Dixie - Jan 30, 2007
The Covington wrestling team traveled to Dixie High School to participate in a "bracket tri-meet" with the Greyhounds along with Middletown Madison and Troy Christian. With this format two of the teams wrestle on one mat while the other two wrestle on the other. In the second and final round, the winners of the first round face each other on one mat while the losers square off on the other.

In their first dual, the Buccs faced the Dixie Greyhounds, the No. 3 ranked Division III team in the Greater Miami Valley. The action started at 135 lbs, where Covington‚s Josh McMillion, who just missed making weight at 125 lbs, bumped up to avoid giving the Greyhounds a forfeit. After being in early trouble, McMillion escaped and re-grouped to go into the second period only down 2-1. Robinson kept after McMillion, however, and earned a 9-4 decision for Dixie.

At 140 lbs, Covington's Jake Jennings squared off against Dustin Chatterton in a back-and-forth match. Chatterton got the win in the end with a head and arm pin to give the Greyhounds a 9-0 lead. Justin McMillion (145) then gave the Buccs their first win as he took to the mat like a man possessed and built a four-point lead to get things going, before pinning Cory Million at 1:34.

At 152 lbs, Ryan White also got a quick start and built to a 5-0 lead before Dixie's Matt Smith was awarded a penalty point. Smith scored another point on an escape, but White came back with another takedown and then got nearfall points with a cradle. With the score at 9-6 going into the third period, White went back to the cradle and this time got the pin to give Covington a 12-9 lead.

Dixie's Joey Blosser then gave the lead back to the Greyhounds as he came out aggressively and earned a pin over Travis Wamer.

Covington then made a strategic move by bumping up their 171 pounder, Logan Hall, to the 189 lb. weight class to face Dixie's Ryan Leech. Both wrestlers tied each other up throughout the first period to end it 0-0. In the second period, with Leech taking top, Hall scored on an escape and went to work. When Leech tried a slide-by, Hall countered and took him to the mat for a 5-0 lead. In the third period, Hall caught his opponent on his back as he was trying a reversal and earned the pin.

Jake Wise (215) then followed suit versus Dixie's Jake Shope. Wise struck first with a takedown and went to the cradle to tilt Shope up for nearfall points and a 5-0 lead. The next move by Wise was a stack that was inescapable and scored the pin for the Buccs, giving Covington a 24-15 lead.

The Buccs looked to wrap up the victory in the next weight class - 103 lbs - as Sam Herron moved quickly to escape from trouble and come out on the better end versus Dixie's Steve Fredrickson with the first takedown. Herron kept after Fredrickson in the second period and kept him on the mat. He worked in the half-nelson, but it was short-lived because both wrestlers went out-of-bounds. As the clock was running out, Fredrickson was able to reverse Herron to tie the match 4-4. In the third period, the battle continued, but Herron couldn't hang on and lost 10-9.

At 119 lbs, freshman Dylan Gustin appeared overmatched as he faced Dixie's Josh Cummins. Gustin gave Cummins a fight through the bout, however, fighting off his back, to lose just 9-2, in what turned out to be a key match for the Buccs. Dixie then bumped their state qualifier, Robert Beech to 130 lbs to face Quentin Layman. Layman got in deep on a double leg and nearly finished, but Beech used a neck-wrench to counter and take Layman down for the pin.

It wasn't enough for Dixie, however, as Covington held on to win 30-27, upsetting the Greyhounds on their home turf.

