Saturday, January 2, 2021 – Piqua
Covington’s high school and jr. high wrestling teams traveled to Piqua for a meet with the host Indians and Bellefontaine, and both teams finished undefeated on the day for the Buccs.
In high school action, the Buccaneers started the day with a dominating 62-9 win over the host Piqua Indians despite missing seniors Trentin Alexander (170) and Duncan Cooper (195) and junior Caleb Miller (160).
“We appreciate Scott (Kaye) and Piqua having this meet and inviting us,” said Covington coach Vanderhorst said. “I know all the teams have lost some matches with a lot of tournaments being cancelled and I appreciate them moving the matches back to 11 a.m., so we could watch Ohio State beat Clemson last night (in college football).”
Piqua coach Scott Kaye came away very impressed with the Buccaneers.
“Covington has a strong team,” Kaye said. “We haven’t seen some the strong competition we would normally see by this time of the year. We came out tight and Covington was explosive and aggressive. That was a bad combination.”
Carson Taylor (106) started things off with a pin over Averi Wiley, followed by Michael Hagan’s (113) pin over Peyton Offenbacher. Jericho Quinter (120) then pinned Brady Mikolajewski, followed by Kellan Anderson’s (132) pin over Max Kaye.
Piqua’s Dylan Varvel (132) then picked up a forfeit at 132, before Cael Vanderhorst (138) pinned Beth Herndon. Piqua’s Andru Hollopeter then won a back-and-forth 8-5 decision over David Robinson (145) before a forfeit win at 152 by Luke Brown. Covington’s Connor Sindelir (160) then earned a 16-4 major decision over Isaac Bushnell, followed by Trey Kiser (170) earning a forfeit.
Jensen Wagoner (182) then earned a major decision over Landen Martin, followed by a double forfeit at 195. Ricky Stephan (220) then picked up a forfeit, before Covington’s Scott Blumenstock (285) pinned Jonathan Stavinoha to conclude the dual.
“We had a good day on the mat,” Vanderhorst. “We have a chance to see some elite wrestlers in the future.”
Which he feels will be good for returning state placers Kellan Anderson and Cael Vanderhorst.
“Some of them are rated first or second in the state,” Vanderhorst said. “So, you could have two state placers wrestling each other. It is just a matter of weight class wise, if we end up running into them or not.”
Covington then picked up a victory over Bellefontaine, 64-12 to improve its dual meet record to 14-1 on the season.
Carson Taylor (106), Michael Hagan (113, pin), Jericho Quinter (120), Jackson Shiverdecker (126, pin), Kellan Anderson (132, pin), Cael Vanderhorst (138), David Robinson (145), Connor Sindelir (152), Trey Kiser (170), Jensen Wagoner (182) and Scott Blumenstock (285) all won for the Buccs.
In jr. high action, Covington won both duals against Piqua and Bellefontaine to improve their record to 5-1.
Winning for Covington against Piqua were Kacyn Hall (98), Kaden Thompson (122), Jack Blumenstock (128), Aveyen Meek (134), AJ Garman (142), and Zane Lemp (160, pin). Also wrestling well for the Buccs were Colt Williams, Caleb Ryan, Zaq Steele, Elijah Carnes, Ashtin Gardner and Forest Arthur.
Winning for Covington against Bellefontaine were Caleb Ryman (92), Zaq Steele (98), Kacyn Hall (104, pin), Elijah Carnes (104, pin), Kaden Thompson (122), Aveyen Meek (134, pin) and AJ Garman (142). Also wrestling well for the Buccs were Colt Williams, Rowan Isaacs, Jack Blumenstock, Zane Lemp and Ashtin Gardner.
