BNL’s James Covey finished second at 220 pounds in the HHC Tournament on Saturday.

MADISON – Bedford North Lawrence’s James Covey finished second at 220 pounds during the Hoosier Hills Conference meet on Saturday at Madison.

The Stars finished eighth with 74 points. Columbus East won the team championship with 273.5.

Covey (19-2) won his first two matches to reach the final. He pinned New Albany’s Matt Orr in 30 seconds in the opening round, then topped Jennings County’s Jaybreon Litsey in 2:52 in the semifinal. Covey fell to Columbus East’s Tommy Morrill by a 3-2 score in the finale.

“James came out really dominant in his first two wins,” BNL coach Chris Branam said. “In the finals, Covey wrestled hard, but an early takedown gave the Columbus East kid an advantage and he knew all he had to do was stall out after that. I know Covey wanted that championship and I know firsthand what he’s feeling, but I also know this will only drive him to work harder in the room. I never count James Covey out.”

BNL’s Gabe Nelson was fourth at 113, recording a pin of Seymour’s Renaldo Baltazar in 53 seconds in the consolation round, and Reese Hamblen was fourth at 145 with a 6-4 victory over Columbus East’s Eli Pollitt and a pin of Jennings County’s R.J. Barberis in 1:52.

“Gabe showed a lot of heart today with wrestling back to fourth place,” Branam said. “He’s had a pretty tough season with injuries, and while Gabe might physically be infirmed, I never have to worry about his heart being in the match.”

Jorg Filler was fifth at 120, Brax Huber was sixth at 126, Byron Kyger was fifth at 160, and Gunner Connaughton was sixth at 195 while suffering an injury.

“It was a tough day,” Branam said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. I was proud of guys wrestling back after taking losses and we had some good individual matches. Of course it was great to see Covey in the finals again, but we didn’t have our best day overall.”

BNL will host Owen Valley and Paoli while celebrating Senior Night on Thursday.

Hoosier Hills Conference

Team scores

Columbus East 273.5, Floyd Central 220, Jeffersonville 200.5, Madison 171, Jennings County 102, New Albany 98.5, Seymour 76, BNL 74

113

Guaranteed Places

1st Place – Noah Lykins of Columbus East
2nd Place – Collin Cain of Jeffersonville
3rd Place – Jacob Shackleford of Floyd Central
4th Place – Gabe Nelson of Bedford North Lawrence
5th Place – Rolando Baltazar of Seymour
6th Place – Forfeit Forfeit of Unattached

1st Place Match

Noah Lykins (Columbus East) 24-2, Jr. over Collin Cain (Jeffersonville) 9-10, So. (Fall 1:45)

3rd Place Match

Jacob Shackleford (Floyd Central) 11-8, Fr. over Gabe Nelson (Bedford North Lawrence) 11-3, Fr. (MD 16-2)

5th Place Match

Rolando Baltazar (Seymour) 8-7, Jr. over Forfeit Forfeit () 1-2, . (For.)

120

Guaranteed Places

1st Place – Lou Knable of Floyd Central
2nd Place – Jace Walls of Madison Consolidated
3rd Place – Robert Cline of Jeffersonville
4th Place – Nathan Anderson of Columbus East
5th Place – Jorj Filler of Bedford North Lawrence
6th Place – Ed Ramirez of Seymour

1st Place Match

Lou Knable (Floyd Central) 14-4, Jr. over Jace Walls (Madison Consolidated) 23-7, Fr. (Dec 9-5)

3rd Place Match

Robert Cline (Jeffersonville) 13-10, Sr. over Nathan Anderson (Columbus East) 12-19, Fr. (Dec 6-1)

5th Place Match

Jorj Filler (Bedford North Lawrence) 13-8, Fr. over Ed Ramirez (Seymour) 6-9, Jr. (Dec 4-3)

126

Guaranteed Places

1st Place – Paul King of New Albany
2nd Place – Noah Burkhardt of Madison Consolidated
3rd Place – Devin McDaniel of Jeffersonville
4th Place – Sam Castetter of Seymour
5th Place – Bo Wagner of Columbus East
6th Place – Brax Huber of Bedford North Lawrence

