A few weeks ago at the Capitol City Duals, the Sparks High wrestling team beat Carson 48-27 to capture third-place in the tourney. On Wednesday night, in the second meeting between the two teams, the venue was the same and so was the outcome as the Railroaders beat the Senators 42-26 in a tri-meet with Hug at Carson High.
In the first match, Sparks beat Hug 52-12. Carson (4-3) then topped the Hawks 66-11 in its second match of the night.
Against the Railroaders, the margin of victory may have been slimmer but Carson coach Tim McCarthy realizes that a few things need to happen before his team can compete with Sparks.
"They're definitely one of the top teams in Northern Nevada," McCarthy said. "We would have to get upsets in three or four matches to have a shot at them. Their wrestlers in the upper weight classes are just too tough."
Carson jumped out to a 26-18 lead after Jaxon Luhrs won by forfeit in the 152-pound match. But Sparks (12-0) went on to win its final five matches, disallowing the Senators a single point over that span.
"We played Sparks a little tougher this time," McCarthy said. "They're just a good team. They have eight to nine guys that are above average.
"In a dual meet, it's going to be tough to beat them but in a tournament, we might have a better shot."
In the second match, Carson won 12 of its 14 matches, including seven by pins. In the 135-pound match, the Senators' Justin Sarnowski pinned Cory Marble 48 seconds into their match. Against Sparks, Sarnowski, a state-runner up a season ago, beat Robbie Walker 16-1.
Carson's Pat Moore won both of his matches, including a pin of the Hawks' Tanner Ruff. At 119 pounds, Tim Ellis, who was moved up from the J.V. team, lost his first match to Scott Barnato but came back against Hug to pin Doug Taliaferro.
Carson's Doug Brooks also won both of his matches, pinning Sparks' Sean Gettings and defeating Hug's Brent Tolley 8-1.
Hug won only the 130-pound match and the heavyweight match by forfeit. Carson also had to forfeit against Sparks. At the Capitol City Duals, the Senators beat the Hawks 43-27.
Last weekend, four different Senators placed first in their weight classes at the Modoc Invitational in Alturas, Calif. Three other wrestlers placed second, including Moore and Josh Aguilar, who split his matches on Wednesday. McCarthy said he's happy with where is team is at but still sees room for improvement.
"We need to make sure that the younger guys execute and get better at doing the basic things," McCarthy said. "As for the more experienced guys, we need improve on technique."
This weekend, Carson travels to Las Vegas for the Silverado Invitational.
