Carson High wrestling coach Tim McCarthy can't help but think what could have been if his team was at full strength in the Sierra Nevada Classic.
Despite effectively having just 11 out of 14 wrestlers, Carson turned in an impressive effort during the first day of the event on Tuesday at the Reno Livestock Events Center. The Senators stand in 12th out of 91 teams from across the West Coast.
Carson and Fallon are the top two Northern Nevada teams in the event as the Greenwave are in the top 10. Burns, Ore., was in first after the first day.
The Senators have six wrestlers still alive with a chance to medal on the final day of the event today. At 160 pounds, Travis Lamborn, went 3-0 on the first day for Carson to advance to the quarterfinals and is still alive in the championship round. The other five Carson wrestlers are alive in the consolation round and have a chance to medal by placing in the top eight and have a shot at finishing as high as third.
McCarthy said he believes if his team was at full strength, it would have had a shot to contend for the title. "A lot of ifs," McCarthy said.
All five Senator wrestlers alive in the consolation round went 4-1: Robbie Bozin, 119; Kyle Banko, 125; Ahron Osheroff, 140; Micah Whitcome, 152; Jonas Schenzel, 189.
Three other Carson wrestlers just missed advancing to the second day by going 3-2: Owen Craugh, 103; Cody Albee, 145; Kevin Riggin, 135.
The Senators were also effective without three wrestlers who would have likely scored a large number of points: heavyweight Jason Klug, Loren Wooldridge at 171 and David Cadwallader at 215.
Klug couldn't wrestle due to a shoulder injury, but is expected back in two weeks. Wooldridge was out with a hip injury. It's hoped he'll return next week.
Cadwallader injured his knee during his first match on Tuesday. The seriousness of his injury was unknown.
Sophomore Matt Heath replaced Wooldridge at 171. Carson went without a heavyweight wrestler and the Senators didn't have a wrestler to make weight at 130.
Despite not being at full strength, "standing in 12th after day one is pretty impressive," McCarthy said. "What we did and what we saw just made us more hungry."
Carson's day was reflected by its most impressive - and frustrating - match from Osheroff, who led a three-time Oregon state champion being recruited by one of the nation's top programs, Oregon State, 9-4 in the third period before falling 10-9.
Osheroff was still ahead 9-8 with four seconds left when the Oregon wrestler scored a two-point nearfall to pull out the win.
"It's a situation where he didn't wrestle the full six minutes," McCarthy said. "He wrestled great for 5 1/2 minutes.
"He couldn't finish the deal. It was right there. That just shows how he can wrestle with some really quality kids."
With six wrestlers left, McCarthy likes his team's chances to finish in the top 10. "Everybody's going to have to contribute," he said.
"You can score a lot of points in the consolation round. I'd like to see a few kids come out of here with medals, too."
