Friday, December 12, 2008
The Covington high school wrestling team put together a nice start at the 10-team Northeastern Invitational Friday night. The Buccs squared off with Dayton Christian, Northwestern, Triad and Springfield and came away with a 4-0 record on the evening.
In their first dual, the Buccs came out strong against a young Dayton Christian team, overwhelming the warriors en route to a 46-6 victory. At 135 lbs, Tyler Tebbe got the team off on the right foot with an impressive 11-1 major decision over Garrett VonBerge – a returning district qualifier. Other key victories included Andrew Dehart (152) using his cradle to rack up near falls then a pin over district qualifier Jeremy Hoppe and Aaron Devenport (160) getting a pin over sectional placer Brenden Sweigart. Others winning by pin were Sam Herron (119), Jake Jennings (171) and Josh Shefbuch (189). Matt Breisch (125), Ben Wilson (130) and Cory Ely (140) each won by forfeit.
Covington then won a tight 39-30 victory over Northwestern in the second round. Tebbe (135) once again got the Buccs going with a second period technical fall. Cory Ely (140) followed with a quick pin directly off of a scramble for a takedown. DeHart (145), Devenport (152) and Jennings would win the next three bouts for Covington. In the following match, Josh McMillion bumped up to wrestle 171 and got in trouble early, yielding a takedown and nearfall, but battled on in an intense back-and-forth match with James Mantell, ultimately losing 13-8. Josh Shefbuch (189) then picked up another pin, and Sam Angle (119), a forfeit, for the final two Buccaneer victories of the dual.
The Buccs would go on to defeat Triad, 54-24, and Springfield, 58-12, in rounds 3 and 4, losing only one match total – other than forfeits – in both duals. Winning both bouts were Sam Herron (119), Matt Breisch (125), Ben Wilson (130), Tyler Tebbe (135), Andrew DeHart (145), Aaron Devenport (152), Josh McMillion (160), Jake Jennings (171) and Josh Shefbuch (189). Cory Ely (140) went 1-1, losing to Triad’s state qualifier, Jordan Deady.
Saturday, DECEMBER 13, 2008
During the second day of wrestling at the Northeastern Invitational, the Covington high school wrestling team put together an impressive performance, posting a 4-1 dual meet record and finishing with an 8-1 overall record for the weekend – good enough for first place. Northeastern also finished with an 8-1 record, but by beating the Jets head-to-head, the Buccs claimed their second-consecutive championship at the tournament.
In the dual with runner-up Northeastern, Covington had their work cut out for them as they were forced to spot the Jets 24 points due to forfeits. The team came through in a big way, though, as they won seven of the ten matches wrestled – all by pin – to earn a tight 42-39 victory.
As the Buccs chipped away at their point deficit, it was clear that a loss by the Buccs in any of several bouts would cost them the title. The 160 lb. match was especially tight. Northeastern’s Jason Potts scored the first takedown and was able to control Josh McMillion for most of the period until McMillion scored a reversal before the clock expired. Potts answered in the second with a reversal of his own and seemed to be in control when McMillion scored a nice reversal, quickly cradling his opponent for the pin and giving the Buccs some much-needed momentum.
In their other duals, the Buccs defeated Urbana, 57-3, Finneytown, 60-3, and West Liberty-Salem, 58-3, but dropped their dual with Fairborn (who finished 7-2), 36-39.
Two Buccaneer wrestlers claimed individual championships. At 135 lbs, Tyler Tebbe finished 9-0 overall with 5 pins to claim his first high school title. Andrew DeHart (145) continued his winning ways, also finishing 9-0, with several dominant performances. At 130 lbs, Ben Wilson also went undefeated on the day, with an 8-0 record and 6 pins, but had to settle for second place since he sat out one dual as the Buccs shuffled their line-up.
Five other Covington wrestlers joined Wilson and finished in second place overall – some by criteria. Sam Herron (119) finished with a 7-2 record with 5 pins, while Matt Breisch (125) earned 3 pins and an 8-1 record. Aaron Devenport (152) led the team with seven pins en route to his 8-1 record, while Jake Jennings (160, 7-2, 3 pins) and Josh McMillion (171, 6-2, 3 pins) also finished as runners-up.
Jennings wrestled a great match versus West Liberty-Salem, taking state-qualifier Peter Lewis – voted outstanding wrestler of the tournament – to the wire. Jennings led the match going into the third period, but yielded a reversal to drop the bout, 4-3.
Three other Buccaneer wrestlers finished with winning records on the weekend. Josh Shefbuch (189 lbs) took third place with a 7-2 record and 5 pins, while Cory Ely (140 lbs) finished 5-4 with 2 pins. Charlie Bruyure picked up a couple forfeits for the Buccs at 285.
The Buccs will travel with the jr. high squad to dual Mechanicsburg on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
