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| Sophomore Jake Jennings took 4th at 140 pounds to earn a trip to District. |
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February 17, 2007 – Sectional Wrestling - Day 1
The Covington wrestling team finished up with 115 points, good for sixth place overall out of fifteen teams at the Division III sectional tournament. All four of their seeded wrestlers finished in the top four to advance on to the District tournament, while the Buccs sported two additional qualifiers who were not seeded.
Unseeded junior Logan Hall (171 lbs) probably had the biggest day for the Buccs as he followed up his upset win on Friday with another upset win in the semifinals - this time over no. 3 seed Nick Hiestand of National Trail, 4-1. Hall would finish as runner-up to the #4 ranked wrestler in the state, Blaine Klaus of Mechanicsburg.
Finishing in third place for Covington were sophomore Sam Herron (103 lbs) and junior Justin McMillion (145 lbs). Herron lost his semifinal bout, but then advanced to the consolation finals with a 12-2 major decision over Ryan Toney of Mechanicsburg. He would then go on defeat no. 3 seed Stephen Fredrickson of Dixie - a wrestler who defeated him by one point earlier in the season - by a 12-4 major decision.
After losing his semifinal match, McMillion earned a tight 7-6 victory over Aaron Coons of Versailles and followed that up with a 6-4 decision over William Moore of Miami East for third place overall.
Three wrestlers placed fourth for the Buccs - earning the final District berths for their weight classes. At 112 lbs, freshman Matt Breisch advanced to the consolation finals with a second period pin over Jake Miller of Triad, before dropping a 7-0 decision to Travis Wooten of West Liberty Salem. Freshman Josh McMillion (125 lbs) then advanced with a third period pin over Beau Ballinger of Triad before falling to Andy Bruns of Versailles.
At 140 lbs, unseeded sophomore Jake Jennings battled through the consolation bracket with a 4-0 decision over Daniel Pennington of Northridge, before facing no. 3 seed Josh Stone of Arcanum - a wrestler who bested Jennings 7-4 a week earlier. With the score tied 2-2, Jennings caught Stone on his back after a scramble and came away with a pin to earn his first District berth. Jake would lose his final match to Dustin Chatterton of Dixie to finish in fourth place.
Also placing for the Buccs were freshman Dylan Gustin (119 lbs) and sophomore Quentin Layman, both of whom finished in sixth place overall. Layman won a key 14-10 decision over Tyler Sachs of West Liberty Salem then followed that up with a 12-0 major decision over Michael Josefovsky of Lehman to place for Covington.
The Buccs had a couple heart-breaking losses earlier in the day as senior Ryan White and junior Jake Wise fell short in their attempts to qualify for Districts. In White‚s final bout, he squared off against no. 4 seed Ryan Schmitmeyer of Versailles. In a back and forth match, White found himself trailing 4-3 in the third while in the top position. He managed to lock up a cradle and put his opponent on his back but was only able to get a count of one before time expired. White concluded a great senior season, while Schmitmeyer would go on to place third.
At 215 lbs, junior Jake Wise faced Josh Delver of Troy Christian and also found himself down by a point with time running out. Wise made a nice shot late in the third period but was unable to finish as he dropped a 3-2 decision to his opponent who would also go on to place third overall.
2007 Covington Division III Sectional Scores
1. Troy Christian 286.5
2. Mechanicsburg 183.5
3. Versailles 163.5
4. Miami East 161.5
5. Dixie 118.0
6. Covington 115.0
7. W. Liberty-Salem 105.5
8. Brookville 97.0
9. Triad 68.5
10. Arcanum 38.0
11. Tri-County No. 38.0
12. Lehman 37.0
13. National Trail 13.0
14. Northridge 8.0
15. Twin Valley South 3.0
February 16, 2007 – Sectional Wrestling - Day 1
After the first day of the Division III sectional wrestling tournament, Covington sits in 4th place out of 15 teams on the strength of six semi-finalists. All four of Covington's seeded wrestlers advanced to the semi-finals, while two additional wrestlers pulled off upsets to advance.
At 103 lbs, no. 4 seed Sam Herron advanced with a first round bye and a first period pin over Joe Bess of Tri-County North in the quarterfinals. He will face top-seed Cody Libengood of Troy Christian in the semis.
Matt Breisch (no. 4 seed, 112 lbs) followed suit with a first round bye and a second period pin over Nathan Arnold of Tri-County North. Breisch will square off with top-seed Ben Sergent of Troy Christian.
After advancing with a bye in the first round, no. 4 seed Josh McMillion had a scare in the quarterfinals in his match with Kyle Reese of Mechanicsburg. Reese stormed out to a 6-0 second-period lead before McMillion tied it up 6-6 heading into the third. Reese was able to ride McMillion out and take the match into overtime, where Josh came out on top of a scramble for an overtime victory. McMillion will face top-seed Zac Hancock of Troy Christian in the semis.
Josh's brother, Justin - the no. 3 seed at 145 lbs - had a little easier of a time as he also had a first-round bye then racked up seven takedowns before pinning A.J. Salini of Triad in the quarterfinals. McMillion will face no. 3 seed Curt Levy of West Liberty Salem.
Scoring the first big upset for the Buccs was Logan Hall wrestling at 171 lbs. He faced second-seeded David Oliver of Versailles - a wrestler who bested him 5-1 two weeks ago - and pulled off an inspiring 5-3 victory. In the second round, Hall moved on with a 12-8 victory over Stephen Schlater of Tri-County North. Logan will wrestle no. 3 seed Nick Hiestand of National Trail in the semifinals.
Dylan Gustin (119 lbs) scored the next big upset for Covington. In his quarterfinal match with no. 4 seed Curtis Dirkson of Versailles, Dylan avenged an earlier-season 13-1 loss to his opponent by coming back from a 4-1 deficit and scoring a takedown and three near fall to win 12-4. In the semifinal round, Gustin will square off with top-seed Greg Bogard of Troy Christian.
Also winning matches for the Buccs were Quentin Layman (130 lbs), Jake Jennings (140 lbs) and Ryan White (152 lbs). They are still alive in the consolation rounds of the tournament along with Josh Shefbuch (189 lbs) and Jake Wise (215 lbs). Cody Swabb (135 lbs) and Travis Wamer (160 lbs) saw their seasons come to an end.
Wrestling continues Saturday starting at 10:30 am. The finals are set for 6 pm. The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the District tournament held at Kettering Fairmont High School.
Team Scores (Day 1)
1. Troy Christian 105.5
2. Miami East 63.5
3. Mechanicsburg 62.5
4. Covington 55.0
5. Dixie 53.0
6. Versailles 51.0
7. W. Liberty Salem 49.5
8. Brookville 45.0
9. Arcanum 26.0
10. Triad 23.5
11. Lehman 14.0
12. Tri-County No. 12.0
13. National Trail 8.0
14. Northridge 8.0
15. Twin Valley S. 3.0
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