There's no questioning the talent on the Douglas' High wrestling team's roster this year.
Indeed, all that was missing entering the year was the depth to complete a full starting lineup.
The first month of the season has only served to dwindle the Tigers' numbers as the injury bug has bitten often.
But if Saturday's 32nd annual Carson Valley Lions' Club Invitational is any indication, Douglas will be right in the thick of the title race for a individual weight classes when the Northern 4A Regional Championships roll around in February.
Saturday's tournament drew 20 teams from Nevada and California, including some of the top programs in the Northern 4A.
Spanish Springs, the defending Northern 4A team champion (a title the Cougars are favored to claim again this year) used its superior depth to vault ahead for Saturday's team title. The Cougars edged out 3A powerhouse Lowry 186.5-171 in the team standings.
Sierra League favorite Carson High took third with a team score of 136.
Douglas, which finished sixth as a team with 88 points, produced a pair of individual champions to highlight a number of strong performances on the day.
Senior Michael Sepulveda, fresh off a sixth-place finish at the prestigious Sierra Nevada Classic in Reno earlier in the week, won the 130-pound bracket for the second-consecutive year.
He pinned Lowry's Gus Duncan in the second period of the finals after building a 13-0 lead. He is 15-7 on the year and 70-22 in his career.
Junior Dillon Spates, another solid Sierra Nevada Classic performer earlier in the the week, won the 125-pound bracket.
Spates defeated South Tahoe's Cameron Cason 7-2 in the finals. He used a takedown at the start of the second period to take a 4-1 lead to improve to 20-6 on the year and 104-26 in his career. It marked Cason's first loss of the season.
Junior Zach Falanga fought his way through the consolation bracket to take third in the 215-pound class, while senior Cody Spates took fourth in the 140-pound class.
Falanga pinned Pershing County's Tyler Gaspay in the consolation finals and Spates fell to Pershing County's Jared Jensen. Jensen scored a late escape to break a 9-9 tie after coming back from deficits of 4-2, 6-2 and 8-4.
Junior heavyweight Patrick Miller had a strong day, going 2-2, as did junior 160-pounder Kyle Matthews.
Sean Merritt had a win on Saturday in the 135-pound class for the Tigers as well.
Manogue took fourth in the tournament, followed by Yerington and then Douglas.
Next up for Douglas will be its first home dual of the season, tonight at 6 p.m.
Douglas hosts Manogue next week and then heads back out on the road for the majority of the rest of the season before wrapping up at home on Feb. 3 against Fallon.
The regional championships will be Feb. 12 and 13 at Reno High School.
