Cavs fall to Buccs in dual final

VERSAILLES - Covington began with a 59-14 victory over Parkway in the semifinals of the OHSAA Division III Wrestling Team Duals Tournament at Versailles High School on Wednesday night.

The Buccs didn't stop there.

Third-seeded Covington ended the tournament run of another Midwest Athletic Conference team in the finals, edging second-seeded Coldwater 36-30 to advance to next week's regional semifinal. Top-seeded Versailles defeated Bluffton 65-12 in the other final to also advance.

"This district is really tough," said Coldwater coach Rob Schmidt, whose team defeated Spencerville 64-6 to advance to the finals. "Versailles has always had a great program and Covington has as well. Then next week Miami East will probably be in the mix. It's tough. Down on the bottom it's not so tough, but at the top, it's very tough."

The Cavaliers had no issues with the Bearcats. Nick Kline (106) won by forfeit. Brian Chmielewski (113) scored a pin, Kobe Boggs (126) and Nate Hoyng (132) all won by pinfall. Justin Sigler (138) won by a 10-1 decision, Reese Thomas (145) and Seth Obringer (170) were victorious by forfeit, while Desmond Brown (182), Drew Waite (195), Nolan Tobe (220) and Thomas Schwieterman (285) pinned their way to victory.

Ashtin Rowe (160) was the only victor for Spencerville, pinning Coldwater's Nate Meyer.

The score teeter-tottered back and forth between the Buccs and Cavs.

Kellan Anderson began the contest with a 16-5 major decision victory over Kline. Chmielewski won by forfeit. Cael Vanderhorst won at 120 via forfeit. Boggs pinned David Robinson and Riley Richards defeated Hoyng by a 14-2 major decision. Austin Flick edged Sigler 3-2 and the Thomas defeated Covington's Deacon Shields to pull the Cavs in front 17-15. That, however, was Coldwater's last lead.

The Cavs had to void at 152 and Keringten Martin pinned Meyer in the next match. Obringer pinned Trentin Alexander, Gavin McReynolds edged Brown 9-5 at 182 and Gage Kerrigan defeated Waite by a 17-7 major decision. Tobe and Schwieterman ended the day strong for the Cavs. Tobe defeated Joseph Franke 4-0 and Schwieterman pinned Bryce Keiser in 41 seconds.

"We started off really well," Schmidt said. "We came out and wrestled very well against Spencerville. We did everything we needed to do, and we did pretty much everything we needed to do against Covington. We wrestled well, but we just gave up too many points. The decisions we lost - we got pinned when maybe we shouldn't have got pinned. That's six points, and if we don't give up a pin, then we're close. It's just a matter of points."

Preston Browning (120), Abe Meyer (132) and Kaine Younker (160) all won matches for the Panthers against the Buccs. Browning defeated Taylen Viney by a 9-5 decision. Meyer beat Robinson with a 19-2 technical fall and Younker pinned Alexander.

The Buccs' Anderson, however, beat Tristen McKee by a 7-0 decision at 106. Vanderhorst pinned Treya Conn at 113, Richards pinned Titus Meyer at 126, Flick pinned Brendan Etzcorn at 138, Shields pinned Reid Etzcorn at 145, Martin pinned Reese Fokine at 152, Hunter Clarkson beat Chaz Neuenschwander by a 9-3 decision, McReynolds topped Bailey Parris with a 17-2 tech fall and Kerrigan pinned Justin Frank. The Panthers had to forfeit 220 and 285.

"Kaine had a solid match out there," Parkway coach Kevin Browning said. "Super proud of what he did. Preston was in a tough match. He saw what he's going to need to do to get ready for sectionals and districts. Tristan's been out seven days with the flu, so we got him back yesterday for the first day. We knew he was going to have a rough day out there. He just didn't have the energy to match up. They're fast. They're quick. They're well-coached. You can't take anything away from a solid program like that."