December 28, 2012 – Dayton
After the first day of wrestling at the Nutter Center for the Greater Miami Valley Wrestling Association (GMVWA) Holiday wrestling tournament, Covington sits in 23rd place out of 52 teams with 53 points – the 3rd highest division 3 team at the tournament thus far. In a tournament filled with large schools from across Ohio and nearby states, the Buccs have competed well – getting a number of wins against quality competition.
Four of Covington’s nine competing wrestlers – Ryan Ford, Brock Smith, Kyler Deeter and Brian Olson – each finished among the top 16 wrestlers in their weight class to advance to the second day of competition.
Ryan Ford (126) started the day with a 13-7 decision over Athen’s district qualifier Keanu Hollowell, before getting a 17-6 major decision over Kyle Higley of Uniontown Green to advance to the quarterfinals. He faces the no. 2 seed – Joe Parrott of Simon Kenton, Kentucky.
Kyler Deeter (160) also advanced to the quarters with consecutive pins over Ryan Moon of Peachtree Ridge, Georgia, and Ryan Penley of Sidney. He will face the no. 7 seed A.J. Bondurant of Pickerington Central.
Brian Olson (195) was the final Buccaneer to advance to the championship quarterfinals. He opened the day with a rat-tail victory by pin over Jaden Salsbury of Wilmington, followed by another pin over Fraser Smith of Hilliard Bradley. He then won his third match of the day with an 11-7 decision over Greeneview’s district qualifier Adrian Harding, to face no. 7 seed Lee Craven of Ryle, Kentucky.
Brock Smith (138) stayed alive in the consolation rounds to also advance to day two. In the first round, he dropped a 7-0 decision to the no. 6 seed, state alternate Kevin Leonhardt of Lakota West, before rebounding with a pin over Justin Hixson of Xenia. He then came through with a big pin in a tight match with district qualifier Justis Brewer of Franklin. He faces Jacob Furlong of Stebbins in the third consolation round.
A number of Covington wrestlers lost in the final round of the night, but picked up a number of victories along the way.
At 145 lbs, Daniel Jennings finished 3-2 overall, first pinning Evan Gottis of Glen Este before dropping a tight 13-11 decision to the no. 7 seed, district placer Keegan Driscoll of Hilliard Bradley. He then earned a 9-2 decision over Troy’s Eric Cannaday, followed by a 14-2 major decision win over Andrew Honious of Springboro, before dropping a decision to no. 8 seed Tyler Sowards of Kenton Ridge.
Cole Smith (152), Ben Miller and A.J. Ouellette (182) also advanced to the final round of the night. Smith picked up victories over Lakota West’s Gregory Smith, 6-2, and Greeneview’s Joe Brown, 4-2, before losing 9-1 to Washington Courthouse state qualifier Jimmy Vandyke. Miller picked up a pin over Tobin Andrerson of Washington Courthouse, before dropping his final bout by decision to Jacob Gladwell of Uniontown Green.
Ouellette picked up victories over James Lutes of Minerva, 9-5, and Alex Nori of Franklin, 8-7, before losing his final bout to district qualifier Dallas Fudge of Eaton. Justin Daniel (220) also competed well for the Buccs despite giving up a lot of weight to his opponents.
Wrestling resumes at 11 am on Saturday, with the finals occurring around 5 pm.
December 29, 2012 – Dayton
Covington concluded the Greater Miami Valley Wrestling Association (GMVWA) Holiday wrestling tournament in 21st place out of 52 schools, placing three wrestlers at the tournament and narrowly missing a fourth placer, which would have been the most ever for the Buccs.
Kyler Deeter (138) led the team with a third place finish, picking up a 7-1 decision over A.J. Bondurant of Pickerington Central in the finals. Deeter opened the day with a 7-4 decision over Bondurant to advance to the semifinals where he dropped a 9-3 decision to Middletown’s Jacob Globke. He rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a pin over Collin Wise of Lima Bath.
Brian Olson (195) took fifth place for the Buccs by defeating Austin Rowan of Glen Este, 9-3. He opened the day with an 8-0 major decision over Lee Craven of Ryle, Kentucky, before dropping two tough decisions – a 5-3 overtime decision to state placer Cameron Shaw of Washington, and a 5-3 decision to state-placer Sam Harris of Urbana.
Freshman Ryan Ford (126) placed 7th by earning an 11-4 decision over Springboro’s Jakob Ottaway. He dropped his quarterfinal match in overtime, 5-3, to the no. 2 seed Joe Parrott of Simon Kenton, before rebounding with a 9-2 victory over Murtaza Bambot of Peachtree Ridge, Georgia. In the consolation quarterfinals, he lost a last second 8-6 decision to Elijah Cochran of Kenton Ridge.
Brock Smith (138) just missed joining his teammates on the podium. He opened the day with a solid 11-6 decision over Jacob Furlong of Stebbins to finish in the top-12, and was dominating the no. 2 seed Drew Harris of Simon Kenton, Kentucky, before getting caught in the third period.
