DAY TWO: SATURDAY, MARCH 1
TROY – A great weekend for the Covington Buccaneers was capped by two wrestlers, Caleb Ryman and Trenton Havenar, qualifying for state and one more, Brody Taylor, finishing as a state alternate. Plus, the Buccaneers finished eighth out of 64 teams with 60 points.
The district meet at Hobart Arena was obviously the toughest in the state, very similar to last weeks sectional tournament at Versailles.This made the performance by the Buccaneers so impressive as all five wrestlers competed at districts very well.
Junior Caleb Ryman (48-1) finished runner-up at 150 pounds to advance to state for his third straight year. Ryman advanced to the finals after receiving a default victory over Connor Hockenbery from West Jefferson, a wrestler who was eliminated due to an unfortunate skin condition. In the finals Ryman faced another unbeaten wrestler, Bodie Martin (42-0) from Amanda Clearcreek, and the two wrestlers put together the most exciting match in the district tournament. Unfortunately, Ryman lost 3-1 in overtime. Throughout the entire match Ryman was aggressive in attempted takedowns, but each time the three points never materialized. Even with his first defeat of the season, Ryman has a golden opportunity to accomplish his ultimate goals at state.
Sophomore Trenton Havenar (27-13) punched his ticket to the state meet by finishing fourth in a very loaded 215 pound weight class. Havenar lost his semifinal bout to the eventual district champion Danny Hoke (36-8) from Graham, but he shocked the entire arena with a 2:36 pin against Ashton Clark (40-8) from Northmor. It was obvious in the start of the match that Clark was very talented as he recorded a takedown and four back points for a 7-0 lead. Havenar showed so much grit by fighting off his back to survive the first period. Early in the second period both wrestlers attacked each other and Havenar was able to overpower Clark to his back for a pin – a victory that secured his spot at state. Havenar then dropped a hard-fought match to Brody Adams (38-5) from Springfield Central Catholic in the consolation final. Still, it was an amazing weekend for Havenar as he is competing in his first wrestling season since he was in seventh grade.
Freshman Brody Taylor (34-13) was also in one of the toughest weight classes in the district meet, but was able to finish fifth to secure his spot as a state alternate. Taylor opens up the second day with a loss to Trent Huber from Versailles, the wrestler who dominated every match to win the district championship. Taylor then wrestled Rocco Castricone (33-12) from Mount Gilead in the go-to-state match, but fell short in a narrow 5-4 loss. There were situations in the match where it looked like Brody Taylor was close to capturing the win by scoring back points, but things never materialized his way. Fortunately, despite the loss Taylor was able to rebound with an 18-1 victory over Peyton Whitt (24-9) from Madison Plains to earn state alternate.
Two more Buccaneers wrestled extremely well in a very tough tournament, but came up short of qualifying for state – sophomore Henry Skaggs and junior Mason Epperson.
At 120 pounds, Henry Skaggs (27-16) went 2-2 in a very tough weight class. His two losses came against state qualifier Jordan Henderson from Indian Lake and sate alternate Ethan Amens (29-6) from Northmor.
Mason Epperson (13-10) went 2-2 in the 190 pound weight class with one of his defeats coming against state alternate Evan Montgomery (46-5) from Ready.
DAY ONE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28
TROY – The Covington Buccaneers put forth a great performance in the opening day of the district tournament as all five wrestlers advanced to the second day, three in the championship semifinal round and two more in the consolation rounds.
Advancing to the championship semifinals are freshman Brody Taylor (106 pounds), junior Caleb Ryman (150 pounds) and sophomore Trenton Havenar (215 pounds).
Brody Taylor (33-11) won his opening bout with a dominating 17-2 technical fall victory over Braxton Schnipke from Wayne Trace and then followed up with a 16-3 major decision win over Peyton Whitt from Madison Plains. In the semifinal tomorrow, he will face Trent Huber from Versailles.
Caleb Ryman (47-0) moved on to the championship semifinal with two dominating wins – first a 16-1 technical fall victory over Joey Morris from Williamsburg and then a 15-6 major decision win over Treven Angus from John Northridge. Ryman faces Connor Hockenberry from West Jefferson in his first match tomorrow.
The third Buccaneer that advanced to the championship semifinal is Trenton Havenar (26-11). Havenar opened up with a very impressive victory over Kyden Culbertson from Allen East. Culbertson had defeated Havenar earlier in the year at the LCC Invitational by two points, but this rematch was extremely dominated by Havenar as he defeated Culbertson with a 17-2 technical fall. Havenar then advanced to the semifinal with a victory via default over Tyler Pasma from Elgin. Next up for Havenar is another rematch against an opponent who had defeated him in their last match, Danny Hoke from Graham.
The two Buccaneers who kept their season alive into the second day of the district tournament in the consolation rounds are sophomore Henry Skaggs (120 pounds) and junior Mason Epperson (190 pounds).
Henry Skaggs (26-15) lost his opening match against Ethan Amens from Northmor, but rebounded with a 12-2 major decision victory over Robert Tyas from Convoy Crestview. Skaggs starts off Saturday with a match against Jacob Acevedorena from West Jefferson.
Mason Epperson (12-9) also dropped his opening bout at the district meet as he lost to Teddy Ullmer from Dayton Northridge. Epperson followed up with a hard-fought 8-3 victory over Miguel Martinez from Paulding and will pursue his dream to advance further in his next bout against Zach Lawson from National Trail.
Wrestling continues tomorrow at 10:00am at Hobart Arena in Troy.
