Seven kids who grew up through the Covington wrestling program qualified for the district meet in a very special weekend at the sectional wrestling meet.
It’s special when a group of kids can accomplish so much after working together for years to reach a goal. Every kid on the Covington roster started wrestling in the Covington wrestling building in the youth program under Randy Sowers and seven of those wrestlers earned births in the district tournament by finishing in the top four in their respective weight classes. It’s “Buccaneer Pride” at it’s best.
SECTIONAL: DAY 1
Covington put in a solid performance during the first day of the sectional wrestling tournament as they advanced six wrestlers to the semifinals, while their other two competing wrestlers are alive in the consolation round. The Buccs finished the day in 2nd place out of 14 teams. Versailles is leading the tournament, while Mechanicsburg is in third.
At 132 lbs, Brock Smith advanced with a first round bye before earning a 10-4 decision over a solid Jordan Cavin of Versailles. Kyler Deeter (138) joined Smith in the semifinals with consecutive pins over Michael Trickey of Miami East and Jason Hogg of Tri-County North.
Jake Sowers (145) advanced with a bye and a pin over Chase Gastomsky of Arcanum, while Cole Smith (152) earned a bye and a pin over Matt Seibold of Northeastern.
Also advancing to the semifinals following first-round byes were Ben Miller (160) who pinned Corey Gannon of West Liberty-Salem, and Brian Olson (182) who pinned Dean Mohler of Southeastern.
Both Bryton Lear (126) and Justin Daniel (195) dropped their opening bouts and will wrestle in the second consolation round tomorrow.
Wrestling resumes Saturday at 11 am.
SECTIONAL: DAY 2
After two days of wrestling at the division 3 sectional wrestling tournament, Covington finished in 3rd place out of 15 teams with 143.5 points. The Buccs competed well throughout the day, advancing seven of their eight competing wrestlers to the District tournament.
Kyler Deeter rolled through the competition at 138 lbs. He picked up a 15-0 technical fall over Versailles’ Matt Subler in the semifinals, then followed with a first period pin over Mechanicsburg’s Adam Tilley to claim the sectional title.
Freshman Ben Miller, wrestling at 160 lbs, joined Deeter at the top the podium. He earned a tight 4-3 semifinal victory over Lehman’s Skylar Brown, then picked up a pin in the finals against Springfield Catholic Central’s Cameron Luther.
Finishing as Sectional runners-up were Brock Smith (132) and Jake Sowers (145). Smith earned a 16-4 major decision in the semifinals over Miami East’s Mack Rose before dropping a 6-2 decision in the finals to Mechanicsburg’s Joe Zeigler. Sowers won a tight 2-1 semifinal victory over Northeastern’s Cole Howard before falling to Troy Christian’s Jordan Marshall in his final bout.
Taking third place for Covington were Cole Smith (152) and Brian Olson (182). Smith dropped a close 4-3 decision in the semifinals to Triad’s Damion Boldman, but rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a 16-0 technical fall over Tri-County North’s Dylan Hemp. He then won his final bout, 14-7, over West Liberty-Salem’s Robby Jenkins.
Olson fell in the semifinals to Tri-County North’s Jacob Schlater, before winning his consolation semifinals by pin over a tough Troy Nave of Springfield Catholic Central. He then earned an 18-2 technical fall over Versailles’ Nic Francis in the finals.
Also qualifying to the District tournament by taking fourth place was Justin Daniel (195). Daniel won three consecutive matches in the consolation bracket to advance, before dropping a 7-3 decision to Lehman’s Quinton Malone in the finals. Along the way, he earned a 4-2 decision over Mechanicsburg’s Ely Stapleton, a pin over Springfield Catholic Central’s Nick Burkhard and a 9-7 victory over Southeastern’s Jordan Timmons. Bryton Lear (126) dropped his second round consolation bout to Emmanuel Christian’s Joshua Baum.
The District tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, February 24-25, at Kettering Fairmont’s Trent Arena.
