Buccaneer sophomores Chase Vanderhorst and Jericho Quinter closed out the state wrestling tournament with state medals as Vanderhorst took fifth at 126 pounds and Quinter finished sixth at 113 pounds. Also, Michael Hagan, Carson Taylor and Scott Blumenstock represented the Buccaneers well at state.

MARCH 11, 2022 – COLUMBUS
Two Buccaneers wrestlers made quick work of their first round opponents, while three wrestlers fell into the consolation rounds during the opening day of the Division III State Tournament at the Jerome Schottenstein Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus on Friday.

First Jericho Quinter (32-5) put together a dominant performance in his opening match at 113 pounds by pinning Drew Spreng of Loudonville in 1:02. The Buccaneer sophomore took the action to Spreng at the outset as he recorded a quick takedown and went to work for back points, which resulted into a pin. Next, in the championship quarterfinal, Quinter faces Max Hermes (54-3), who was a state champion a year ago at 106 pounds.

Chase Vanderhorst (29-3) spent four seconds less on the mat than Quinter did as he pinned Connor Robbins of Willard in 58 seconds. Vanderhorst, who hopes to join his brother Cael and uncle Craig as a state placer, advances to tomorrow morning’s championship quarterfinal against Wesley Wydick of Utica (43-3).

At 106 pounds Carson Taylor faced unbeaten Hunter Lacy of Seneca East (35-0) in his opening match. Taylor came up short on a scramble for an early takedown and just couldn’t keep pace with his senior opponent, as he dropped an 11-0 major decision.

The Buccaneer sophomore then faced Hunter Newell of South Range in the opening round of consolations and dropped a very close 3-0 decision. Taylor ends his sophomore season with a very impressive 39-10 record.

At 120 pounds returning state placer Michael Hagan was leading Brian Luft of Newark Catholic (27-8) 5-4 late in the third period after a beautiful reversal. Unfortunately, Luft was able to respond with a reversal of his own that put the Buccaneer wrestler on his back for a pin with just 17 seconds left in the match.

Hagan then faced Nathan Parks of Seneca East in the opening round of consolations and controlled the action throughout en route to a 12-5 victory. He looks to secure a spot on the podium tomorrow morning in the second round of consolations.

Buccaneer senior Scott Blumenstock proved he belonged at the state tournament as he nearly upset Jacob MacLean of Liberty Union (40-5), who was the champion out of the Heath District. Unfortunately, Blumenstock came up short by the score of 4-2 as MacLean was able to score a late takedown and a penalty point to escape with the win.

In the opening round of consolations, Blumenstock advanced to the second day of the tournament as Javen Gaines of Tinora had to default by injury. The Buccaneer is one win from becoming a state placer as he will compete in the second consolation round tomorrow morning.

COVINGTON RESULTS
FIRST ROUND
106 – Hunter Lacy (Seneca East) maj. dec. Carson Taylor (Covington) – md11-0
113 – Jericho Quinter (Covington) pin Drew Spreng (Loudonville) – 1:02
120 – Brian Luft (Newark Cath.) pin Michael Hagan (Covington) – 5:43
126 – Chase Vanderhorst (Covington) pin Connor Robbins (Willard) – 0:58
285 – Jacob MacLean (Liberty Union) dec. Scott Blumenstock (Covington) – 4-2

FIRST ROUND CONSOLATION
106 – Hunter Newell (South Range) dec. Carson Taylor (Covington) – 3-0
120 – Michael Hagan (Covington) dec. Nathan Parks (Seneca East) – 12-5
285 – Scott Blumenstock (Covington) def. Javen Gaines (Tinora) – Default

MARCH 12, 2022 – COLUMBUS
Covington’s Chase Vanderhorst and Jericho Quinter secured themselves no worse than sixth place after the second day of the state tournament, while senior Scott Blumenstock and sophomore Michael Hagan came up one win short of earning state medals.

