Thursday, February 2, 2011
The Jr. High wrestling teams traveled to Versailles to compete with the Tigers Thursday night.  The Buccs got in a lot of quality wrestling, but fell 60-21, winning five of the ten matches wrestled.

Josh Sowers (92) picked up a 7-0 decision, while Deron White (122) earned a 6-0 victory.  Ryan Ford (128) picked up a pin for the Buccs, followed by a pin from Jayden Nicely (150).  Brandon Magee picked up the final victory for Covington with a 6-4 decision at 172 lbs.

Also competing for the Buccs were Jacob Buchanan (80), Ross Bowman (98), Michael Cox (110), Tristan Francis (116) and Levi Brown (134).

Branden Robinson (104) was out of competetion with flu-like symptoms.

The Covington High School and Jr. High teams then compete at the Covington Duals on Saturday, February 11.  Wrestling starts at 10 am.

Josh Sowers picked up a huge win at 92 pounds.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012 - COVINGTON
The Covington Jr. High wrestling team hosted Northmont, Coldwater and Sidney in a double-dual format Tuesday night.  The Buccs opened with a 42-32 victory over Northmont, but fell to Coldwater 57-18.  Northmont defeated Sidney 51-36, while Coldwater defeated Sidney 42-27.

Winning their bouts against Northmont were Jacob Buchanan (86 lbs, pin), Josh Sowers (92, major decision), Brandon Robinson (110), Deron White (122, pin), Ryan Ford (128, technical fall), Levi Brown (134), Jayden Nicely (142) and Brandon Magee (160, pin).  Winning their bouts against Coldwater were Deron White (122, pin), Ryan Ford (128, pin) and Brandon Magee (172, pin).  Ryan Ford bumped up in weight to wrestle an exhibition bout against Sidney and came away with a hard-fought decision victory.

Also competing for the Buccs were Ross Bowman (98), Michael Cox (104), Tristan Francis (116) and Chandler Sampson (205).

The Buccs compete next along with the high school team in a dual at Versailles on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 6:30 pm.

Deron White works his way toward a pin against Coldwater.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012 - NEW PARIS
The Covington junior high wrestling team had its way with CCC rivals Arcanum and Twin Valley South in a quad meet at National Trail on Thursday.

"Overall our kids wrestled very hard," said Covington junior high coach after his team won 10 of the 13 matches wrestled on the night. "I saw great improvement tonight and that's because the kids work hard in the wrestling room."

Covington opened the evening by winning three of the four matches wrestled against a small Arcanum team to take a 53-12 win.

Newcomer Ryan Ford, who recently joined the Buccaneers after moving from Indiana, recorded an impressive pin after building a 15-1 lead. Deron White followed with a 16-1 tech. fall for the Buccs.

But the highlight for Covington came earlier at 92 pounds a Josh Sowers avenged a defeat from earlier in the season with a dominating 9-0 decision.

"I'm so proud of Josh Sowers," said Stephan. "That kid majored him at Tipp City and Josh came back tonight and destroyed him. Josh has been working hard and has done some extra things on his own and it showed tonight."

Jacob Buchanan, Ross Bowman, Branden Robinson, Michael Cox, Triston Francis, Jayden Nicely and Brandon Magee all recorded forfeit victories for the Buccs against the Trojans.

Which led to an impressive performance across the board in the night cap against Twin Valley South as Covington won 8 of the 10 matches wrestled for a 49-23 win.

Jacon Buchanan started things off with a thrilling overtime win at 86 pounds after a double forfeit at 80 pounds. With the score knotted at 2-2 heading into the extra frame, the Buccaneer seventh grader recorded the winning takedown on a double.

"Jacob Buchanan is coming on," Stephan praised. "For a first-year wrestler, he's picking things up very fast."

Ross Bowman and Josh Sowers picked up forfeits at 92 and 98 pounds before first-year wrestler Michael Cox came up on the short end of his 104 pound match.

