TROY – The Covington Buccaneers had a great weekend at the district tournament as five wrestlers qualified for state and the Buccs finished fourth out of 55 teams with 106.5 points.
Advancing to state for the Buccs are Carson Taylor (113 pounds), Jericho Quinter (126 pounds), Michael Hagan (132 pounds), Chase Vanderhorst (138 pounds) and Caleb Ryman (144 pounds), which ties the school record for the most state qualifiers in one season.
Jericho Quinter, Michael Hagan and Caleb Ryman all finished second in their weight classes, while Chase Vanderhorst finished third and Carson Taylor finished fourth.
Quinter (47-5) defeated C.J. Graham (47-6) of Fairland 5-3 in the semifinals, but suffered an injury during the match, which forced him to forfeit the championship match to Nathan Attisano (34-6) of Legacy Christian. Jericho is now a two-time state qualifier and looking to become a two-time state placer.
Hagan (47-7) advanced to the finals with a 6-3 victory over Thor Etter (44-5) of Paulding and fell to three-time state champion Dillon Campbell (39-4) of Legacy Christian in the finals. Hagan heads to state for the fourth consecutive year and hopes to earn his second state medal.
Caleb Ryman (43-6) captured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Mark Ellis (41-5) of Waynesville in the semifinals and then fell to Jordan Neal (46-2) in the finals at 144 pounds. Ryman is now a two-time state qualifier.
Chase Vanderhorst (40-4) lost a close 3-0 match to eventual district champion Wyatt Hinton (45-1) of Norwood in the semifinal, but rebounded with a 29 second pin over Kyan Hendricks (39-9) of Greeneview to secure his spot at state. Vanderhorst then defeated Riggins Hansgen (18-12) of Miami East for third place. Vanderhorst is a three-time state qualifier and looking for his third consecutive state medal.
Carson Taylor (42-9) lost his semifinal match to Bronson Begley (41-4) of Kettering Alter, but followed up with a 1:42 pin over Brayden Orick (27-9) of Carlisle to secure his spot at state. He then dropped a close 3-0 match to Trey Huber (42-10) from Versailles in the consolation final. This is Taylor’s second trip to state.
Aveyen Meek and Mason Epperson both dropped their matches in the second consolation round. Meek lost to eventual state qualifier Landon Younker ((36-7) of Parkway to finish his junior season with a 30-12 record. Epperson fell to sixth place finisher Braylon Paxson (32-13) of Allen East to close out his sophomore season with a 16-13 record.
THE BUCCS HAVE A STRONG FIRST DAY AT DISTRICTS
TROY – Seven of the eight Buccaneer wrestlers advanced to the second day of the district wrestling tournament with five of the wrestlers moving on to the championship semifinal round. As a team, Covington is currently second in the teams standings with 57.5 team points.
Carson Taylor (41-7) opened up with a 3:25 pin over Silas Riblet (24-17) of Ada and advanced to the semifinals with a 1:15 pin over Jarett Daniels (31-8) of Greeneview in the quarterfinals at 113 pounds. Taylor will face Bronson Begley (40-3) of Kettering Alter in the semifinals.
At 126 pounds Jericho Quinter (46-4) recorded back-to-back pins over Evan Pitts (11-13) of Columbus Grove in 37 seconds and then a 1:36 pin over Nolan Earles (33-8) of Preble Shawnee, who is a returning state qualifier. Quinter faces C.J. Graham (46-5) of Fairland in the semifinal round.
Michael Hagan (46-6) started things off with a 18-2 technical fall victory over Isaac Brown (22-20) of Versailles and then won a very close 7-6 match against Austin Hamilton (30-13) of Coldwater in the quarterfinals. Hagan takes on Thor Etter (42-4) of Paulding in the semifinals at 132 pounds.
Chase Vanderhorst (38-3) pinned Joey Morris (26-16) of Williamsburg in the opening round and followed with a 42 second pin over Tanner Stammen (36-15) of Coldwater in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals Vanderhorst will take on Wyatt Hinton (43-1) of Norwood.
Sophomore Caleb Ryman (42-5) had a great opening day as he recorded a 3:30 pin over Curtis Singleton (31-16) of East Clinton and the a 1:25 victory via pin over Slayed Merriman (28-15) of West Liberty-Salem. Ryman faces Mark Ellis (39-5) from Waynesville in the semifinals.
Aveyen Meek (30-11) advanced to the second day at 165 pounds as he went 1-1 on Friday. Meek opened with a 10-3 victory over Brody Green (32-11) of Greeneview in the opening round, but lost to Levi Collins (43-3) of Waynesville in the quarterfinals. Meek looks to battle his way back through the consolation rounds, beginning with a match against Landon Younker (33-6) from Parkway.
Mason Epperson also advanced to the second day of the district tournament at 175 pounds. Epperson dropped his opening match to Rod Owens (38-4) of Kettering Alter, but rebounded with a 1:34 pin over Timothy Rudd (11-14) of Norwood. Epperson faces Braylon Paxson (30-11) of Allen East tomorrow morning in the second consolation round.
Freshman Eddie Deaton wrested hard at 106 pounds, but dropped his first two matches to Blake Opichka (35-7) of Madeira and Aizik Myers (26-10) of Allen East. Deaton finished his first season at the high school level with a 10-21 record.
Wrestling continues tomorrow at 10:00am at Hobart Arena in Troy.
