The Douglas High varsity wrestling team entered the Morse Burley Gym at Carson High as the defending champions of the Capitol City Dual wrestling tournament.
Pitted in a bracket against newly structured league rivals Bishop Manogue and Fallon as well as a very tough Reno squad and Spanish Springs, Douglas didn't falter for an instant.
The Tigers went 4-0 in the bracket and met 3A power Lowry in the finals, winning 51-28.
Lowry dispatched Carson, Galena, North Valleys, and Wooster to earn their spot in the Final against Douglas.
Douglas beat Bishop Manogue in the first round 49-27. Manogue had to forfeit several weight classes but Douglas had several key falls in the middle weights to run away with the win.
The Tigers took on Spanish Springs in the second round and promptly dominated the Cougars 57-16, including an 11-second pin by Douglas' 130-pounder Michael Sepulveda.
Next up was new league rival Fallon, where Douglas ran off five straight victories, four by fall, and held on to win 39-30.
After a bye round for Douglas, former league rival Reno faced Douglas in the fifth round. The winner of the dual would face a tough Lowry team for the tournament championship.
Reno took the early lead with a win at 130 but Douglas came back strong with four straight wins to take a 21-6 lead.
Reno answered with two wins to narrow the margin to 21-13.
Douglas 215-pounder Zach Falanga recorded a fall to extend the Tiger lead to 27-13. Douglas got a forfeit win at 285 and Reno got a forfeit win at 103 to bring the score to 33-19. Dillon Spates (112) finished out the scoring for Douglas by pinning Reno's Nick Lighthouse in the second period. Douglas won 39-19.
The championship round matched Douglas against Lowry, a 3A power from Winnemucca.
Lowry got off to an early lead at 135 when Lowry's Gus Duncan recorded a major decision over Nick Prudhomme.
Douglas' 140 pounder Nico Barker pinned Sean Raynor in the second period to establish a Douglas lead. Eddie Kollar (145) recorded a first-period fall over Jake Manzo and Justin Freeman(152) won a gritty match over Ryan Nelson.
Going into the 189 pound match Lowry led 16-15. Douglas' Steven Anderson gave the Tigers the boost they needed by pinning Wacey Chabot in 1:39 and Douglas never looked back.
Zach Falanga followed Anderson with a pin of his own at 215 and Douglas heavyweight Quincy Grubenman recorded the first fall of his career over Juan Zepeda to push the Douglas lead to 33-16.
Forfeits by Douglas and Lowry at 103 and 112 respectively brought the score to 39-22. Douglas 119 pounder Tim Souza made quick work of Bobby Marley, recording the fall in 1:25. Lowry got a pin at 125's and Sepulveda closed out the 51-28 Douglas victory by pinning Jake Maga in the second period.
Douglas hosts last year's Sierra League and Northern 4A Regional champions Damonte Ranch in a league dual tonight at 5:30 p.m.
The Tigers travel to the Nighthawk Duals at Natomas High School in Sacramento this weekend. Douglas won the Nighthawk Duals in 2006.