1st Place Match

Paul King (New Albany) 22-1, Jr. over Noah Burkhardt (Madison Consolidated) 30-1, Jr. (Dec 7-0)

3rd Place Match

Devin McDaniel (Jeffersonville) 14-9, Sr. over Sam Castetter (Seymour) 10-5, Jr. (Fall 1:34)

5th Place Match

Bo Wagner (Columbus East) 10-18, So. over Brax Huber (Bedford North Lawrence) 6-10, Fr. (TF-1.5 3:19 (15-0))

145

Guaranteed Places

1st Place – Hunter May of Floyd Central
2nd Place – Connor Gilles of Jeffersonville
3rd Place – Eli Pollitt of Columbus East
4th Place – Reese Hamblen of Bedford North Lawrence
5th Place – RJ Barberis of Jennings County
6th Place – Alex Schlatterer of Seymour

1st Place Match

Hunter May (Floyd Central) 17-2, Fr. over Connor Gilles (Jeffersonville) 18-4, Sr. (Dec 3-0)

3rd Place Match

Eli Pollitt (Columbus East) 15-11, Jr. over Reese Hamblen (Bedford North Lawrence) 13-3, Jr. (Fall 2:13)

5th Place Match

RJ Barberis (Jennings County) 9-12, Fr. over Alex Schlatterer (Seymour) 6-6, So. (Dec 3-1)

160

Guaranteed Places

1st Place – Kade Law of Columbus East
2nd Place – Bray Emerine of Floyd Central
3rd Place – Ethan Fox of Jeffersonville
4th Place – Luke McCarty of Madison Consolidated
5th Place – Byron Kyger of Bedford North Lawrence
6th Place – Teagan Trotter of Jennings County

1st Place Match

Kade Law (Columbus East) 24-2, Jr. over Bray Emerine (Floyd Central) 13-7, Fr. (Dec 7-1)

3rd Place Match

Ethan Fox (Jeffersonville) 11-6, Sr. over Luke McCarty (Madison Consolidated) 27-5, Sr. (Dec 9-4)

5th Place Match

Byron Kyger (Bedford North Lawrence) 14-7, Sr. over Teagan Trotter (Jennings County) 6-16, So. (Fall 0:29)

195

Guaranteed Places

1st Place – Zane Ortlieb of Jennings County
2nd Place – Dalton Berry of Madison Consolidated
3rd Place – Josh Schrader of Columbus East
4th Place – Greg Shingleton of Jeffersonville
5th Place – Hudson Woolford of Floyd Central
6th Place – Gunner Connaughton of Bedford North Lawrence

1st Place Match

Zane Ortlieb (Jennings County) 11-2, Sr. over Dalton Berry (Madison Consolidated) 23-2, Sr. (Dec 6-3)

3rd Place Match

Josh Schrader (Columbus East) 18-10, Jr. over Greg Shingleton (Jeffersonville) 13-7, Sr. (Fall 2:54)

5th Place Match

Hudson Woolford (Floyd Central) 2-2, . over Gunner Connaughton (Bedford North Lawrence) 9-4, Jr. (For.)

220

Guaranteed Places

1st Place – Tommy Morrill of Columbus East
2nd Place – James Covey of Bedford North Lawrence
3rd Place – Brody Shipley of Seymour
4th Place – Dylan Fulton of Madison Consolidated
5th Place – Max Brown of Jennings County
6th Place – Jaybreon Litsey of Jeffersonville

1st Place Match

Tommy Morrill (Columbus East) 17-8, So. over James Covey (Bedford North Lawrence) 18-2, Sr. (Dec 3-2)

3rd Place Match

Brody Shipley (Seymour) 5-3, Sr. over Dylan Fulton (Madison Consolidated) 23-8, Sr. (Dec 5-3)

5th Place Match

Max Brown (Jennings County) 5-6, Sr. over Jaybreon Litsey (Jeffersonville) 6-12, Sr. (Dec 5-2)