Day 1: The Covington Buccaneer wrestling team got off to a strong start at the 45-team GMVWA Holiday wrestling tournament. Through the first consolation round, Covington sits in 21st place overall with 45 points – despite being perhaps the smallest school in the tournament. In all, eight of the thirteen competing wrestlers won matches on the day and six are still in alive, advancing to Friday’s rounds.
Logan Brown (189 lbs) is the lone Buccaneer moving on to the championship quarterfinals. He won his first two matches handily, gaining pins over Cory Ashley of Stebbins and Seth Thomas of Miamisburg. He will face Russ Beisner of Versailles in Friday’s opening round.
Brian Ely almost joined Brown in the quarterfinals at 171 lbs. Ely earned a pin over Kenton Sherrick of Tecumseh in a rattail match then defeated Matt Spirk of Northmont, 8-3, before dropping a close 4-3 decision to Nathan Jones of Sidney.
Also advancing to Friday’s rounds are Jordan Tebbe (112 lbs), Richie Watkins (135 lbs), Bobby Wiltshire (145 lbs) and Jake Wise (215 lbs). Tebbe dropped his first match to Brian Stephans of Piqua, before rebounding with a pin and a tech fall over Jordan Smith of Delta and Charles Middlestetter of Brookville. Watkins won his first match over Xavier Franklin of Troy, dropped his next to Nathan Carmack of Miamisburg, then won a 12-6 decision over Kyle Williams of Hillsboro.
Wiltshire started off with a tight 6-5 victory over Murrell McKnight of Carlisle before losing 12-3 to the number two seed, Walt Dolinski of Brookville. He then rebounded with a 16-8 major decision over Bobby Clark of Eaton. Wise first lost a 4-3 overtime decision to Robert Neeley of Princeton, then gained victories over Brandon Thatcher of Delta and Tyler Nichols of Miamisburg.
Ryan White (160 lbs) and Logan Hall (152 lbs) also won matches on the day, but dropped their final bouts which would have advanced them onto Friday’s competition. Also competing for the Buccs were Sam Herron (103 lbs), Jake Jennings (119 lbs), Quentin Layman (125 lbs), Cody Swabb (130 lbs) and Justin McMillion (140 lbs). Wrestling resumes at 10 am on Friday. The finals are slated for 5 pm.
Day 2: Despite being one of the smallest schools in the field, Covington’s senior class led the Buccaneer wrestling team to its highest finish ever at the 45-team GMVWA Holiday tournament. The Buccs placed 12th as a team with 93.5 points, finishing ahead of area wrestling powers Troy, Piqua, Miami East and Versailles, among others.
Logan Brown led the way at 189 lbs, earning his second consecutive GMVWA championship. He faced three solid opponents during Friday’s rounds, but emerged victorious in each. In the quarterfinals, Brown squared off against district placer Russ Beisner of Versailles. In an intense match, Brown came away with an 8-7 decision. He then faced state qualifier Brock Kirian of Mohawk in the semifinals and dominated the match, pinning him in the second period. In the finals, Brown gave up the initial takedown and found himself trailing state qualifier Vincent Dattilo of Centerville, but battled back to earn a tight 5-4 decision for the championship.
Also placing for the first time at this tournament was Brian Ely who earned a sixth place finish at 171 lbs. Battling back through the consolation rounds, Ely earned a second-period pin over Ben Rogers of Oak Hills, a 5-3 decision over Kyle Love of Tipp City, and a 2-0 decision over J.G. Conley of Miami Trace before dropping a nail-biting 4-3 decision to Ryan Carr of Fairmont. He then lost his final placement bout to the no.3 seed, Tony Santos of Hamilton, 12-6.
Three other Buccaneers still in contention Friday made it into the top-12 of their respective weight classes, each earning valuable team points and falling just one win short of placing. At 112 lbs, Jordan Tebbe stormed to a 17-2 technical fall over Andrew Isler of Ryle, Ky., before getting pinned by Cameron Phillips of Northmont in his final bout. At 135 lbs, Richie Watkins earned a 22-7 technical fall over Patrick Norway of Nelsonville-York, before losing in the next round to Chris Wolf of Northmont. Bobby Wiltshire (145 lbs) was the third wrestler just missing placement as he earned a pin over Travis Davis of Wayne before dropping a 4-0 decision to eventual 4th place finisher, Josh Cooper of Simon Kenton, Ky. At 215 lbs, Jake Wise dropped his first match to Alex Davis of Versailles.
The Buccs wrestle next at home as they host Lehman and Graham (B) in a tri-meet on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 6 pm at Covington High School. The meet will include both the high school and jr. high wrestling teams.
2005 GMVWA Final Team Standings
- Graham – 279.5
- Miami Trace – 185.5
- Walton (Georgia) – 146.5
- Miamisburg – 125.0
- Mohawk – 116.0
- Centerville – 112.0
- Greenville – 111.0
- Defiance – 100.0
- Van Wert – 99.5
- Northmont – 98.5
- Nelsonville-York – 97.5
- Oak Hills – 93.5
Covington – 93.5 - Troy – 91.0
Eaton – 91.0 - Stebbins – 90.0
- Carlisle – 89.0
- Ryle – 86.5
- Fairmont – 85.5
Valley View – 85.5 - Hamilton – 84.0
- Indian Lake – 83.5
- Springboro – 80.5
- Milton-Union – 77.5
- Hillsboro – 76.5
- Colerain – 73.5
- Miami East – 72.0
- Piqua – 71.5
- Simon Kenton – 71.0
- Tecumseh – 61.5
- Brookville – 59.0
- Tri-County North – 58.5
- Delta – 55.0
- Sidney – 52.5
- Versailles – 49.0
- Vandalia-Butler – 46.0
- Princeton – 44.0
- Bellbrook – 43.0
- Spr. North – 42.0
- Carroll – 37.5
- Wayne – 32.5
- Tippecanoe – 30.0
- Greeneview – 28.0
- Miami Valley – 27.0
- Wilmington – 25.5