JANUARY 17, 2013 – COVINGTON
There’s no better way to prepare for the upcoming OHSAA Duals than to face quality opposition, which is what the Covington Buccaneers did Thursday night by hosting Coldwater and Northridge.
And despite missing three of their top wrestlers due to skin conditions, the Buccs had a strong showing – falling to Coldwater 48-33 and beating Northridge 64-6. Sitting out for Covington were returning state placer and 195 pounder Brian Olson and returning district qualifiers Brock Smith (138 pounds) and D.J. Jennings (145 pounds).
Covington opened the evening with an impressive victory by Kyler Deeter, who defeated Brent Collett of Coldwater, a gritty and determined wrestler who made the two-time state qualifier and state placer for Covington earn every point he got. In the end, however, Deeter was able to use his slickness to capture a technical fall victory, 17-1.
After earning a forfeit at 170, Covington’s A.J. Ouellette made quick work of Coldwater’s Corey Selhorst, pinning his opponent in the opening frame. Jordan Wolfe then followed with an impressive pin over Rob Cupp at 285 pounds to bring the Buccaneer crowd to its feet.
The dual with the Cavaliers then proceeded to the lower weights as Coldwater picked up two straight wins before Covington closed things with a dominating win by freshman Ryan Ford at 126 pounds. Ford, who placed at Junior High State a year ago, controlled the action throughout in a 16-8 major decision over Jordan Obringer.
Still, Covington didn’t have enough ammunition at the end as Coldwater handed the Buccs their second dual loss of the season, 48-33.
Covington then locked horns with Northridge and captured wins in all five matches wrestled against the Polar Bears.
And the headliner of the evening came in the opening bout as two state placers took to the mat – Kyler Deeter for Covington and Josh Lyttle for Northridge.
With the anticipation at an all-time high, Deeter used the emotion from the hometown crowd to record a quick takedown and three near-fall points to take a 5-0 lead. The Buccaneer senior the pushed his lead to 7-1 by surrendering and escape and recording another takedown on an impressive scramble.
The Buccaneer senior remained in control of the match by scoring on another takedown and locking up his opponent for three more back points to cruise to an 11-3 major decision victory against a very strong and dangerous opponent.
Jordan Wolfe then followed Deeters impressive effort with an equally inspiring victory of his own, capturing a pin against Terrill Stevens – Wolfe’s second pin of the night.
Freshman 106 pounder Connor Ryan responded from a tough loss earlier against Coldwater to pin Colman Jepson of Northridge, while Ryan Ford kept his impressive freshman campaign rolling with a pin over Jonathan Pollard.
With victory already sealed against Northridge, Jake Sowers dominated Kevin Mays in the final match of the night – pinning his opponent after a series of takedowns to close out a 64-6 win for Covington.
The Buccs now look to get healthy as they host Milton-Union and Lehman on Monday in final preparation for the OHSSA Duals.
