Daphne junior Kimber Alford turned in a career-defining performance on a national stage, placing fourth among 73 other girls in her weight class at the 2026 NHSCA High School Nationals held this past weekend in Virginia Beach.

The 37th annual event is one of the nation’s premier high school wrestling championships, featuring nearly 7,000 athletes from all 50 states and U.S. territories competing across six divisions, including high school and middle school boys and girls brackets.

Alford was the only wrestler from Baldwin County to place, competing in the 132-pound high school girls division and earning All-American honors with her performance. She was one of nine Alabama wrestlers to place at the national meet and capped her junior season with a 61-2 record, according to FloWrestling.

She was just one of nine wrestlers from Baldwin County who competed at the event. Joining her from Daphne were Aaliyah Miller and Taliah Wade. Foley’s Roman Morgan, Spanish Fort’s Braden Gress and Elberta’s Gavin Crumpton also represented the county. Gulf Shores sent three wrestlers to the national tournament: Hayden Cook, Abel Brantly and Rhys Coulter.