JANUARY 26, 2019 – LIMA
Covington had an outstanding weekend at the Lima Central Catholic (LCC) Thunderbird Invitational, finishing in 2nd place out of 43 teams. The Buccs finished with a school-record 8 top-six place-winners at the tournament which featured numerous state-ranked wrestlers in every weight class.
Kellan Anderson took home the 106 lb. championship with a solid 5-0 victory over Eastwood’s Gavin Owens. On his way to the finals, Anderson pinned Ashtabula St. John’s Tyler Cathcart, Blanchester’s Jacob Hamm, Lima Central Catholic’s Gavin Caprella and Bluffton’s Tayton Kleman.
Keringten Martin dropped a 3-2 nail biter in the finals to finish 2nd at 152 lbs to state placer Ryan Marvin of Swanton. He upset the no. 1 seed, state-placer Billy Luft of Newark Catholic in the semifinals, 3-2, after beating state qualifier Clayton Schirmer of Blanchester, 6-4, and pinning Triad’s Blake Boldman.
Cael Vanderhorst took 3rd place with an 11-0 major decision over Troy Christian’s Troy Kennedy in the finals, after winning by injury default over Eastwood’s Bryce Maynard in the consolation semifinals with a 4-0 lead. He dropped a 5-2 semi-final decision to champion Max Shore of Miami East after pinning Newark Catholic’s Caden Canning and defeating Troy Christian’s Troy Kennedy, 7-0, in the opening rounds.
Duncan Cooper (160) also finished in 3rd place with a 5-2 win over Cory-Rawson’s Logan Korpics. Cooper won a 14-2 major decision over Wayne Trace’s Eli Moore after falling to champion David Cumberledge of Ashtabula St. John’s. He opened with three consecutive pins over Patrick Henry’s A.J. Healy, Coldwater’s Reece Thomas and Blanchester’s Ramiro Torres.
Dylan Burns (160) finished in 4th place, falling to Ashtabula St. John’s Ethan Ducca. He defeated Carey’s Hayden Jacoby, 8-2, in the consolation semifinals after dropping a 4-0 decision to champion Trevor Franks of Lakota in the semifinals. Burns started the tournament with pins over Wayne Trace’s Wyatt Stabler and McComb’s Andrew Smith, and an 11-2 major decision over Coldwater’s Josh Fink.
Riley Richards (126) took 5th place with an 8-2 win over Blanchester’s Andrew Frump. Richards went 5-2 overall with two pins.
Austin Flick (138) also finished in 5th place for the Buccs with a pin over Blanchester’s Johnny Schirmer in the finals. Flick went 4-2 overall with two pins.
Gavin McReynolds (182) finished in 5th place to give Covington its 8th place-winner, earning an 11–3 major decision over Delphos St. John’s Chase Martin. McReynolds finished 4-2 with 3 pins.
Connor Sindelir (126) finished one match away from placing, going 3-2 overall with two pins. Jesse Fisher (195, pin), Dylan Staudt (220, pin), Fletcher Metz (145) and Clayton Stephan (285) also wrestled well for the Buccs.
Covington travels to Eaton on Wednesday, January 30 for a combined high school and Jr. High dual.
