Covington hosted Dixie tonight during the Buccaneers’ annual Parents Night dual. Parents of both the wrestlers and statisticians were honored and thanked for the support, encouragement and guidance they give their children. They were also treated to a wild dual that featured six lead changes with a thrilling finish that resulted in a 37-34 Covington victory.
The match began at the 189 lb. weight class and the Buccs started out strong as Logan Brown pinned Dixie’s Jon Joo in 2:55. C.J. Potter ended his match in similar fashion, earning a fall in 4:45 over Josh Adams of Dixie, giving the Buccs a 12-0 advantage. A pin and a major decision by Dixie’s Jacob Wysong (275) and Josh Cummins (103) over Ezra Mohler and Michael Corkhum, respectively, cut Covington’s lead to 12-10. Mitchell Herron (119) then extended Covington’s lead to 18-10 with a 3:00 pin over Robert Beach. Dixie would take a 22-18 lead, however, with two more wins, as David Beach (125) pinned Ritchie Watkins and Ethan Owens (130) pinned Ryan White.
It was clear at this point that any one of the remaining matches could decide the final outcome of the dual. The Buccs were able to get ahead, 25-22, as Bobby Wiltshire (135) came from behind to defeat Joey Blosser, 11-7, and Ben Adams (140) scored a 16-7 decision over Cody Bach. The Greyhounds came right back, though, to take a three point lead from Tyler Wilson’s pin over Brandon Hartzell in the 145 lb. class. Ryan Vanderhorst (152) moved the Buccs ahead, 31-28, with a 1:06 pin over Ryan Leach, but the Greyhounds showed their resiliency once more as Chad Craft (160) pinned Covington’s Justin Mahan in 3:02.
This left the dual’s outcome in the hands of the 171 lbers., as Dixie entered the match with a 34-31 lead. Covington’s Brian Ely would have to earn at least a major decision (a win by eight or more points) to give the Buccs the four team points they needed for the victory. After the first period, Ely held a slim 2-0 advantage, which left many in attendance wondering if Covington could pull it off. Brian didn’t disappoint, however, as he turned and pinned Dixie’s David Huber in the second period to give the Buccs a 37-34 victory.
The jr. high team had an equally exciting dual, but came up on the short end, losing 27-34, primarily due to forfeits. Winning for the Buccs were Sam Herron (80), Quentin Layman (86), Jake Jennings (98), Zach Gibson (116), Dan Mead (122) and Logan Hall (134).
The high school squad will compete at the Miami East Invitational on Saturday. Ironically, Covington’s first round draw in the team tournament will be against Dixie.