Branden Robinson bumped up to 110 pounds from 104 and captured a third period pin, while Triston Francis dropped his match at 116 pounds.

With the jitters from his first match in a Covington uniform out of the way, Ryan Ford took care of business at 122 pounds with a second period pin.

"Ryan is a great addition to the team," Stephan said. "He pushes the other kids in the wrestling room because he is so skilled. It doesn't matter who he wrestles in the room - Branden, Deron, Brandon Magee - he makes everyone better."

Deron White followed Ford by dominating his second match of the evening with a second period pin at 128 pounds.

Levi Brown then put together an impressive effort with a 21-7 major decision victory at 134 pounds after giving up three penalty points in the match.

"Those (the penalty points) are from a lack of experience," explained Stephan. "But Levi wrestled really well and listened to what we told him."

Jayden Nicely picked up his second forfeit of the evening before Brandon Magee capped the dual with a second period pin. Magee would then wrestle an exhibition match, winning by pin.

"I'm pleased with how well the kids wrestled tonight and how much they are improving," said Stephan. "We have more work to do to get ready for Sidney and Coldwater at our place next week."

The Buccs will wrestle next Tuesday at Covington Middle School.

Deron White works his way toward a pin against Twin Valley South.

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012 - SIDNEY
The Covington junior high wrestling team showed improvement in duals with Sidney and Sidney-Lehman at Sidney Middle School on Monday.

The Buccs opened up with a 45-25 defeat to the host Yellow Jackets from Sidney, but went 5 and 5 in head-to-head matches. The difference in the dual was forfeits by Covington as Sidney had a full line-up.

In the finale against Lehman, Covington won three of the five matches wrestled as well as two more matches against Sidney opponents, who wrestled as part of a small Cavalier team.

Several Buccaneer wrestlers had big evenings as Brandon Magee (160 lbs.) and Branden Robinson (104 lbs.) recorded two pins each. Deron White (122 lbs.) recorded a pin and a major decision, while Josh Sowers (92 lbs.) recorded one pin and came from behind with a five-point move in the final seconds to win 13-10.

Jacob Buchanan (86 lbs.) won his only match of the evening, pinning his opponent in 28 second, while Ross Bowman recorded a pin as well.

"We had some kids who tried different things and that's what it takes to get better," said Covington junior high coach Mike Stephan. "But we also had some kids who made some major, major mistakes - mistakes we shouldn't be making at this point in the season. Things like reaching back and not listening to instructions. That's the kind of stuff that gets you beat and some of our kids found that out tonight."

Still, it was a solid effort overall for Covington - a nice improvement from last week at Piqua.

"Overall, we are getting better and it shows in the kids who work hard in the wrestling room," Stephen said. "We had some kids who fought hard off their backs and came back to win. That's what you like to see."

Covington looks to continue its improvement on Friday at West Liberty Salem.

Jacob Buchanan gets a 28 second pin at 86 pounds.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2012 - PIQUA
The Covington junior high wrestling team took its lumps on Wednesday in a quad meet at Piqua Junior High School, struggling to find the aggression that previously led to strong showings at the Bulldog and the Tipp City Duals.

Covington opened the evening with a head-to-head dual against Piqua and managed just three wins against the host Indians, losing 56-21. Granted, the Buccs bumped up several wrestlers to higher weight classes to find adequate competition for those individual wrestlers, but giving up weight isn't an excuse for the lack of competitive desire.

"The loss against Piqua is on me because I bumped our better kids up (in weight) so they had the best possible competition," said Covington coach Mike Stephen. "If we left those kids in their weight classes, could we have done better against Piqua? Probably, but we wouldn't have improved as wrestlers. Still, I would have liked to have seen more desire from the kids."

Capturing wins over the Indians were Brandon Magee (160 lbs.), Deron White (122 lbs.) and Levi Brown (134 lbs.). Magee and White picked up pins, while Brown won a thrilling overtime victory for the Buccs.

