Duals wrestling tournament that there has ever been. It's safe to say that because something like this has never happened before.
The Douglas High wrestling team rose from the ashes to beat Fallon 39-36 on Saturday in the championship match, winning its first ever Capital City Duals crown. Douglas overcame a 36-9 deficit to win the title.
It was also the Tigers' second win over Fallon as Douglas also beat the Greenwave 42-33 in pool play.
Carson High went on to finish third after a disappointing effort against Fallon. The Senators had an otherwise solid day, beating Spanish Springs 50-23 for third. But before that Carson turned in a flat effort in the semifinals against Fallon, falling behind 42-12 before losing 48-30.
So the slight edge as of now has to be given to Douglas as the team that could possibly challenge Damonte Ranch for supremacy in the Northern 4A.
It was surely also the first time that Douglas has ever beaten Fallon twice in one day. "To beat Fallon twice in a day is an accomplishment in its own," Douglas coach Lamont McCann said.
"Nobody beats Fallon twice in one day. I'm just really happy with the outcome. It was just a great, great atmosphere."
Ryan Olsen got Douglas off to a good start against Fallon with a 3-1 win. But then came Fallon's triple threat of Trent DeBraga at 152, Tyler Reibsamen at 160 and Trevor DeBraga at 171. They all won by pin to give Fallon an 18-3 lead.
Tony Ferris won by pin at 189 for Douglas to make it 18-9. But Tyler Diaz won by pin at 215 for Fallon. Fallon then appeared to put the match away with two close wins.
Collin Merkley won 4-2 in sudden death overtime with a takedown at 103 and Frederick Wheeler won 4-2 with a late takedown to give Fallon a 36-9 lead.
But Tim Souza won by forfeit at 119 for Douglas and Michael Sepulveda followed with a pin at 125. After Nico Barker won by forfeit at 130, C.J. Wynar at 135 and Cody Spates at 140 both won by pin to secure the win for the Tigers.
"We're really proud of the kids," McCann said. "The kids stepped up. The whole lineup stepped up."
The same could not be said for Carson when it faced Fallon in the semifinals.
"We didn't show up against Fallon," Carson coach Tyson Thivierge said. "We knew it was going to be close. "In no way did I think it was going to be a blowout like that."
Even if his team had gotten past Fallon, Thivierge said it would have been hard pressed to beat Douglas.
"I don't think we were ready for Douglas again," Thivierge said. "Douglas looked incredible."
At least early in the year, it looks like Douglas matches up better with Fallon while Carson does matc up better with the Tigers. Carson won at Douglas 39-36 on Wednesday. "We match up better with Douglas," Thivierge said.