It was a bittersweet morning at the state wrestling tournament for the Covington Buccaneers. The sweet part was the fact that Chase Vanderhorst and Jericho Quinter assured themselves state medals and the bitter part was Michael Hagan and Scott Blumenstock coming up one win short of placing.

In the championship quarterfinals to open the second day of the state tournament, the Buccaneers had a rough go of it as sophomore 113 pounder Jericho Quinter and sophomore 126 pounder Chase Vanderhorst both dropped their matches.

First, Quinter faced Milan Edison’s Max Hermes, who won a state championship last year at 106 pounds. Quinter gave Hermes a battle, but two takedowns and a reversal were the deference as Jericho fell by the score of 6-1.

“I just couldn’t get my offense going,” Quinter said. “I have to work on getting to my tie-ups better, so I can get to my shots.”

Just as Quinter’s match completed on mat 6, Vanderhorst’s match against Wesley Wydick of Utica began on mat 4. The Buccaneer sophomore took the action to Wydick, scoring five takedowns to build a comfortable lead midway through the third period. Unfortunately, Wydick surprised the Buccaneer wrestler with a throw to the back for a pin with just 41 seconds left in the match.

“We lacked a little savviness and awareness at the end,” said Covington coach Eric Vanderhorst.

Fortunately, both Quinter and Vanderhorst responded in the second round of consolations to ensure themselves state medals and spots on the podium.

Quinter (33-6) dominated Dylan Ward of Martins Ferry (38-6) with a 9-0 major decision victory.

And the bright lights with thousands of spectators didn’t affect Quinter at all.

Vanderhorst (30-4) followed with a gritty 5-2 decision over returning state placer Jesse Stroud (41-10) of Mechanicsburg. The win makes him the third state placer in the Vanderhorst family, joining his brother Cael – who was a three-time state placer – and his uncle Craig, who finished third in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons.

Then, in the consolation quarterfinals later Saturday evening, both Quinter and Vanderhorst won in impressive fashion.

Quinter (34-6) led Cowin Becker of Northmor (46-9) throughout his match and held on for a 4-3 win after surrendering an point via an escape late in the match. He will face Miami East’s Cooper Shore in the consolation semifinal tomorrow morning.

“I felt confident, even though I’ve never been here (at the Schott) before – even as a spectator,” Quinter said. “It’s cool to be able to wrestle here because I haven’t been in this type of an environment before. My eighth grade year was cancelled because of Covid and last year I got hurt right before sectionals, so my goal was to come here this year and place. I’ve dreamt about being here and it’s kind of what I expected.”

Chase Vanderhorst then defeated Caden Schmelzer (43-7) of Waynedale in dominating fashion 8-2. The win avenged two defeats he suffered to Schmelzer earlier in the year at the Lima Central Catholic Invitational.

“The last time Chase wrestled that kid (Schmelzer), Chase was just getting back from appendix surgery,” explained Coach Vanderhorst. “Chase was leading in both of those matches, but his conditioning wasn’t where we needed to be at that time.”

For Chase, it was a rewarding victory.

“I knew I could beat him because some of the guys I beat, he lost too,” said the Buccaneer sophomore. “I know I wasn’t one-hundred-percent when I wrestled him before, but that’s not an excuses. I just kept telling myself I could beat him.”

Vanderhorst has had his share of adversity as he hadn’t been in a state-type of environment since seventh grade.

“His eight grade year was cancelled because of Covid and he was out his entire freshman year with an injury,” said Coach Vanderhorst. “Chase also had some issues this year with his appendix, so he missed some time that would have benefitted him if he was healthy.”

Next up for the Buccaneer 126 pounder is a consolation semifinal match against Carson Chiesa (41-8) of Delta Sunday morning.

Buccaneer sophomore Michael Hagan was looking to become a two-time state placer, but fell one win short as he dropped his match in the second consolation round to Brock Durbin (36-5) of Mapleton with a second period pin. Hagen finishes his season with a 41-6 record at 120 pounds.

