Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Covington high school – the no. 4 ranked Division III wrestling team in the Greater Miami Valley – traveled south to New Lebanon in an epic showdown with Dixie – the no. 1 ranked team – and battled for an exciting 34-33 victory over the Greyhounds. The Buccs split the matches wrestled with Dixie, 7-7, but used many small team point victories to gain the one point advantage and improve their season dual meet record to a perfect 23-0.
Dixie – who finished third in this season’s state duals tournament – honored their seniors during their parents’ night ceremony and had a very large and supportive crowd. This, coupled with Covington’s strong traveling fan base, made for a loud and exciting atmosphere.
Much like last week’s Coldwater dual where the Buccs trailed 27-0 before storming back to victory, Covington found the going rough as Dixie built a 24-0 lead. Dixie’s Ethan Hayes (215) and Cody Johnson (285) both picked up forfeits before Matt Buxton (103) and Josh VonBehren (112) earned consecutive pins over Covington’s Brock Smith and Bryton Lear, respectively.
Covington rebounded as senior Matt Breisch (119) – who led only 7-2 after two periods over Dixie’s Spencer Moses – turned things up in the third for a 23-4 technical fall to gain an additional two team points. This set up the first key showdown between Dixie’s state alternate Steve Fredrickson and Covington’s District Qualifier Sam Angle at 125 lbs. Angle struck first with a takedown, but eventually dropped a tight 4-3 decision as Dixie extended their lead to 27-5.
The teams would split the next two bouts as Covington’s Kyler Deeter (130) picked up a forfeit and Dixie’s state alternate Jordan Wilson (135) won a hard fought 7-4 decision over Dylan Gustin.
Trailing 30-11, the Buccs went on to win five consecutive victories to temporarily take a one-point lead. Tyler Tebbe (140) got things started for Covington with a 14-2 major decision over district qualifier Kaleb Campbell. This lead to the second major showdown of the night as Covington’s state placer Andrew DeHart (145) squared off against Dixie’s state placer, Dustin Chatterton. DeHart scored a takedown with just seconds remaining in the first period, then built a 7-0 lead in the second. This looked to be the final score before DeHart turned his opponent once more at the end of the third period to earn a 10-0 major decision and pick up one more valuable team point.
Covington’s Josh McMillion then came out with a purpose at 152 lbs, scoring a quick 29 second pin over Dixie’s Aaron King. Aaron Devenport (160) would tack on six team points with a forfeit win, before Dixie’s Matthew Parker earned an 8-1 decision over Brian Olson at 171 lbs. A controversial call got the Covington fans and coaches riled up, tragically costing them a team point, but Olson fought valiantly at the end to keep from giving up back points and saving a team point.
Heading into the final bout, with Dixie leading 33-30, Covington senior Josh Shefbuch had his work cut out for him against Dixie’s Kyle Wilson. A regular decision wouldn’t be enough as that would tie the dual at 33 points a piece, giving Dixie the win via tiebreaker criteria. Shefbuch had to score at least a major decision, and leading only 4-0 going into the third, he pushed the action for four stalling points and capped the bout with a takedown for a 10-0 major decision and a thrilling 34-33 Covington victory.
In the opening duals, Dixie rolled over Oxford Talawanda, while the Buccs bested Deer Park by a 47-24 score. Winning for Covington were Brock Smith (103, pin), Matt Breisch (119), Jake Sowers (125), Kyler Deeter (130, pin), Dylan Gustin (135), Andrew DeHart (145), Josh McMillion (152) and Aaron Devenport (160, pin). In reserve action, Covington’s Brandon Flora (135) defeated Dixie’s Kyle Coulter by pin.
Covington’s varsity travels to the Ben Logan Invitational this Saturday, January 30, while the reserve team travels to the Vandalia Butler JV Invitational.
