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| Andrew DeHart was one win away from being an All-American in 2010. |
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Covington's Andrew DeHart had an impressive showing at the 2010 NHSCA National Wrestling Championship at Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia, going 5-2 in the tournament and finishing in the top 12 in the nation.
The junior Buccaneer wrestler faced adversity from the outset as he suffered a deep gash on the top of his head in his opening match against #8 seed Joey Kielbasa, a two-time state champion from Illinois. Thirty seconds into the bout the two clashed heads, opening a gash on DeHart that would require six staples.
DeHart still finished the match, dropping a 5-2 decision to fall into the consolation rounds.
After an evening in the emergency room, DeHart came back on Wednesday with a vengeance, running off five straight wins.
He began the day with a 7-2 decision over Matt McBride of New Jersey and then recorded back-to-back pins over Gavin Milligan of Pennsylvania in 2:30 and Jake Marchand of New Mexico in 3:07.
DeHart kept the momentum going with a 5-2 win over #4 seed Austin Breckenridge, a two-time state champion and three-time state placer from Wyoming and a 7-3 overtime victory over Robert Henderson, a state champion and state runner-up from Pennsylvania.
Needing to win his next bout to ensure All-American status with a top-eight finish, DeHart was forced to injury default against Brody Grothus, a two-time state placer from Iowa as he took another severe blow to his existing injury.
In all, DeHart finished ahead of 14 of the 17 state champions in his bracket that consisted of 65 wrestlers from around the nation.
The performance at nationals caps an impressive junior season for DeHart - a season in which he won a district title and finished as state runner-up at 145 pounds.
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