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| Sophomore Matt Breisch dropped an overtime decision in his quest for a state birth. |
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| Junior Sam Herron battled gallantly only to fall short of a state birth. |
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Saturday, February 23, 2008
After the first day of wrestling, Covington is tied for 32nd place out of 49 teams. Each of the four qualifiers for the Buccs dropped their opening bouts, before three of them advanced in the first consolation round.
At 112 lbs, Matt Breisch lost a 7-2 decision to Tim Hoskins of Greenview before advancing to the second consolation round with bye. At 130 lbs, Andrew DeHart dropped an 8-3 decision to Clinton-Massie's Kevin Paus, before rebounding with a first period pin over Delphos St. John's Ryan Musser.
At 152 lbs, Justin McMillion lost an 8-4 decision to Scott Boreing of Deer Park then advanced in the first consolation round with a pin over Coldwater's Nate Harlow.
Sam Herron (119 lbs) saw his season come to end as he dropped bouts to Johnny Carpenter of Madeira, 13-4, and to Jarred Kohn of Coldwater, 2-0. Herron finishes his junior season with a 26-13 overall record.
Wrestling resumes Sunday starting at 10 am. Finals are set to begin at 4 pm.
Day 2 - Sunday, February 24, 2008
Led by freshman Andrew DeHart, the Buccs moved up seven notches to finish the district tournament in 25th place out of 49 teams. Along the way, Andrew became Covington's first freshman wrestler to qualify for the state tournament. DeHart started the day off with a dominating 16-0 technical fall over Williamsburg's Allen Schweickart - a returning state qualifier. He then won his third consolation bout with a 7-1 decision over Joe Bruewer of Deer Park.
Andrew would then face sectional champion Tyrel Nuzum of Bluffton in the consolation semifinals for his "go-to state" bout. DeHart came out strong with a first period takedown then held on for a 6-4 decision to return the Buccs to state after a one-year hiatus. Andrew then used a takedown and reversal to defeat state-placer Mike Eavers of Greeneview, 4-0, to claim third place at 130 lbs.
The other two remaining Buccaneers would lose heartbreakers in their consolation bouts. Matt Breisch (112 lbs) dropped a 4-2 overtime decision to Brandon Booker of Purcell Marion to finish his sophomore season with a 28-11 overall record.
At 152 lbs, Justin McMillion was leading his bout versus Ryan Falk of Cory-Rawson with seconds remaining when he was hit with a very controversial series of penalty points which resulted in his disqualification. Falk would then go on to place 6th at the tournament. McMillion finishes his senior season with a 35-13 record and concludes his career as a two-time district qualifier with 112 career victories.
The state wrestling tournament is held at the Schottenstein Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Wrestling begins Thursday, Feb. 28, at 3 pm and continues through Saturday evening.
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