DAY 2: SATURDAY, MARCH 7
TROY – The Division III District Tournament at Hobart Arena in Troy was a great weekend for the Covington Buccaneers as all four wrestlers competed well and two of them advanced to the state championship next week.
The two Buccaneers who finished in the top four of their weight classes to extend their season at state are senior Caleb Ryman and sophomore Brody Taylor and the two other wrestlers who came up short are junior Trenton Havenar and freshman Weston Roth.
Caleb Ryman won the district championship in the 157 pound weight class with a dominating performance from start to finish. His accomplishment made him the Buccaneers’ first district champion since 2019 when Kellan Anderson and Kerington Martin won their weight classes.
After winning his first two matches on Friday, Caleb opened up Saturday with a dominating 1:28 pin against Luke Sawmiller from Convoy Crestview (32-11) in the semifinal. He then put together a very impressive 7-1 victory over Brady Volz from Finneytown (39-2) in the finals. Ryman enters the state tournament with a 52-2 record.
Brody Taylor advanced to state by finishing third place in the 106 pound weight class. He opened up the district meet with two straight wins, but suffered a loss to Brian Fulton from Miami East (37-9) in the semifinal. Brody rebounded with a 9-2 victory over Carter Dunlap from Ada (26-14) and then closed out the district meet with a 2:29 pin against Parker Frakes from Liberty Union (32-16). Brody Taylor has a season record of 23-7 entering the state tournament.
Trenton Havenar, who was a state qualifier a year ago, came up short of returning to the state tournament at 215 pounds primarily due to an unfortunate injury he suffered a week ago. Even though he wasn’t 100% healthy in the district meet, Havenar wrestled extremely hard despite suffering and unfortunate defeat that prevented him from earning a placement. Havenar went 1-1 on Friday and opened up Saturday with a 16-1 technical fall win over Jeffrey Cox from Dayton Christian. Unfortunately he suffered a loss to Sam Bradford from West Liberty-Salem (38-10) to end his season. Havenar closed out his impressive season with a 42-10 record.
Buccaneer freshman Weston Roth went 1-2 in the 138 pound weight class in a tournament where he acquired ideal experience for his future. Roth closed out his freshman season with a 38-17 record.
Overall as a team, the Buccaneers finished 12th out of 63 teams.
DAY 1: FRIDAY, MARCH 6
TROY – The Covington Buccaneers had a solid first day at the district meet on Friday as all four wrestlers advanced to the second day with impressive wins.
Sophomore Brody Taylor and senior Caleb Ryman opened up the tournament with two straight victories to advance to the semifinals tomorrow, while freshman Weston Roth and junior Trenton Havenar won critical matches to remain in contention in the consolation rounds.
Brody Taylor started off his 106 pound weight class with a 3:47 pin against Urban Eckhardt from Carlisle and then followed up with a 1:07 pin against Grant Grubb from Convoy Crestview. Taylor will face Brian Fulton from Miami East in the semifinal tomorrow.
At 157 pounds, Caleb Ryman only wrestled for 38 seconds on Friday as he pinned Aidan Ebersole from Fredericktown and then captured a victory by a default over Camden Gable from Delphos St. John’s. Ryman starts off tomorrow in the semifinal round against Luke Sawmiller from Convoy Crestview.
Trenton Havenar opened up his tournament at 215 pounds with a dominating 1:36 pin against Cory Kidd from Blanchester, but suffered a loss in the quarterfinals against Ayden Cordle from West Jefferson. Havenar needs three consecutive wins to advance to state and he opens up the consolation round tomorrow against Jeffrey Knox from Dayton Christian.
Weston Roth, who placed fourth in the sectional meet, opened up the district tournament against A.J. Sturwold from Williamsburg, who was the sectional champion at Blanchester last week. Roth battled extremely hard against Sturwold, but came up short with a narrow 5-4 defeat. Fortunately, Roth responded very well in his next match as he defeated Logan Miller from Delphos Jefferson with a pin in 2:12. Roth needs three more consecutive wins to secure a state position and he opens up his first match tomorrow against Luke Wiley from Waynesville.
Wrestling starts tomorrow at 10:00am in Hobart Arena.
BUCCANEER MATCH RESULTS:
106 – BRODY TAYLOR (3RD PLACE)
Brody Taylor (Covington) pin Urban Eckhardt (Carlisle) 3:47
Brody Taylor (Covington) pin Grant Grubb (Con. Crestview) 1:07
Brian Fulton (Miami East) dec. Brody Taylor (Covington) 8-1
Brody Taylor (Covington) dec. Carter Dunlap (Ada) 9-2
Brody Taylor (Covington) pin Parker Frakes (Liberty Union) 2:29
138 – WESTON ROTH
A.J. Sturwold (Williamsburg) dec. Weston Roth (Covington) 5-4
Weston Roth (Covington) pin Logan Miller (Del. Jefferson) 2:12
Luke Wiley (Waynesville) maj. dec. Weston Roth (Covington) md14-2
157 – CALEB RYMAN (1ST PLACE)
Caleb Ryman (Covington) pin Aidan Ebersole (Fredericktown) 0:38
Caleb Ryman (Covington) Default Camden Gable (Del. St. John’s) Default
Caleb Ryman (Covington) pin Luke Sawmiller (Con. Crestview) 1:28
Caleb Ryman (Covington) dec. Brady Volz (Finneytown) 7-1
215 – TRENTON HAVENAR
Trenton Havenar (Covington) pin Cory Kidd (Blanchester) 1:36
Ayden Cordle (West Jefferson) pin Trenton Havenar (Covington) 3:39
Trenton Havenar (Covington) tech. fall Jeffrey Knox (Day. Christian) tf16-1
Sam Bradford (West Liberty-Salem) pin Trenton Havenar (Covington) 4:55
