Even after sweeping the six matches from 119 pounds to 145 pounds, the Douglas High wrestling team's bid for an upset over Sierra League and Northern 4A Regional favorite Damonte Ranch fell just short Wednesday night in Reno.
The Mustangs managed to hold on for a 46-36 win over the Tigers, setting up next week's match with Carson as the potential decisive stroke in the Sierra League title.
With losses to Carson and Damonte Ranch to open the league season, Douglas would essentially need both schools to lose twice throughout the rest of the year to even have a shot at a share of the league title.
Douglas was strong through the middleweights as Tim Souza (119), Michael Sepulveda (125) and Cody Spates (140) all pinned their opponents and Nico Barker (130), CJ Wynar (135) and Ryan Olsen (145) all picked up forfeit wins, accounting for all 36 of Douglas' points.
The match went entirely Damonte's way through the upperweights as Brock Frank (152) and Trey Edmunds (189) each picked up pins.
The surprise of the night came in the 215 match, between Damonte's Micah Chalk and Douglas' Tony Ferris, who was wrestling up from 189 pounds for the match.
Ferris, the defending 171-pound regional champ, had two technical violations scored against him in the match and was disqualified, giving the Mustangs a clean sweep in the upperweights.
Damonte got a win in the 103-pound bracket and sophomore Wes Peterson gave former Tiger standout Garrett Hekhuis, who transferred to Damonte Ranch before the school year, a run before getting pinned in 5:34.
Douglas travels to California for the Natumas City Duals this weekend. The Tigers won the dual-format tournament last year and will be looking to defend their crown