Buccaneer senior heavyweight Scott Blumenstock saw his historic run end one win short of reaching the podium as he dropped his match in the second consolation round via pin to Travis Owen of Black River. Blumenstock ends his senior campaign with a 26-12 record, but more importantly, as an inspiration for those who follow in his footsteps.

In all, Blumenstock is the first heavyweight wrestler in school history to advance to districts three times. He’s also the second Buccaneer heavyweight to advance to state (Dusty Hess in 2003) and the first heavyweight in program history to advance to the second day of the state tournament.

QUARTERFINAL
113 – Max Hermes (Mil. Edison) dec. Jericho Quinter (Covington) – 6-1
126 – Wesley Wydick (Utica) pin Chase Vanderhorst (Covington) – 5:19

SECOND ROUND CONSOLATIONS
113 – Jericho Quinter (Covington) maj. dec. Dylan Ward (Martins Ferry) – md9-0
120 – Brock Durbin (Mapleton) pin Michael Hagan (Covington) – 2:03
126 – Chase Vanderhorst (Covington) dec. Jesse Stroud (Mechanicsburg) – 5-2
285 – Travis Owen (Black River) pin Scott Blumenstock (Covington) – 2:39

THIRD ROUND CONSOLATIONS
113 – Jericho Quinter (Covington) dec. Cowin Becker (Northmor) – 4-3
126 – Chase Vanderhorst (Covington) dec. Caden Schmeltzer (Waynedale) – 8-2

MARCH 13, 2022 – COLUMBUS
Chase Vanderhorst and Jericho Quinter became the 16th and 17th wrestlers in Buccaneer history to earn state medals as Vanderhorst finished 5th at 126 pounds and Quinter took sixth at 113 pounds on Sunday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus.

For Chase, he became the third in the Vanderhorst family to place at state. His uncle Craig place 3rd at 138 pounds in 1983 and 3rd at 145 pounds in 1984, while his older brother Cael was a three-time state placer as he took 8th at 113 pounds in 2018, 4th at 113 pounds in 2019 and 4th at 138 pounds in 2021. With his 5th place finish, Chase earned the sixth state medal for the Vanderhorst family.

Chase opened Sunday’s action in the consolation semifinal against Carson Chiesa (43-7) of Delta and found himself down 3-1 late in the third period after a reversal. With seconds left on the clock, Vanderhorst scrambled and was extremely close to recording a reversal of his own, but time ran out before he could complete the maneuver.

The forced Vanderhorst into a match against Drake Kanyuch (44-14) of Shenandoah for fifth place and the Buccaneer wrestler broke open a close match with a big takedown in the final period to seal at 7-2 victory.

In all, Chase went 4-2 in the state tournament with his two defeats coming against a state finalist and the third place finisher. Vanderhorst ends his sophomore season with a 32-5 record

Jericho Quinter’s consolation quarterfinal match was against Cooper Shore (30-1) of Miami East, who finished second in state a year ago at 113 pounds and was the favorite of many to win state this year. Shore handed the Buccaneer wrestler an 11-5 defeat an Quinter faced Trevor Wilcox (37-9) in a match for fifth place.

Unfortunately, Quinter came up short in his final match 10-6 and finished in sixth place at 113 pounds.

Quinter went 3-3 at state with is defeats coming to a state finalist, a third place finisher and the fifth place finisher.

Jericho ends his sophomore season with a 34-8 record.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINAL RESULTS
113 – Cooper Shore (Miami East) dec. Jericho Quinter (Covington) – 11-5
126 – Carson Chiesa (Delta) dec. Chase Vanderhorst (Covington) – 3-1

FIFTH PLACE MATCH
113 – Trevor Wilcox (Otsego) dec. Jericho Quinter (Covington) – 10-6
126 – Chase Vanderhorst (Covington) dec. Drake Kanyuch (Shenandoah) – 7-2