The Covington wrestling program had a big day as Brian Olson and Kyler Deeter both qualified for the state meet and Jake Sowers earned state alternate status.

DAY ONE: Friday, February 24, 2012
Covington finished the first day of the Division 3 District wrestling tournament in 7th place out of 49 schools with 30.5 points. The Buccs advanced two wrestlers to the championship semifinal round, while four of their other five competing wrestlers are still alive in the second consolation round.

Kyler Deeter (138 lbs) started the day off with a first-period pin over Jason Thompson of Greenview and followed with a 7-2 victory over Dylan Kleman of Columbus Grove to move into the semifinals, where he’ll face Josh Lyttle of Northridge.

Brian Olson (182) joined Deeter in the semifinals with a 16-1 technical fall over Tyler Dixon of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, followed by a convincing 15-3 major decision over sectional champion Grant Criblez of Allen East. He’ll face Jacob Schlater of Tri-County North next.

Jake Sowers (145) started with a 10-0 major decision over Dixie’s Jacob Campbell, before dropping his second round match to undefeated Zach Wilson of Bluffton, 11-3. He will face Dale Gibbemeyer of Badin.

Ben Miller (160) also picked up a first round victory with a pin in 1:00 over Shane Jeffers of Williams burg. He dropped his next bout, 11-3, to Alex Vencill of Northridge. Tomorrow, he will face Dustin Shiverdecker of Arcanum.

Brock Smith (132) dropped an 8-4 decision to Trevor Andrews of Deer Park before rebounding with a 16-3 major decision over Cory Binkley of Spencerville. He faces Jeremy Post of Coldwater.

Cole Smith (152) lost his first match 7-4 to Wayne Trace’s Sawyer Temple, but then picked up a pin over Jeff Robinson of Deer Park to advance. He will face Will Buettner of Delphos St. John’s.

Justin Daniel (195) fell to Logan Heiing of Delphos St. John’s, then dropped a 4-0 decision to Tim Lee of Blanchester. He concludes his sophomore season with a 25-16 record.

DAY 2: Saturday, February 25, 2012
Covington finished strong at the District wrestling tournament on Saturday, placing 10th out of 49 teams with 61.5 points. Along the way, the Buccs qualified two wrestlers – Brian Olson and Kyler Deeter – to the state tournament, while another – Jake Sowers – took fifth to become a state alternate.

Brian Olson picked up his 100th win in the 182 lb. semifinals to qualify for state. Facing Jacob Schlater of Tri-County North – a wrestler who pinned Brian the week before at sectionals – Olson turned the tables with a hard-fought 5-4 decision to advance to the finals where he dropped a major decision to B.J. Toal of Troy Christian. By advancing to the state tournament, Brian and his dad, Brian Olson Sr., become Covington’s first father/son combination to qualify to the state wrestling tournament.

Kyler Deeter (138) will join Olson at the state tournament next week as he became Covington’s 15th two-time state qualifier. Deeter started the day by dropping a 3-0 decision to Northridge’s Josh Lyttle in the semifinals, before rebounding with a 15-1 major decision over Versailles’ Matt Subler in the consolation semifinals. He then placed third by defeating Dylan Kleman of Columbus Grove, 6-2.

Jake Sowers (145) opened the day with a pin in the second consolation round over Dale Gibbemeyer of Badin, and won again with a 6-2 decision over Chris Collins of Reading. He then dropped his consolation semifinal match to Jimmy Sandlin of Carlisle 10-1. Sowers became a state alternate by winning his final match, 4-2, over Jake Tremoulis of Lima Central Catholic for fifth place and concludes his junior season with a 38-9 record.

Ben Miller (160) started Saturday off with a pin over Arcanum’s Dustin Shiverdecker before falling to Austin Horwitz of Madeira in the third consolation round. Miller concludes his freshman season with a 39-12 record.

Brock Smith (132) and Cole Smith (152) dropped their second consolation round bouts to Jeremy Post of Coldwater 10-5, and Will Buettner of Delpos St. Johns 5-2, respectively. Brock concludes his junior season with a 28-15 record, while Cole Smith finishes his freshman season with a 31-10 record.

The Buccs will compete at the state wrestling championships on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 1-3, at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.