December 28, 2016 – Dayton
The Covington wrestling team competed in the prestigious GMVWA Holiday Wrestling Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday and after two days of wrestling the Buccs finished 13th in the small school standings, tying Zane Trace with 53 team points.

In a tournament field of 64 teams from all three divisions, the competition was fierce at each weight class. Graham won the small school division with 311 team points, while Dublin Coffman claimed the large school title with 177 team points.

For the Buccaneers, Lance Miller was the lone individual placer as he finished sixth at 160 pounds.

Miller began the tournament with three straight wins – a 16-3 major decision over Austin Mullen of Hudson; a 3-1 win over Nick Coyle of Vandalia Butler; and a 5-1 win over #4 seed Parker Brown of Sycamore Mohawk.

In the championship semifinal Miller faced #1 seed and eventual tournament champion Mason Smith of Walton-Verona and dropped the match to move into the consolation rounds. After losing to losing to eventual fourth place finisher Chance Egmont of Pickerington Central, Miller topped a heartbreaking 1-0 decision to Logan Broskie of Olentangy Orange in the fifth place match.

Seven more Buccaneer wrestlers competed well in the tournament, but fell short of finding a spot on the podium.

Riley Richards, a sophomore 126 pounder for the Buccaneers, dropped his first two matches of the tournament on close decisions – one a 6-3 loss to Andrew Oeters of Lakota West and then a very close 9-7 decision to Garrett Thomas of Upper Sandusky.

Freshman Austin Flick had a very impressive showing in his first appearance at the Holiday as he went 2-2 at 132 pounds. Flick captured a 6-4 win in sudden victory over Bryce Asher of Northmont and recorded a 1:46 pin over Dale Gose-Trippett of Newark.

Sophomore 138 pounder Keringten Martin had a stellar tournament despite receiving an unfortunate draw. Martin made quick work of his first three opponents by recording pins, but was forced to face #1 seed and eventual champion Kameron Paulus of Milton-Union in the championship semifinal. Martin wrestled very well, but came up just short of reaching the finals by a narrow 4-2 decision. He then dropped another heartbreaker, losing 5-3 to Graham’s Isaiah Stickley to end his hopes of finishing on the podium.

Senior 145 pounder Josh Sowers went 3-2 in the tournament with wins over Jordan Burns of Moore (1:54 pin), Bladeth Leamon of Miami Trace (2:12 pin) and Josh Halbakken of Big Walnut (4:45 pin), while senior Deron White went 2-2 in a stacked 152 pound weight class. White’s two wins came by a 2:15 pin over Derek Moore of Miami Trace and a 3:00 pin over Benedikt Hoepfl of Greenview.

At 170 pounds, junior Gage Dehart won four straight matches after falling to #1 seed and eventual champion Casey Cornett of Simon Kenton in his opening match. Unfortunately, Dehart’s quest to finish on the podium ended with a very narrow 1-0 loss to Jacob Yost of Springfield. His four wins came over Michael Dewitt of Upper Sandusky (1:45 pin), Adam McCardle of Hilliard Bradley (2:46 pin), Stephen Holton of Xenia (8-0), and Vance Geeslin of Milford (5-0).

The final Buccaneer wrestler to compete at the Holiday was senior heavyweight Carl Lankford, who dropped his first two bouts of the tournament.

With the year 2016 in the books, the Buccaneers look to get off to a fast start in 2017 as they compete in the annual Troy Invitational on January 7th.

COVINGTON WRESTLING RESULTS

126 POUNDS
Riley Richards lost 6-3 to Andrew Oeters of Lakota West
Riley Richards lost 9-7 to Garrett Thomas of Upper Sandusky

132 POUNDS
Austin Flick lost via pin in 2:23 to second seed Dante Castellano of Simon Kenton
Austin Flick won 6-4 in sudden victory over Bryce Asher of Northmont
Austin Flick won by pin in 1:46 over Dale Gose-Trippett of Newark
Austin Flick lost via :40 pin to Legman Mohamud of Dublin Coffman

138 POUNDS
Keringten Martin won by 1:54 pin over Jeremiah Mulkey of Springfield
Keringten Martin won by :39 pin over Wyatt Howard of Fairborn
Keringten Martin won by 3:09 pin over Josh Kirby of Centerville
Keringten Martin lost 4-2 to first seed Kamron Paulus of Milton-Union
Keringten Martin lost 5-3 to Isaiah Stickley of Graham

145 POUNDS
Josh Sowers won by 1:52 pin over Jordan Burns of Moore
Josh Sowers lost 7-3 to Caleb Blake of Tipp City
Josh Sowers won by 2:12 pin over Bladeth Leamon of Miami Trace
Josh Sowers won by 4:45 pin over Josh Halbakken of Big Walnut
Josh Sowers lost 8-4 to J.T. Temmerman of Hilliard Bradley

152 POUNDS
Deron White won by 2:54 pin over Derek Cavin of Versailles
Deron White lost by 2:15 pin to Derek Moore of Miami Trace
Deron White won by 3:00 pin over Benedikt Hoepfl of Greenview
Deron White lost by 4:15 pin to Wyatt Lefker of Williamsburg

160 POUNDS
Lance Miller won by 16-3 major decision over Austin Mullen of Hudson
Lance Miller won 3-1 over Nick Coyle of Vandalia Butler
Lance Miller won 5-1 over #4 seed Parker Brown of Mohawk
Lance Miller lost by 3:09 pin to #1 seed Mason Smith of Walton-Verona
Lance Miller lost by 1:24 pin to Chance Egmont of Pickerington Central
Lance Miller lost 1-0 to Logan Broskie of Olentangy Orange

170 POUNDS
Gage Dehart lost by 3:42 pin to #1 seed Casey Cornett of Simon Kenton
Gage Dehart won by 1:45 pin over Michael Dewitt of Upper Sandusky
Gage Dehart won by 2:46 pin over Adam McCardle of Hilliard Bradley
Gage Dehart won 8-0 over Stephen Holton of Xenia
Gage Dehart won 5-0 over Vance Geeslin of Milford
Gage Dehart lost 1-0 to Jacob Yost of Springfield

285 POUNDS
Carl Landford lost by 2:24 pin to Tommy Lyle of Swanton
Carl Lankford lost by 2:45 pin to Greg Spencer of Sidney