Day 1
The Covington wrestling team got off to a strong start at the ten-team Northeastern Invitational Friday night. The Buccs went 4-0 on the evening as they soundly defeated their first four opponents. In the first round, Covington faced Finneytown and only dropped three of the fourteen matches en route to a 62-12 victory. They followed that up with a convincing 54-27 triumph over West Liberty Salem. In round three, the Covington wrestlers handled Triad, coming away with a 66-15 win. The Buccs then displayed a dominating performance against Bellefontaine, storming to a 75-4 victory while only dropping one match in the dual.
In all, ten Buccaneer wrestlers finished the evening with winning records. Going 4-0 were Jordan Tebbe (112 lbs, 2 pins), Bobby Wiltshire (152 lbs, 4 pins), Logan Brown (189 lbs, 4 pins) and Brian Ely (215 lbs, 4 pins). Jake Wise also went undefeated with a 3-0 record at 275 lbs with 2 pins. Finishing 3-1 were Michael Corkhum (119 lbs, 1 pin), Jake Jennings (125 lbs, 1 tech fall), Richie Watkins (135 lbs, 2 pins), Justin McMillion (140 lbs, 2 pins) and Ryan White (145 lbs, 2 pins).
Sam Herron (103 lbs, 1 pin), Justin Mahan (160 lbs) and Nick Christian (171 lbs, 1 pin) each went 2-2 while Jesse Pearson (1 pin) and Cody Swabb split time at 130 lbs., each going 1-1. Josh Mahan dropped his sole bout at 275 lbs. In JV action, Quentin Layman (119 lbs) picked up a win by pin in his first match of the season, while Travis Wamer (145 lbs) and Luke Steele (171 lbs) each dropped a match.
The going will get tougher on Saturday at the Buccs face four of the five serious title contenders in Springfield North, Urbana, Northwestern and Northeastern. Covington will also face Kenton Ridge. Wrestling resumes Saturday afternoon at 12 pm at Northeastern High School.
Day 2:
Four Seniors – Jordan Tebbe, Bobby Wiltshire, Logan Brown and Brian Ely led the way as the Covington wrestling team battled to a second place finish at the ten-team Northeastern Invitational. The Buccs followed their 4-0 start on Friday night with a 4-1 record on Saturday to finish 8-1 overall. The Buccs defeated Northeastern 40-39, Kenton Ridge 48-33, Northwestern 45-36 and Springfield North 51-28, but fell to tournament champion Urbana 30-40.
Tebbe rolled through the competition at 112 lbs taking home the championship with a 9-0 record and 6 pins. Wiltshire became the “comeback kid” of the tourney as he found himself down in three of his matches at 152 lbs, but fought back to claim victory in each. He made his way to the top of the podium with a 9-0 record with 7 pins. Brown thoroughly dominated his competition, working a lot of new technique, and finished with 9 pins and a 9-0 record to claim the 189 lb championship. Ely, wresting up at 215 lbs, become the Buccs fourth individual champion as he displayed a wide array of leg attacks to claim the title with a 9-0 record and 7 pins.
Finishing with one loss each to claim the runner-up spot in their weight classes were sophomores Justin McMillion (140 lbs) and Jake Wise (275 lbs). McMillion went 8-1 with 6 pins while Wise earned 4 pins on his way to a 7-1 record. Also placing for the Buccs were freshman Jake Jennings (5-4, 1 pin) and junior Ryan White (5-3, 3 pins). Both finished in fourth place…Jennings at 125 lbs and White at 145 lbs.
Each of the other competing members of the team: Sam Herron (103 lbs), Michael Corkhum and Quentin Layman (119 lbs), Jesse Pearson and Cody Swabb (130 lbs), Richie Watkins (135 lbs), Nick Christian (160 lbs), Luke Steele (171) and Josh Mahan (275 lbs); all made significant contributions throughout the tournament to help lead Covington to its best finish since winning this tournament in 2001.
The Buccs will return to action Thursday, Dec. 15, as they host Lehman’s high school and jr. high wrestling teams in a dual held at Covington High School.
