The Carson High boys wrestling team made an impressive statement to begin the season by winning the Damonte Ranch duals on Saturday.
Carson beat defending Northern 4A champion Fallon on its way to winning the title as it went 5-0. Travis Lamborn (160 pounds), Todd Banko (112), Brian Halverson (125), Kyle Banko (130) and Robbie Bozin (135) all went 5-0 for the Senators.
The Senators beat Fallon 45-33, Douglas 43-27, Wooster 64-10 and South Tahoe 56-18 on its way to the championship match where it beat Galena 48-28.
"I'm very optimistic," first-year coach Casey Schweitzer said. "We have a very positive atmosphere in our practice room right now. The kids are very coachable.
"Things went well for us. We're excited about it. We've got a lot of improving to do. Our best wrestling is down the road."
Also for Carson, Ahron Osheroff went 4-1 at 171, losing to one of Galena's top wrestlers 6-5.
Lamborn finished third in last year's NIAA 4A State meet while both Bankos and Bozin also advance to last year's state event. Among the most impressive showings for Carson came from Halverson, who is just a sophomore.
Two-time state qualifier Owen Craugh had to wrestle at 119, despite weighing 106. Schweitzer said it's hoped that Craugh will be able to wrestle at 103.
Carson sustained a tough loss, though, when Loren Wooldridge, a state runner-up from last year had to leave the team with nerve damage in his hip. Schweitzer said the senior will be out for the year.
Wooldridge came out for the team, but had to leave due to the injury. "He gave it a real good try," Schweitzer said. "It's a tough loss for our team and our program."
The Senators do have three football players on the team to provide depth in the upper weights in Eric Walther and Zach Taylor and Josh Mynear. Taylor and Walther both saw action at heavyweight while Myner wrestled at 215. All provided Carson with solid efforts as did Jonas Schenzel at 189.
Douglas also had an outstanding day, finishing third. The Tigers tied Fallon 38-38, but advanced out of Carson's pool to the third place match by winning the tiebreaker. The Tigers beat South Tahoe 66-6, Wooster 60-18 and Spanish Springs 49-29 in the third place match.
Carson will travel to Douglas for a dual match on Wednesday. "It may be a tougher dual that what you saw today," Schweitzer said. "It's a big rivalry. We're definitely not going to drop our card."
