SACRAMENTO — Carson High dropped a heartbreaking 37-36 decision to Liberty-Brentwood in the finals of the Nighthawk Dual Meet Tournament at Natomas High on Saturday.
The loss dropped Carson, which wrestled without Nicholas Lani and Dominic Kinder, to 11-1 in duals entering next weekend’s prestigious Tournament of Champions at the Reno Event Center.
“We had a wrestler miss weight and we were without two of our better wrestlers,” Carson coach Paul Carter said. “We still had a chance to win and we didn’t pull through. It (the last match) was frustrating.”
Carson beat Northgate-Walnut Creek, 72-12, Del Campo, 68-10, Inderkum, 48-32, and Woodland, 50-18, to reach the championship match.
Carson led by 12 points entering the final three matches, but lost by major decision, pin and decision in the final three matches.
The Senators had six wrestlers go undefeated on the day — Brandon Basa (5-0 at 106), Kyle Sharp (5-0 at 132), Brady O’Keefe (5-0 at 145), Cody Cunningham (5-0 at 170), Aaron Cowee (5-0 at heavyweight) and Brady Rivera (4-0 at 180). Basa and Sharp had five pins on the day.
Sam Mercado (120), Austin Martinez (126) and Nolan Shine (152) all went 4-1, while Anthony Estrada, Connor Sievers (195) and Sheldon Miller (220) all went 3-2.
• The JV squad participated at McQueen on Saturday, and Connor Chech (170) and Corey Jasper (220) won their weight classes.
Kellen McDermott (126), Johnathan Artz (138), Nick Andreas (160) and Kevin Rusler (170) all finished second.
Jake Roman (113), Spencer Rogers (120), Dakota Erickson (138), Diego Francis (160) and Sam Haight (180) grabbed third-place finishes. Alex Estrada (138), Victor Freeman (160), Michael Debaun (170) and Bryceton Schilling 180) all finished fourth.
Carson is at North Valleys next Saturday.
VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL
Carson drubs W. Wendover
RENO — Carson put four players into double figures en route to an easy 80-37 win over West Wendover in the fifth-plcae game of the Rail City Classic Saturday morning.
Cameron Price and Alan Cohen scored 13 each for the 6-2 Senators, while Ian Schulz and Andy Cooper scored 11 apiece, both varsity career highs.
Asa Carter finished with eight and Jared Rooker added seven.
The Senators went 4-1 on the week, giving them some momentum heading into Thursday’s Sierra League match-up (7 p.m.) at Galena. On Friday, Carson visits Manogue.
Carson coach Carlos Mendeguia said he was worried going into the game based on the Wolverines’ win over Reno on Friday.
Kylar and Kaydn Sharp averaged 16 and 13 points a game, respectively, and Manny Flores was averaging 15.8.
“Two years ago they won state as sophomores and they were a great 3-point shooting team,” Mendeguia said. “We put a lot of pressure on those three guys, and they didn’t handle it well. We came out with a lot of steam and got up early.”
And how. The Senators led 50-18 at the half, leading to two periods of garbage time.
VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL
Douglas JV 36, Sierra Lutheran 18
The Falcons dropped to 2-3 on the season after their non-league loss to the Tigers.
Cali Benton led Sierra with seven points and Sabrina Ronato added six. Benton also pulled down nine rebounds, while Amy Westre and Leanna Temple had five apiece.
JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
Carson 35, Reno 30 OT
Serena Miller scored 14 points to lead the Senators to a wild overtime win over the Huskies on Saturday.
The teams were tied at 26 after regulation play, and Carson had a 9-4 edge in the extra period.