Covington 30, Dixie 27
103: Steve Fredrickson (D) dec. Sam Herron (C), 10-9
112: Matt Breisch (C) win by forfeit
119: Josh Cummins (D) dec. Dylan Gustin (C), 9-2
125: double forfeit
130: Robert Beach (D) pin Quentin Layman (C), F1:40
135: Logan Robinson (D) dec. Josh McMillion (C), 9-4
140: Dustin Chatterton (D) pin Jake Jennings (C), F3:58
145: Justin McMillion (C) pin Cory Million (D), F1:44
152: Ryan White (C) pin Matt Smith (D), F3:33
160: Joey Blosser (D) pin Travis Wamer (C), F1:27
171: double forfeit
189: Logan Hall (C) pin Ryan Leach (D), F5:30
215: Jake Wise (C) pin Jake Shope (D), F1:53

Covington next faced Troy Christian - a team sporting numerous state placers and qualifiers ˆ in the championship round as the Eagles advanced with a victory over Middletown Madison. The young Buccs wrestled hard, but found out why Troy Christian is the top-ranked team in the Greater Miami Valley and No. 2 ranked team in the state. Only three of Covington's eleven competing wrestlers earned victories in the dual as the team dropped the contest to Troy Christian, 58-12.

Highlights for the Buccs included victories by Matt Briesch (112), Ryan White (152) and Jake Wise (215).

At 112, Breisch and Libengood squared off and stayed locked up until Breisch threw the head and arm to earn a takedown. He squeezed Libengood in a headlock, but couldn‚t pin him and the clock ran out with the score 5-0. The match stayed tight through the second period with Breisch adding to his lead on a reversal, but Libengood answering back to close the gap. The third period was Libengood mounting a comeback and Breisch clinging on to the lead. As the clock wound down, Libengood was trying to pin Breisch with a wrist-and-half series, but Breisch fought it off and held on for an 8-7 win.

Facing Troy Christian's Chris Burns at 152 lbs, Covington's Ryan White initially drove Burns to the mat for what looked to be two points, but the ref saw otherwise and called them out-of-bounds. Burns scored on a takedown when White slipped to his knees, but White answered with a quick escape. Once free, White bulldogged Burns to the mat, but again the ref called out-of-bounds and didn't award takedown points. White hip-tossed Burns to the mat a third time and this time earned the takedown and then the pin at 2:42.

At 215 lbs, Covington's Jake Wise squared off against the Eagle's Josh Delver. Using an extended leg trip, Wise put Delver down for the first points of the match, but a penalty point awarded to Delver made the score 2-1. On the re-start, with Delver down,Wise had to really work to keep him from getting away. The second period started with Wise down and Delver allowing him to stand up for the escape point. With the score now 3-1 in Wise‚s favor, Delver desperately looked for the takedown to tie the match. He didn't get it and the match went into the third period with Wise clinging to the 3-1 lead. When the third period started, Delver took the down position and quickly scored on an escape to close within one point. Delver then tied the score when Wise was called for stalling. With the match tied 3-3 at the end of the third period, it was headed for overtime. Wise won the match when Delver went to throw him, lost his balance, and Wise jumped on top for the two points and the win.

Winning by pin for Troy Christian were Ben Sergent (119), Zac Hancock (130), Casey Thome (140), Zach Toal (145), Robel Campbell (160) and Sam Akins (171). Jordan Hancock (103) won by major decision.

Troy Christian 58, Covington 12
103: Jordan Hancock (TC) maj. dec. Sam Herron (C), 14-3
112: Matt Breisch (C) dec. Cody Libengood (TC), 8-7
119: Ben Sergent (TC) pin Dylan Gustin (C), F1:14
125: Ryan Essex (TC) win by forfeit
130: Zac Hancock (TC) pin Quentin Layman (C), F1:13
135: Jordan Thome (TC) pin Josh McMillion (C), F1:33
140: Casey Thome (TC) pin Jake Jennings (C), F3:23
145: Zack Toal (TC) pin Justin McMillion (C), F3:42
152: Ryan White (C) pin Chris Burns (TC), F3:42
160: Robel Campbell (TC) pin Travis Wamer (C), F1:00
171: Sam Akins (TC) pin Logan Hall (C), F5:39
189: T.J. Klepinger (TC) win by forfeit
215: Jake Wise (C) dec. Josh Delver (TC), 5-3 OT