‘Nice to be back’

Del Norte graduate and two-time state heavyweight champion Roger McCovey, right, now wrestles for North Idaho College. Courtesy of North Idaho College

McCovey, a 2009 Del Norte High graduate, left the school as the two-time state heavyweight champion and went undefeated his final two years.

Now a freshman at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, McCovey is ranked third in the country for junior college heavyweights by the National Junior College Athletic Association. North Idaho is also ranked third overall in the NJCAA team poll.

McCovey is home in Crescent City for the winter break.

“It’s been nice to be back,” he said Wednesday. “I’ve been gone for a while.”

Despite suffering a serious flu bug that had him bedridden for more than a week last month, McCovey was still able to wrestle in his team’s last two matches before winter break, winning both.

McCovey is ready to return to action in January and try to help  North Idaho win a national junior college wrestling title after placing second last season. The Cardinals have won 13 junior college  national championships.

“It would mean a lot to me to help this team win another national title,” McCovey said. He admitted that it would also be nice to earn a national title himself.

McCovey greets a young fan at a North Idaho College wrestling match. Courtesy of North Idaho College

He was so dominating at Del Norte no one had a takedown on him his junior and senior years until his second state title match last March, and he pinned that opponent a short time later.

“There’s a lot more competition on this level,” McCovey said. Back in high school, he said, he used his size and quickness to overwhelm the competition. But his college opponents, including a fair share of NCAA division 1A wrestlers, are often as big and quick as he is.

The trick, McCovey said, is to have a good strategy and know the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

For example, McCovey said  on Nov. 13 he face Corey Anderson of Lincoln College, currently the No. 2-ranked JC heavyweight wrestler in the nation, and lost 4-2.

“I’ve got pretty good coaches,” McCovey said. “They told me exactly what I needed to do to contain him.”

“My coaches told me to attack more and just keep moving and don’t let them rest,” he said. “All the coaches are really cool. They are like  our buddies.”

McCovey said he has already formed close bonds with his college teammates and coaches.

“All the guys on the team are really good,” McCovey said. “They push me pretty hard in practices. In high school the only competition I really had at practices were the coaches.”

The biggest setback Bronc has had occurred in November when he got the flu and missed a match and a tournament. A lesser flu bug earlier in the season which also set him back, and he lost 18 pounds, going down  to about 245.

“I was stuck in bed for like a week and a half,” McCovey said. “I couldn't really eat or sleep.” He is working on gaining weight, and being at home has helped, he said.

His father agreed.

“He’s doing good,” McCovey’s dad, Roger Boulby, said.  “Were trying to  help him put that weight back on.”

Bronc competed at an elite tournament in  Las Vegas earlier this month and went 2-2.  While he downed wrestlers from Brown and Buffalo, he lost 17-1 to a grappler from Indiana and was pinned by a wrestler from Arizona State. It was the first time since he was a freshman  in high school that McCovey had been pinned.

“It didn’t mean too much to me,” he said, adding that he understood he was not up to speed. “I was not feeling really well that week,” he said, adding he believes he would have had a much better showing if he hadn’t still been recovering from the flu.

On Dec. 11-12, McCovey won both of his matches against Northwest Wyoming and Southwest Oregon at home.

One of the biggest adjustment for McCovey involves the Idaho weather.

“It gets pretty cold,” he said, adding the temperature has gone as low as 10-below.

McCovey said  he has worked with the Warriors wrestling team while back in town,  keeping in shape and giving his former teammates pointers he has learned in college.

“It’s been pretty cool,” Roger said. “I like that I can teach them new wrestling moves that  I’ve learned.”

 McCovey will face Southwestern Oregon again Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.  But this time he will grapple in front of a fair share of Del Norte fans since the Southwest Oregon campus is located up the coast in Coos Bay. Boulby said he has heard  that a number of  Warrior supporters plan to make the trip.

“I think it will be a nice little gate for  them” at Southwestern Oregon, Boulby said.

McCovey said it’s nice to have the support he has received from  his hometown and said having a contingent of people cheering him on will give him even more motivation.

He is thinking of wrestling at North Idaho for one more year before hopefully transferring to a four year school. He said school that is considering and that have shown interest in him include Oklahoma, Oregon State and UC Davis.