Covington had better success in the second dual against Greenville, capturing a 39-38 win as a team. Jacob Buchanan (86 lbs.), Josh Sowers (92 lbs), Branden Robinson (104 lbs.), Deron White (122 lbs.) and Brandon Magee (160 lbs.) recorded wins.

"We didn't move anybody around against Greenville because of what happened against Piqua," Stephen explained. "We did a little better, but there were some matches I felt we didn't give our best effort. We have a lot of work to do."

Covington has little time to regroup as it travels to Sidney on Monday.

Levi Brown gets the winning back points in an overtime match against Piqua.

Wednesday December 28, 2011
The Covington jr. high wrestling team traveled to Tipp City on Wednesday to compete in their Holiday wrestling invitational.  The Buccs, missing six wrestlers, placed 9th out of thirteen schools.  The tournament used three pools of four wrestlers, where the winner of each pool was placed into another pool to determine the first through third place finishers, while the second place wrestlers out of the initial pools wrestled for fourth through sixth place, and so on.

Winning their initial pools were Branden Robinson (104 lbs), Deron White (122) and Brandon Magee (160).  Magee also won his finals pool to take 1st place overall with a 4-0 record and 4 pins.  Both Robinson (3-2, 3 pins) and White (2-2, 2 pins) finished in 3rd place overall.

Izaiah Branden (80), Jacob Buchanan (86) and Josh Sowers (92) each took 2nd in their initial pools.  Sowers finished in 4th place with a 3-1 record and a pin, while Branden (2-2, pin) and Buchanan (1-2, pin) each finished 5th.

Ross Bowman went 2-3 overall with 2 pins for 8th place.  Also competing hard for Covington were Tristan Francis (116, 1 pin) and Michael Cox (110).

Tristan Francis sticks his opponent at the Tipp City Invitational.

Saturday, December 17, 2011
The Covington Jr. High wrestling team finished in third place out of ten teams at the Tipp City dual meet invitational on Saturday.  The Buccs went 4-1 overall, losing only to eventual champion Huber Heights Wayne in the fourth round.

Covington opened with a 40-21 victory over Arcanum, and followed with a 42-34 win over Northridge.  In round three, the Buccs defeated first-year program Springfield Emmanuel Christian by a lopsided 60-0 score.  The Buccs then dropped their dual with Wayne 57-28, before rebounding for third place with an exciting 40-39 victory over Springfield.

Branden Robinson (104) and Brandon Magee (160) each went undefeated during the tournament, finishing with 5-0 records.  Robinson earned 4 pins overall, while Magee earned 2 pins.  Another four wrestlers only suffered one loss on the day.  Finishing with 4-1 records were Izaiah Branden (80, pin), Josh Sowers (92, 3 pins), Michael Cox (110) and Deron White (128, 2 pins, major).

Ross Bowman (98) and Levi Brown (134) each went 3-2.  Bowman earned a pin and a major decision victory, while Brown earned 2 pins.  Dakota Zell (160) and Ian Fries (205) each picked up 2 victories for the Buccs.

Covington hosts Mechanicsburg and Brookville in a marquee tri-match with both high school and jr. high teams on Wednesday, December 21, at 6 pm in Covington high school.

Team finishes
Wayne
Bellbrook
Covington
Springfield
Northridge
Tippecanoe
Arcanum
Twin Valley South
Tri-County North
Emmanuel Christian

Tuesday, December 06, 2011
The Covington Jr. High wrestling team opened its dual meet season in impressive fashion with a victory over visiting Oakwood.  The Buccaneers used ten individual victories to cruise to a 60-18 win over the Lumberjacks.

And there were a number of exciting, evenly-matched bouts, but the Buccs were able to come out with a win the majority of the time.  Five Covington wrestlers earned pins during the dual.  Deron White (122) found himself tied 4-4 to start the second period, but earned a quick reversal and the fall.  Ian Fries (172) then earned the quick finish of the night with an 8-second pin.

