December 19, 2006 - Mechanicsburg
The Covington High School and Jr. High wrestling teams made a road trip on Monday night for a dual meet with the Indians of Mechanicsburg. Both squads put in impressive performances as the Jr. High cruised to a 63-11 victory while the high school nearly upset the favored and state-ranked (#9 AP) Mechanicsburg squad, 33-35.

Starting off the junior high meet for the Buccs was 86-pounder Sam Angle who faced Dalton Hildebrand. Late in the second period, with the score tied 2-2, Angle broke the tie with a reversal to go up 4-2. Angle fought off Hildebrand in the third period to get the decision and the first win of the night for the Buccs.

At 92 pounds, Zach Shilt squared off against Jacob DeLay. Shilt kept the match under control and in the third period with less than a minute to go, put the pin to DeLay.

Cory Ely versus Logan Turner, in the 116-pound class, was a quick match for Ely. With just 55 seconds into the match, Ely pinned Turner using the cradle to give Covington their third win of the night.

Next up was Tyler Tebbe wrestling against Justin Howell in the 122-pound class. Tebbe went to work quickly and scored a takedown and near fall points to go up 5-0. He continued to hold his own and in the third period got the pin at 3:40.

Up next was the 128-pound class. Buccaneer Andrew DeHart took control using the slide-by then racked up back points, and finished his challenger off with the pin at the 53-second mark.

At 134 pounds, Tyler Dollison and Zach Wells squared off. Dollison followed his teammates lead and pinned Wells at 56 seconds.

Cody Minnich (142 lbs) dropped his bout in the final match of the dual. Receiving forfeits for the Jr. High were Brandon Flora (98 lbs), Lon Bitner (104), Ben Wilson (110) and Joe Evans (160). When it was all over, Covington took the dual by a score of 63-11.

The High School dual began with the Buccs giving up a forfeit at 285 lbs, but receiving one at 103 lbs. as Sam Herron had no challenger.

The 112-pounders started the night off with Buccaneer Matt Breisch meeting Ryan Toney. Breisch controlled the action on his feet and worked his way to an 8-1 decision over Toney to get Covington a 9-6 lead. At 119, Dylan Gustin gave it his all but was overcome by Mechanicsburg state qualifier, Nick Zeigler, in a technical fall.

At 125 lbs., Josh McMillion faced Indian Brendon Klaus - a wrestler who won 25 matches last season. McMillion and Klaus battled back and forth and as the second period ended, the score was tied 3-3. McMillion broke the tie to go ahead 5-3 with a reversal and hung on for the decision.

In the next bout, Quentin Layman (130 lbs) found himself down by two points and while working for a reversal got caught on his back, bringing the team score to 14-14. The Buccs picked up 6 more points when Aaron Devenport got a forfeit at 135 lbs.

Next, Jake Jennings faced Dalton Black in the 140 lb. match. Jennings looked to be in trouble early, but worked his way out of a near-pin situation to pin Black with a double-arm bar in combination with a figure-four on the head to give Covington a 24-17 lead.

In one of the marquee match-ups of the evening, sectional placer Justin McMillion (145) surprised state placer Cody Toney, taking him down for the initial lead. Toney came right back with a couple takedowns, but McMillion battled to the end, earning the final takedown, but falling short, 6-8. Despite losing the match, McMillion had nothing to be ashamed of as he gave Toney all he could handle, but time ran out and McMillion couldn't quite finish what he started.

Ryan White (152) wrestled in another exciting match as he squared off against district qualifier Ethan Price. Their bout went back and forth with White holding onto a slim lead after the first two periods. Tied up 10-10 while on their feet, late in the third period, Price scored on a 5-point maneuver to bring the Indians within a point of the Buccs, 23-24.

Next on the mat for the Buccaneers was Travis Wamer at 160 pounds wrestling against Keith Hurst. Wamer, wrestling his first match of the season after coming off surgery for a summer injury, shook off the rust, earning a couple takedowns then pinning Hurst to extend Covington's lead to seven.

At 171 lbs, Logan Hall battled with state-placer Blaine Klaus into the third period, but Klaus managed to get the pin to bring the Indians within 1 point. Mechanicsburg then picked up a forfeit at 189 lbs. to regain the lead, 35-30.

The dual finished up with Covington gaining the last victory as Jake Wise (215) earned a 1-0 decision over Josh Salyers. The win wasn't quite enough though and Mechanicsburg hung on to take the dual by a score of 35-33. Josh Shefbuch and Cody Swabb both saw action in JV matches.

The high school team will travel to the GMVWA Holiday tournament at Vandalia Butler High School on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 29 and 30, while the jr. high squad doesn't compete again until January 9 when they travel to Arcanum for duals against the Trojans and the Lehman Cavaliers.