Garcia wins state wrestling title

LAS VEGAS - Nico Garcia had a reversal of fortune at the 4A state wrestling tournament at UNLV's Cox Pavilion.

The Carson senior battled Arbor View's Brandon Cunningham for the 182-pound title and needed every second to secure the 16th individual state championship for the Senators.

"I can't even put into words what it means," Garcia said. "It means the world to me."

Garcia reversed out of a Cunningham hold with 5 seconds left in the third period and escaped with a 4-3 win on Saturday.

The two battled, with little scoring throughout the bout until Garcia notched an escape in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Cunningham, however, scored an escape of his own then a takedown to grab a 3-1 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the match. Garcia, to his credit, didn't give up as he felt a mistake by Cunningham in the waning seconds and took advantage.

"The kid was just strong," Garcia said. "I couldn't open up his shot. But once he got that takedown ... he made a mistake on that last part. He just slapped his knees and I capitalized on that takedown."

Carson coach Tim McCarthy said Garcia's match was as close as can be.

"Out of everybody on the team, you want Nico to be down in that situation," McCarthy said. "He won't quit."

The final seconds, though, were a bit too long for McCarthy and his state champion, who had to hold on to Cunningham or an escape would have tied the match.

"That was a long 5 seconds for sure," McCarthy said.

Garcia's road to the title was a bizarre tale, as the Carson senior was lifted into the title bout after being bit on his right pinky finger by Palo Verde's Marcus Judd in the semifinals. Judd was disqualified.

Garcia, though, said the Palo Verde coach apologized to him on Saturday. Nevertheless, Garcia took the disqualification and turned himself into a state champion.

"I had to wrestle my best and I knew that," Garcia said of his match with Judd. "I came up with a seatbelt and it slipped a little. I don't know if it went across his mouth. He bit me and I freaked out a little."

Patrick Cooke was the lone Carson wrestler to capture a third-place finish. Cooke beat Cornado's Mack Murphy, 10-5, in the 220-pound division.

Cooke started the tournament with a win over Spring Valley's Devin Dishari before being pinned by Wooster's Omar Torres in the semifinals. Cooke then beat Centennial's David Wilson, 4-2, in overtime to advance to the third-place bout.

Cooke finished fifth in last year's New Mexico state tournament.

"Other than Nico's win, Patrick was the best story," McCarthy said. "It was his best tournament of the season, and what a time to have it."

Eldorado's Trevor Perez exacted revenge against Carson's Kyle Sharp in the 106-pound third-place match on Saturday. Perez pinned the Senators' sophomore in the second period.

Sharp pinned Perez on Friday in the quarterfinals before falling to Shadow Ridge's Jonah McKee, 6-0, in the semifinals. Sharp opened Saturday with a 3-0 win over Palo Verde's Drew Ferguson.

At 113 pounds, Sammy Mercado couldn't crack the medal stand as the Carson sophomore was pinned by Spanish Springs' Austin Lee in the second period. Lee beat Mercado in the regional tournament at Carson.

Like Sharp, Mercado opened the tournament with an 8-6 win in the quarterfinals over Green Valley's Alex Watson. In the semifinals, however, Mercado fell to Bishop Gorman's Owen Lawrie, 12-5.

Cole McCarthy (126) shared the fate of his teammates in his third-place bout. McCarthy was pinned late in the third period by Green Valley's Spencer Watson.

McCarthy opened the tournament with a win, but was pinned in the second period by Cimarron-Memorial's Chris Colwell. McCarthy rebounded on Saturday and slipped past Douglas' Logan Ames, 7-6, to advance to the third-place bout.