February 3, 2016 – Versailles
The Covington wrestling team traveled to Versailles on Wednesday for the 2016 OHSAA Regional Dual Tournament. The semifinal pitted the Buccs against the host Tigers on one mat and Bethel-Tate against Williamsburg on the other – with the winners facing off in the Regional Final and a trip to the State Dual Tournament on the line.
Anticipation was high as both Covington and Versailles are quality programs who have went back-and-forth over the years in some memorable duals and fans were hoping for yet another thrilling matchup.
Unfortunately for Covington, it wasn’t at full strength with two-time state placer Ryan Ford, returning state qualifier Lance Miller and senior Brandon Magee out of the lineup with injury. This made it much more difficult as Versailles had already beaten the Buccaneers twice this season in very close and exciting duals.
“We had already lost to them (Versailles) twice,” Covington coach Tom Barbee said. “It was going to be tough, even without the injuries. Our focus was just on winning as many matches as we could. They all count towards sectionals. We are hoping to have all those guys back for the Covington Duals.”
Covington spotted Versailles six points from the start as it forfeited the 106 pound match to Jacob Poling for a 6-0 Tiger lead.
The Buccaneers won three of the next four matches as Connor Ryan recorded a 16-5 major decision victory over Marcus Marshall at 113 pound; Jared Ford defeated Steven Mangen at 126 pounds; and Keringten Martin recorded a 7-2 decision win over Kyle Wuebker at 132 pounds.
Preston Platfoot’s 4-2 win in sudden victory over Covington’s Coleman Ryan at 120 pounds was critical as the Buccaneers only clung to a 10-9 lead after five bouts.
With Ryan Ford at at 138, Covington surrendered another six points with a forfeit and then Versailles increased its lead to 18-10 with a Tanner Bey 15-8 decision win over Josh Sowers.
Gage Dehart closed the gap to 18-13 with a 6-2 decision win over Tyler Gigandet at 152 pounds, but that would be the final points the Buccs would score on the night.
Back-to-back major decision wins by Corey Dieringer over Deron White at 160 and Jonathan Moorman over Joey Schmelzer at 170 was followed with a dual-sealing pin by Bo Bey at 182 pounds over Ian Wilson.
That’s because Covington had to forfeit again at 195 pounds with Magee out of the lineup.
With the dual victory in hand, Versailles left no doubt in the final two bouts of the dual as Kyle Gigandet recorded a 14-4 major decision win over Seth Thomas at 220 pounds and Jeffrey Ware defeated Carl Lankford 11-8 in a back-and-forth match at heavyweight.
Versailles then dispatched Williamsburg 54-9 in the regional final to stamp its ticket to the state dual tournament in Columbus.
Semifinal Match 1
Bethel-Tate 30 – Williamsburg 40
106 Trey Sander 9 (Bethel-Tate) pin Seth Herndon 9 (Williamsburg) 1:11
113 Caleb Nipper 12 (Williamsburg) dec. Justin Royer 11 (Bethel-Tate) 10-5
120 Brad Young 10 (Bethel-Tate) pin Ezra Wallace 9 (Williamsburg) 5:06
126 Kendal Johnson 12 (Williamsburg) maj. dec. Jacob Petri 11 (Bethel-Tate) 14-1
132 Matt Hall (Bethel-Tate) pin Trent Brewer 12 (Williamsburg) 4:54
138 Aaron Tigert 9 (Williamsburg) pin Jonah Blankenship 10 (Bethel-Tate) 5:45
145 Wyatt Lefker 10 (Williamsburg) Forfeit
152 Randy Thornberry 12 (Williamsburg) dec. Owen Holtke 10 (Bethel-Tate) 4-0
160 Nate Golden 12 (Williamsburg) dec. Jordan Newberry 11 (Bethel-Tate) 6-2
170 Dawson Davis 12 (Williamsburg) pin B.J. Ratcliff 12 (Bethel-Tate) 5:48
182 Jeffrey Botts 12 (Bethel-Tate) pin Spencer Clowery 12 (Williamsburg) 1:22
195 Wyatt O’neil 11 (Bethel-Tate) pin Trevor Berry 11 (Williamsburg) 4:15
220 Dylan Bailey 11 (Williamsburg) pin Bradley Lewis 10 (Bethel-Tate) 3:15
285 Brian Stears 10 (Williamsburg) dec. Kermit Beckworth 11 (Bethel-Tate) 4-2
Semifinal Match 2
Covington 13 – Versailles 45
106 Jacob Poling 9 (Versailles) Forfeit
113 Connor Ryan 12 (Covington) maj. dec. Marcus Marshal 10 (Versailles) 16-5
120 Preston Platfoot 10 (Versailles) dec. Coleman Ryan 12 (Covington) 4-2 sv
126 Jared Ford 10 (Covington) dec. Steven Mangen 10 (Versailles) 9-2
132 Keringten Martin 9 (Covington) dec. Kyle Wuebker 10 (Versailles) 7-2
138 Lane Feltz 11 (Versailles) Forfeit
145 Tanner Bey 11 (Versailles) dec. Josh Sowers 11 (Covington) 15-8
152 Gage DeHart 10 (Covington) dec. Tyler Gigandet 9 (Versailles) 6-2
160 Corey Dieringer 12 (Versailles) maj. dec. Deron White 11 (Covington) 17-8
170 Jonathan Moorman 11 (Versailles) maj. dec. Joey Schmelzer 10 (Covington) 15-5
182 Jerome Bey 11 (Versailles) pin Ian Wilson 9 (Covington) 2:22
195 Jacob Rismiller 11 (Versailles) Forfeit
220 Kyle Gigandet 12 (Versailles) maj. dec. Seth Thomas 11 (Covington) 14-4
285 Jeffrey Ware 10 (Versailles) dec. Carl Lankford 11 (Covington) 11-8
Regional Final
Williamsburg 9 – Versailles 54
106 Jacob Poling 9 (Versailles) pin Seth Herndon 9 (Williamsburg) 0:40
113 Marcus Marshal 10 (Versailles) pin Caleb Nipper 12 (Williamsburg) 0:55
120 Preston Platfoot 10 (Versailles) maj. dec. Ezra Wallace 9 (Williamsburg) 12-5
126 Kendal Johnson 12 (Williamsburg) dec. Steven Mangen 10 (Versailles) 1-0
132 Kyle Wuebker 10 (Versailles) pin Trent Brewer 12 (Williamsburg) 3:59
138 Lane Feltz 11 (Versailles) pin Aaron Tigert 9 (Williamsburg) 0:32
145 Tanner Bey 11 (Versailles) dec. Wyatt Lefker 10 (Williamsburg) 7-1
152 Randy Thornberry 12 (Williamsburg) dec. Tyler Gigandet 9 (Versailles) 2-0
160 Corey Dieringer 12 (Versailles) maj. dec. Nate Golden 12 (Williamsburg) 16-7
170 Dawson Davis 12 (Williamsburg) dec. Jonathan Moorman 11 (Versailles) 5-4
182 Jerome Bey 11 (Versailles) pin Spencer Clowery 12 (Williamsburg) 0:33
195 Jacob Rismiller 11 (Versailles) maj. dec. Dylan Bailey 11 (Williamsburg) 19-6
220 Kyle Gigandet 12 (Versailles) pin Trevor Berry 11 (Williamsburg) 1:57
285 Jeffrey Ware 10 (Versailles) dec. Brian Stears 10 (Williamsburg) 2-1
