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Craig Vanderhorst was Covington's first two-time state placer.
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The first Covington wrestler to qualify for the State Tournament was Randy Kimmel (155 lbs.) in 1978. Randy duplicated that feat in 1979 and since then 26 more wrestlers added to the tradition that Kimmel started.
Nine out of ten years in the '80s saw at least one Covington wrester go to State. The only year in the decade that the Buccs failed to send a wrestler to State was in 1988.
Kirk Tisdale (145 lbs.) earned a trip to State after capturing the District Championship in 1980. In 1981, Brad Hall (105 lbs.) and Don Emenegger (132 lbs.) became the first two Covington wrestlers to wrestle at State in the same year. Hall moved up to 112 lbs in 1982 and qualified for State for a second year in a row.
In 1983 and '84, Craig Vanderhorst (138 and 145 lbs.) and Jason Kingrey (167 lbs.) made back-to-back State trips for the Buccs. Vanderhorst placed 3rd at State in both '83 and '84 while Kingrey placed 4th in 1983. Jim Shields (105 lbs.) also represented Covington at State in 1984.
After Rodney Kimmel (132 lbs.) was a lone representative in 1985, a record four wrestlers made the trip in 1986. Keith Musgrave (98 lbs.), Mike Hagen (155 lbs.), Scott Taylor (167 lbs.) and Brian Olson (185 lbs.) all earned trips to State. Olson (185 lbs.) and Taylor (175 lbs.) made repeat trips in 1987 and they were joined by Chris Nutter (119 lbs.). The last wrestler in the decade to go to State was Randy Sowers (160 lbs.)
After failing to send a wrestler to State in 1990, the Buccs have had a wrestler qualify in every year since. Eric Vanderhorst made back-to back trips in '91 and '92 at 171 lbs. and 189 lbs. Brad Crumpler wrestled at State in 1993 at 103 lbs and Eric Hunt earned trips in '94 and '96 at 145 lbs. Todd Vanderhorst represented the Buccs at 189 lbs. in 1995 while Noah Turner (152 lbs. in 1997), Brian Swinehart (135 lbs. in 1998) and Scott Batdorf (145 lbs. in 1999) made the trip.
Four more wrestlers made back-to-back trips to State from 1998 through 2002. Scot Fetters (215 lbs.) qualified in 1998 and '99 while Brandon Owens went back-to-back in 1999 (160 lbs.) and 2000 (171 lbs.). Steve Batdorf wrestled at State at 152 lbs. in 2000 and 160 lbs in 2001 while Mike Stephan followed with trips in 2001 and 2002, both at 171 lbs.
In 2003, Dusty Hess represented the Buccaneers at the state meet, dropping his only two matches at the tournament. Hess finished the year 35-15 in only his second year of wrestling.
2004 saw a young Buccaneer make his way to the state meet. Sophomore Logan Brown captured 3rd at districts to advance to state at 189 lbs. Brown dropped a 9-2 decision to eventaul state runner-up and a narrow 1-0 loss in the consolation bracket. Still, Brown finished with a 49-7 record with four of his losses coming to state placers.
Logan made a repeat trip to state in 2005 as a junior after accumulating a 46-0 record and a district title at 189 lbs. Brown then became the first state placer in 21 years after capturing third at state and finishing with a school-best 50-1 record.
Logan Brown then became the only wrestler in history to go to state for a third time in 2006. That year he became the first Covington wrestler to win a state title with a 9-2 win over Jeremy Stevens of Ashland Crestview in the finals. Logan also finished unbeaten at 52-0 under the guidance of coach Tom Barbee. Along the way to a state title brown defeated Cris Gault, And. Pymatuning Valley by pin in 2:47; Brock Kirian of Sycamore Mohawk by a 5-2 decision; Brad Rice of West Jefferson by a 13-6 decision and Jeremy Stevens of Ashland Crestview by a 9-2 decision. No wrestler in the 2006 state tournament scored an offensive point on Logan Brown.
In 2008 the Covington Buccaneers saw freshman Andrew DeHart become the youngest state qualifier and state placer in school history as he took sixth at 130 pounds. DeHart followed that performance by becoming just the third two-time state placer with a fourth place finish at 145 pounds as a sophomore in 2009. He then took second at 145 pounds in 2010 to become Covington's first three-time state placer.
The success of these wrestlers continue to be inspiration for the young aspiring wrestlers of the future. Twenty-three Covington wrestlers have wrestled on the biggest stage in the state of Ohio. With a new wrestling facility and high interest in the sport, there will be many more added to the list of great wrestlers in years to come.
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