The Covington wrestling team traveled to Troy Thursday night for a tri-match with Troy and Tri-County North, coming away with one win and one loss.

The Buccs first faced Cross-County Conference rival Tri-County North in a dual that would likely determine league bragging rights. The dual was very close until the last few weight classes where the Buccs pulled away for a 46-32 victory. Jake Jennings (125 lbs), Richie Watkins (135 lbs) and Logan Hall (160 lbs) earned pins for the Buccs. Others winning included Jordan Tebbe (112 lbs), Ryan White (145 lbs), Logan Brown (189 lbs), Jake Wise (215 lbs) and C.J. Potter (275 lbs).

Wrestling without 171 pound standout, Brian Ely, Covington found the going tougher against Troy – one of the best dual meet teams in the Miami Valley – falling 52-24. The Buccs and Trojans wrestled a number of exciting matches that weren’t determined until the final seconds of competition including two back-to-back matches that went into overtime. In the first overtime match, at 140 lbs, Justin McMillion earned a takedown and pin with 10 seconds remaining over Eric Lamm of Troy, a runner-up at the Troy Invitational. McMillion went 1-1 on the day after earlier dropping a 4-2 decision to Nick Huffman of Tri-County North.

In the second overtime match, at 145 lbs, Ryan White fell short of victory as Drew Mastrino of Troy gained a 11-9 decision with a late takedown. Others gaining pins for Covington were Jordan Tebbe (112 lbs), Richie Watkins (135 lbs) and Logan Brown (189 lbs). Watkins avenged his loss to Troy Invitational runner-up Tom Blackmore of Troy while Brown earned a second solid victory over Brandon Massie of Troy. In another close match, Buccaneer Jake Jennings gave up a third-period reversal to drop a 9-7 decision to Zach Sturwold of Troy.

The Buccs will take this weekend off and then travel to the Ben Logan Invitational on Saturday, January 28.