Districts – Friday Night
After three rounds of competition, both Buccaneer wrestlers are still alive as Covington sits in 27 place out of 51 teams at the Division III District tournament held at Xenia High School. Bluffton is currently in first with 60.5 points, followed by Versailles with 54.
Logan Brown advanced to the semifinals in the 189 lb. weight class and in doing so started to rewrite the Covington record books. In his first bout, Brown defeated Mike DeNoma of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy by a fall in 2:15. This gave him his 31st pin for the season, setting a new school record by passing the previous mark of 30 held by Jason Durbin (1995-96). In his second bout, Brown squared off against sectional champ Jeff Richards of Bluffton and scored six takedowns on his way to a 19-9 major decision win. This victory gave Logan 248 team points for the year, breaking the previous school record of 244 held by Scot Fetters (1997-98). Brown will face David Jones of Westfall (37-4) in the semifinals.
At 119 lbs., Mitchell Herron lost a 13-6 decision to Jacob Deal of Belpre in the opening round. Down 13-0 after a series of tilts, Herron earned an escape and landed a nice lateral toss, putting his opponent to his back and nearly coming away with a pin and a victory. Mitchell rebounded in the first consolation round by defeating Blake Chastain of Madeira by an 18-9 major decision. Herron will face Amir Maki of Oakwood (23-14) in the second consolation round.
Districts – Saturday Night
Logan Brown started the day with a disappointing 8-4 loss at the hands of David Jones of Westfall in the semi-finals. This put Logan in the consulation semis against Keith O’Brien of Lima Catholic Central for a chance at a birth in the state meet this coming weekend. Brown responded by wrestling an intelligent match and coming away with a 9-4 victory.
With a state birth locked up, Logan wasn’t finished. He took on Jesse Trimble of Northridge in a battle for third place at 189 lbs. In a classic matchup, Brown was trailing 1-0 with 19 seconds left and recorded an escape and fought for a takedown just before time ran out in regulation. This gave Logan a 3-1 win and a third place finish.
At the end of the day, Brown upped his record to 49-5, giving him the school record for single season wins. The previous mark was 47 wins held by Mike Stephan (2001-02). Logan also set a new mark for single season takedowns with 208, breaking the old record of 204, which was also held by Mike Stephan (2001-02).
Mitchell Herron finished the first day in the consulation bracket and opened day two against Amir Maki of Oakwood. Despite wrestling with heart, Mitchell fell short of a state birth with a disappointing 11-10 loss at the hands of Maki. Herron started off strong with a takedown and nearfall to start the first period, but got caught in two five-point moves in the second and third periods to fall behind in the match. Mitchell left it all on the mat, however, as he fought for an escape and earned a takedown, putting Maki straight to his back. The three point near fall he would earn fell just short as only a pin would secure a victory. Mitchelle finishes out an outstanding senior season which included a 25-13 record and a trip to the district tournament. Mitchell’s enthusiasm and aggressive approach to the sport will be missed and we thank him for all he has given to Covington wrestling.
In team results, Bluffton took first with 132 points while Versailles finished with 109.5 points. Covington took 30th with 19 points.