Buccaneer senior Scott Blumenstock (photo above) and four sophomore wrestlers made history for the Covington wrestling program at the district wrestling meet this weekend.
MARCH 4, 2022 – TROY
After the first night of wrestling in the Division III District Wrestling Tournament at Troy’s Hobart Arena, seven of the nine Buccaneer district qualifiers still have hopes of qualifying for state.
Four Buccaneer wrestlers went 2-0 on the day to advance to the semifinal rounds, while three more wrestlers remain in contention in the consolation rounds – which will be wrestled tomorrow (Saturday) beginning at 10:00am.
At 106 pounds sophomore Carson Taylor (38-6) opened the tournament with an impressive 8-0 major decision victory over Nolan Fraley of Mechanicsburg. Taylor then dominated Springfield Catholic Central’s Crus Gutierrez in the quarterfinals via a 16-1 technical fall. Gutierrez was the champions from the Lehman Sectional. Taylor will face Gage Murphy (38-3) of Reading in the semifinals tomorrow.
At 113 pounds Buccaneer sophomore Jericho Quinter (29-4) recorded back-to-back pins to open the tournament. First, Quinter pinned Connor Blankenship of Wayne Trace in 1:01 and followed with a 1:06 pin of Versailles’ Lane Bergman. Next Quinter battles Eli Campbell of Legacy Christian in the semifinals.
Michael Hagan (38-3), a returning state placer a year ago at 106 pounds, had a dominating performance on Friday at 120 pounds. Hagan opened with a 3;04 pin of Cade Bergman of Versailles and then pinned Zach Case of Clermont Northeastern in 1:05 in the quarterfinals. Next for Hagan is a matchup against Dillon Campbell of Legacy Christian in the semifinals.
Buccaneer sophomore Chase Vanderhorst (27-2) was the final Buccaneer wrestler to advance to the semifinal round as he pinned Tanner Stammen of Coldwater in :41 and followed with a very impressive 8-4 victory over highly touted Logan Artisan of Legacy Christian. Vanderhorst faces Jesse Stroud of Mechanicsburg in his opening match tomorrow.
Remaining in contention in the consolation bracket are seniors Connor Sindelir, Jensen Wagoner and Scott Blumenstock.
Sindelir (35-11) dropped his opening match of the tournament to Ethan Cooper of Legacy Christian, but rebounded with a :46 pin of Nolan Wall of Roger Bacon. Sindelir looks to keep his state hopes alive as he opens the second day against Lucas Valley of Green.
At 190 pounds, Jensen Wagoner (32-9) opened the tournament with a 5:59 pin of Brogan Paxson of Allen East, but dropped a heartbreaking 4-0 decision to Zane Hitchcock of Mechanicsburg in the quarterfinals. Wagoner looks to rebound tomorrow beginning with a match against John Edwards of Lehman Catholic.
Scott Blumenstock (22-9) dropped his opening match at 285 pounds to unbeaten Eli Criblez of Allen East, but rebounded with an impressive 2:17 pin of Legacy Christian’s Matthew Smith. Blumenstock, who is the first Buccaneer heavyweight in history to compete at districts for the third time, opens Saturday’s action against Logan Johnson of Spencerville.
Two young Buccaneer wrestlers saw their seasons end on the opening day at districts, sophomore 138 pounder Jackson Shiverdecker (9-14) and freshman 144 pounder Aveyen Meek (15-20).
MARCH 5, 2022 – TROY
The Covington Buccaneers matched a school record by qualifying five wrestlers to the state meet with senior Scott Blumenstock making heavyweight history once again during the Division III District Wrestling Tournament at Hobart Arena in Troy.
First, sophomore Carson Taylor advances to state by taking fourth at 106 pounds – a weight class that was loaded with outstanding wrestlers. Taylor advanced to the semifinal with two wins on Friday, but dropped into the consolation bracket with a close 4-0 loss to Gage Murphy of Reading in the semifinal. Taylor rebounded in the consolation semifinal with a 2-1 win over Brandon Day of Springfield Shawnee to secure his spot at state. In the consolation final, Taylor came up short 3-0 against Corbin Kimmel of Wayne Trace in a match that could have gone either way.
At 113 pounds Jericho Quinter opened the second day of districts in the semifinal after winning his first two matches on Friday. He faced Eli Campbell of Legacy Christian and dropped a close 5-0 decision in what was also a match that could have gone either way. In the consolation semifinal, Quinter dominated Kyler Walsh of Carlisle with a pin in 40 seconds and then cruised to a 16-1 technical fall win over Khadyn Jacobs in the consolation final to finish third.
Returning state placer Michael Hagan also advanced to the semifinal by winning his first two matches on Friday, but was pitted against nationally ranked Dillon Campbell of Legacy Christian in the semifinal. Hagan dropped into the consolation bracket with a loss to Campbell, but he didn’t go down easy. The Buccaneer sophomore responded with a 5-0 victory over Czar Dickson of Indian Lake and an 8-3 victory over Ramakrishna Gandhi of Reading to finish third at 120 pounds.
The district weekend was extremely sweet for sophomore 126 pounder Chase Vanderhorst, who had his entire freshman season taken from him due to a serious knee injury. Vanderhorst showed what hard work and mental toughness will do for a young athlete as he rolled into the finals with a 5-2 win over returning state placer Jesse Stroud of Mechanicsburg. This was after he captured back-to-back wins on Friday, one via pin and another with an 8-4 win over eventual third place finisher Logan Attisano of Legacy Christian. In the finals, Vanderhorst faced Max Shore of Miami East, who won a state title a year ago at 120 pounds. The match was much more competitive than the eventual 10-3 score where Vanderhorst came up short of becoming a district champion.
The final Buccaneer to qualify for state was senior Scott Blumenstock at 285 pounds, which was extremely gratifying to those who know Scotty and the type of person he is – a person who goes out of his way to give praise to his opponents, win or lose.
Blumenstock’s path to state was the longest and hardest path a wrestler could take as he dropped his opening match on Friday to the top ranked wrestler in the state. Scott advanced through the blood rounds with a pin on Friday and then a 4-3 overtime win over Logan Johnson of Spencerville. Blumenstock then pinned Patton Johnson of Reading, who was the sectional champion out of Reading Sectional, in 2:59 of the consolation quarterfinal. In his go-to-state match in the consolation final, Blumenstock won by an injury default over Middletown Madison’s Austin Skinner, who was the sectional champion out of the Covington Sectional. Blumenstock dropped his consolation final match to Will Fox of Coldwater, but history was made as he became just the second heavyweight wrestler in school history to qualify for state – joining Dusty Hess (2003).
In all, Blumenstock (25-10) is the first Buccaneer heavyweight in school history to compete at districts three times and the second heavyweight to qualify for state.
Two Buccaneer seniors saw their seasons and careers come to an end on the second day at districts – Connor Sindelir and Jensen Wagoner. Both dropped their second consolation round matches.
Covington finished tied for 6th in the team standings with Allen East.
