FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2005 – DAY 1
The Covington wrestling team currently stands in sixth place out of sixteen teams at the Division III Sectional tournament, despite filling only ten of the fourteen weight classes.
Four Buccaneer wrestlers advanced to the semi-finals – with all of their wins coming by pin. At 140 lbs., Bobby Wiltshire advanced with a bye and pin over Trick Marriott of Dayton Christian. He will face West Liberty Salem’s Chris Parker for a chance to move on to the finals. Brian Ely followed suit at 171 lbs. with a bye and a pin over Troy Christian’s Josh Delver. He will face Versailles‚ Rusty Beisner in the semifinal round.
Logan Brown (189 lbs.) remained undefeated on the season with pins over Twin Valley South’s John Kleinberg and West Liberty Salem’s Mason Shoemaker. Brown will match up with Versailles‚ Alex Davis. At 275 lbs., C.J. Potter joined the others in the semifinals with a bye and a pin over Lehman’s Ben Lengerich. Potter will face Versailles‚ Eli Oliver next.
The rest of the Buccs are all still alive in the consolation bracket. At 160 lbs., Kyle Chalmers started off strong with a pin over Waynesville’s Chris Klein, before dropping a tough 3-0 decision to Versailles‚ Cody Grieshop, the no. 3 seed. Ryan White (130 lbs.) fell to the no. 1 seed, Kyle Kueterman of Versailles, before rebounding with a pin over George Parks of Stivers. At 135 lbs., Justin McMillion fell to West Liberty Salem’s Josh Levy, the no. 2 seed, before earning a pin over Matt Essex of Troy Christian in the consolation bracket.
Logan Hall (145 lbs.) also fell to the no. 2 seed at his weight, Jansen Clack of Tri-County North, then got a pin over Dan Pennington of Northridge to remain in contention. Ryan Vanderhorst (152 lbs.) and Jake Wise (215 lbs.) both dropped their initial bouts to Versailles‚ Dave Oliver and Northeastern’s Dave Moos, respectively. They will wrestle their first consolation match in the opening rounds tomorrow.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2005
Covington Finishes Sectionals in Sixth Place – Advance Four to Districts
The Buccs used a total team effort to finish in sixth place out of sixteen teams at the Division III Sectional tournament as each of the ten wrestlers contributed with victories. In fact, nine of the ten wrestlers placed in the top six – the most placers the Buccs have had at sectionals since the 1999-2000 season. Versailles won the tournament, followed by Miami East and Mechanicsburg.
Four wrestlers led the way with top-four finishes and district berths. At 189 lbs., Logan Brown took home the championship with a convincing 10-1 major decision over Seth Curtis of Mechanicsburg. Earlier, Brown advanced to the finals with a pin over Alex Davis of Versailles. Brian Ely also emerged victorious in his final match with a 5-2 decision over Donnie Wade of Northeastern to finish in third place. With the score tied 2-2, Ely used a 3-point near fall towards the end of the third period to come away with the win.
Finishing in fourth place for the Buccs were Bobby Wiltshire (140 lbs.) and C.J. Potter (275 lbs.). After dropping their semifinal bouts, both made short work of their consolation semi-final opponents, with pins in 30 and 41 seconds, to guarantee themselves district berths.
Ryan White (130 lbs.) almost joined the others as a district qualifier as he upset a number of wrestlers during the tournament and was winning his go-to-districts match before losing a last-second decision to Levi Smith of Miami East. White ended up in fifth place with a pin over Kenny Wood of Northridge. At 215 lbs., Jake Wise also earned a fifth place finish with a 3-2 victory over Mark Parker of West Liberty Salem. Both White and Wise are district alternates.
Justin McMillion (135 lbs.), Ryan Vanderhorst (152 lbs.) and Kyle Chalmers (160 lbs.) all advanced through the consolation brackets with victories, but fell in their final bouts to finish in sixth place.
Final Team Results: 1. Versailles (206.5), 2. Miami East (178), 3. Mechanicsburg (163.5), 4. W. Liberty Salem (146), 5. Northeastern (143.5), 6. Covington (128.5), 7. Troy Christian (114), 8. Tri-County North (88.5), 9. Dayton Christian (86), 10. Waynesville (46), 11. Northridge (43.5), 12. Miami Valley School, 13. Twin Valley South, 14. Stivers (7), 15. Lehman (6), 16. Triad (0).
