivator ever for him. Between transferring from UNC to Montevallo, there was a two-year gap where Hunt did not compete with a team. He was always a part of a team, but he never got to truly compete with one.
“I was really hungry to have that team aspect and compete as a team.”
Cole Hunt
Even though he was sidelined for eligibility reasons, that did not stop Hunt from training and getting better. He was in the practice room almost every day working on his technique and honing his skills because he knew the day he would compete was coming soon.
When that day came in the fall of 2025, he did not disappoint. He started off his season by going 5-0 in the Patriot Open, as well as placing first. He went on to win the Georgia Open and placed 8th in the Midwest Classic, a big Division II wrestling tournament that rivals the national tournament in difficulty.
Going with this momentum, Hunt captured a regional championship on Feb. 28, 2026 and had his eyes set on his number one goal: being a national champion.
Leading up to nationals, Hunt was training hard and doing all of the little things right in order to perform well. Despite his efforts, Hunt went 0-2 at the national tournament. “What I draw it up to is that I did not put enough work in,” Hunt said, “at the end of the day I should have done the little things right outside of the wrestling room.”
This result was far from Hunt’s expectations. Now with only one year left, he has one shot to accomplish his goal of being a national champion for the upcoming 2026-27 season, which starts on Nov. 1 at the Glenville State Open in West Virginia. He is more determined than ever to bring a second national championship to Montevallo. Hunt says, “Going into this year, I really believe that I have the technical skill in order to win a championship.”