Josh Sowers (92) came from behind to take the lead against a solid wrestler and earn a second-period fall, while teammate Ross Bowman (98) wrestled an exciting match to earn the first pin of his young career.  Branden Robinson (110) secured Covington’s final pin of the dual in the first period after picking up a couple of nice takedowns.

Winning by forfeit for Covington were Tristan Francis (128), Jayden Nicely (134), Brandon Magee (160), Chandler Sampson (205) and Jacob Buchanan (86).  Also competing hard and wrestling well for the Buccs were Dakota Zell (150) and Izaiah Brandon (80)

Covington high school travels to the Northeastern Invitational on Friday, while the jr. high competes next at the Tipp City Duals on Saturday, Dec. 17.

Ross Bowman works for a pin and the first win of his young career.

Milton Union JH Bulldog Invitational
Saturday, December 03, 2011

The Covington Jr. High wrestling team put in a strong performance at the Milton Union Bulldog wrestling invitational on Saturday, finishing with 111 points for fifth place out of twelve teams.  The Buccs crowned three individual champions and five total place-winners.

At 128 lbs, Deron White brought home Covington’s first championship with a convincing 15-6 major decision in the finals after a hard-fought semifinal victory.  White went 3-0 overall with 1 pin.

Brandon Magee (160) earned the next title for the Buccs with a come-from-behind victory by pin in the championship over a wrestler who defeated him last season.  Magee pinned his way through tournament, earning a 4-0 record with 4 pins.

Also pinning his way to a first-place finish was Buccaneer wrestler Ian Fries who went 3-0 with 3 pins overall in the 205 lb weight class.  None of Fries’ bouts went into the second period.

Branden Robinson (104) fell just short of giving the Buccs a fourth champion.  He was tied with his opponent at the end of regulation during his championship bout and lost an exciting bout in overtime, 3-5.  Robinson went 3-1 overall with two pins.

Josh Sowers (92) was on his way to a possible third-place finish for Covington, but was unable to compete in his final bout since he reached his 5-match limit for the day.  Sowers finished in fourth-place with 3 pins and a 4-1 overall record.

Also competing and gaining valuable experience for the Buccs were Isaiah Brandon (80), Jacob Buchanan (86), Ross Bowman (98), Michael Cox (110), Tristan Francis (122), Dakota Zell (160) and Chandler Sampson (205).

The Jr. High team will join the high school in a dual with Oakwood at Covington High School on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 6 pm.

2003 – Logan Hall, 114 lbs. (7th Grade)
Logan advanced to State by placing 4th at the District Meet.

2004 – Logan Hall, 132 lbs. (8th Grade)
Logan placed 7th at State after capturing 3rd at Districts.

2005 – Andrew DeHart, 90 lbs. (6th Grade)
Andrew advanced to State by placing 4th at the District Meet.

2006 – Andrew DeHart, 102 lbs. (7th Grade)
Andrew placed 4th at State after capturing 1st at Districts.

2007 – Andrew DeHart, 114 lbs. (8th Grade)
Andrew placed 2nd at state after capturing 1st at Districts.

2008 – Kyler Deeter, 104 lbs. (7th Grade)
Kyler placed 8th at State after capturing 2nd at Districts.

2009 – Kyler Deeter, 114 lbs. (8th Grade)
Kyler placed 6th at State after capturing 2nd at Districts.

2009 – Brian Olson, 154 lbs. (8th Grade)
Brian advanced to State by placing 5th at the District Meet.

2010 - D.J. Jennings, 114 lbs. (8th Grade)
D.J. advanced to State by placing 5th at the District Meet.

2011 - Ben Miller, 154 lbs. (8th Grade)
Ben advanced to State by placing 2nd at the District Meet.

2011 - Cole Smith, 138 lbs. (8th Grade)
Cole advanced to State by placing 3rd at the District Meet.

2011 - Deron White, 108 lbs. (6th Grade)
Deron advanced to State by placing 5th at the District Meet.