The Covington Buccaneers were very busy in the final two week of the regular season as they traveled to Lima Central Catholic for the annual LCC Invitational, traveled to face Eaton in a hotly contested dual and then hosted the Covington Duals. The end result was what the Buccaneers were looking for as they are peeking at the right time with the sectional tournament on the horizon.
Lima Central Catholic (LCC) Invitational – Saturday, January 28, 2017
Covington’s high school wrestling team put in a nice showing at the Lima Central Catholic (LCC) Invitational on Saturday, finishing in 10th place out of 39 teams. The Buccs finished with three placers at the highly competitive tournament.
Lance Miller brought home the 160 lb. championship with a convincing 16-5 major decision over Ottawa-Glandorf’s Grant Goecke. Miller received a bye in the first round before pinning Northridge’s Madison Swanton, tech. falling Lakota’s Bryce Anderson 17-2, and defeating Calvert’s Conner Kwiat, 11-5.
Josh Sowers placed 3rd at 145 lbs. with a 4-2 victory over Luke Brown of Allen East. Sowers received a bye in the first round before pinning Wyatt Stabler of Wayne Trace and then defeating Allen East’s Brown, 16-3. He then fell to eventual champion Tanner Smith of Mechanicsburg before pinning Lakota’s Brenden Biddle in the consolation semifinals.
Dolan Young placed 6th at 106 lbs. earning pins over Dixie’s Brian Blosser and New London’s Arryk Davidson along the way. Austin Flick (128) and Deron White (152) both finished 3-2 overall with 2 pins, while Gavin McReynolds (182) finished 2-2 with 2 pins. Also competing for the Buccs were Kyle Barga (120), Ross Bowman (170), Bryce Keiser (220) and Carl Lankford (285, pin).
Eaton Dual – Saturday, February 4, 2017
Covington’s high school wrestling team traveled to Eaton for a dual with the host Eagles on Saturday night in what has become a highly competitive contest over the past several years. This year’s event didn’t disappoint, as the winner wasn’t determined until the final match of the evening when Covington’s Carl Lankford (285) came from behind to pin Seth Bowman and give the Buccaneers a 39-27 victory over Eaton.
The teams traded a pair of forfeits with Covington’s Dolan Young (106) and Eaton’s Wade Monebrake (120) each picking up a win. Eaton then took a 9-6 lead with Chris Weadick’s 11-5 victory over Kyle Barga (126), before Austin Flick (132) gave the lead back to Covington, 12-9, with a pin over Wyatt Burgess.
The Buccs would then reel off three more victories as Keringten Martin (138) defeated Noah Towe, 7-3, Josh Sowers (145) pinned Logan Chapin, and Deron White (152) pinned Spencer Leaker. Eaton would rebound with a Isaac Ilo pin over Ross Bowman (160), before Covington’s Lance Miller (170) earned an 8-2 decision over Seth Hodapp.
The Buccs then initiated a strategy by bumping Gavin McReynolds up from 182 to 195 lbs, giving Eaton’s Spencer Reynolds a forfeit at 182. The move worked, as McReynolds picked up a critical 4-1 victory over Christian Michael. Eaton’s Colton Gray then put the Eagles within striking distance with a pin over Bryce Keiser (220), before Lankford sealed the victory for the Buccs.
Covington Duals – Saturday, February 11, 2017
Covington hosted the Cross County Conference wrestling teams along with Lehman in their dual meet tournament on Saturday. Covington high school finished as a runner up to Miami East.
The Buccs high school squad finished 4-1 overall with wins over Arcanum 71-4, Tri-County North 56-21, National Trail 65-12, and Lehman 66-12, before dropping their final dual to Miami East 47-30.
Going undefeated for the Buccs with 5-0 records were Dolan Young (106 lbs, pin), Josh Sowers (145, 4 pins), Deron White (152, 4 pins) and Lance Miller (160, 2 pins). Riley Richards (126) finished 4-0 on the day.
Going 4-1 were Keringten Martin (138, 2 pins) and Ross Bowman (170, 3 pins). Austin Flick (132, 3 pins) finished 3-1 overall while Carl Lankford (285) went 4-2 with 2 pins.
Kyle Barga (120) and Gavin McReynolds (182) went 3-2. Ian Wilson (170) finished 2-1, and Fletcher Metz (132) went 1-1 with a pin. Bryce Keiser (220) also picked up a pin for the Buccs.
