FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2005
Buccs Start Off Strong At Troy…
The Buccs advanced two wrestlers to the semifinals of the seventeen-team Troy Invitational on Friday night. At 171 lbs., Brian Ely advanced with a pin over Shipman of Northwestern and a 15-6 major decision over Sherman of Urbana. At 189 lbs, Logan Brown won his first two bouts by pin over Frantz of Lehman and Parks of Xenia.
A number of Covington wrestlers won their first bout before dropping into the consolation rounds. At 140 lbs., Bobby Wiltshire won his first round match with a 10-3 decision over Mastrino of Troy, a wrestler who had beaten him a few weeks earlier. He then dropped his next bout to Wright of Troy Christian. At 145 lbs., Logan Hall pinned Xenia‚s Poling before dropping a decision to Spirk of Northmont. At 160 lbs., Kyle Chalmers pinned Rice of Piqua before losing to Ruscin of Northwestern.
Other wrestlers still alive in the consolation bracket are Jordan Tebbe (112 lbs.), Ryan White (130 lbs.), Justin McMillion (135 lbs.), Ryan Vanderhorst (152 lbs.), Jake Wise (215 lbs.) and C.J. Potter (275 lbs.)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2005
Buccs Finish Strong By Placing Sixth…
Each and every one of Covington’s eleven wrestlers scored points for the team and helped the Buccs place sixth at the seventeen-team Troy Invitational, matching Covington’s best finish since 1985. Of the eleven wrestlers competing, seven placed in the top six, while two others narrowly missed placing.
Logan Brown led the way at 189 lbs, taking home the championship with a narrow 5-3 decision over Drew Michel of Northmont. Brown defeated Kingrey of Greenville, 10-1, in his semifinal match and finished with a 4-0 record with two pins.
A pair of Buccaneers placed fourth as Bobby Wiltshire (140 lbs.) dropped a 12-5 decision to Ben Wright of Troy Christian and Brian Ely (171 lbs.) fell to Nickolai of Piqua, 9-4. Ely advanced to third place bout with a last second victory over Ben Haws of Northmont, while Wiltshire advanced with a pin over Northmont‚s Longenecker. Wiltshire finished with a 4-2 record with 2 pins while Ely ended up with a 3-2 record with one pin.
Four other Bucc wrestlers advanced to the fifth-place bout in their respective weight classes. Winning their final match and placing fifth were Justin McMillion (135 lbs.) who earned a late pin over Lamm of Troy, and Logan Hall (145 lbs.) who finished strong with a 14-2 decision over Hiller of Greenville. McMillion went 3-2 with 3 pins while Hall finished 4-2 with 3 pins.
Finishing in sixth place for the Buccs were Ryan White (130 lbs.), who dropped his final bout to Cain of Greenville, and Ryan Vanderhorst (152 lbs.) who lost his final bout to Gardner of Mason. Both White and Vanderhorst went 2-2 with 2 pins.
Jordan Tebbe (112 lbs.) and C.J. Potter (275 lbs.), who both just missed placing, along with Kyle Chalmers (160 lbs.) and Jake Wise (215 lbs.), each picked up key pins allowing the Buccs to overtake a number of teams in the final standings.
Final Team Scores: Northmont (223), Greenville (156), St. Edward (147), Springfield North (129.5), Troy (124), Covington (122), Piqua (122), Springfield Shawnee (120), Urbana (111), Troy Christian (100), Northwestern (94), Fairborn (79), Mason (72), Xenia (63), Alter (15), Graham (10), Lehman (3).
The Buccs will be competing next at the Miami East Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 15.
