Carson takes third in Capital Duals

He’s among unbeatens for Senators, who finish third in Capital Duals

Carson High’s Spencer Rogers made a little noise at last year’s regional tournament with two victories in the 120-pound weight class.

Rogers, now a sophomore, made a lot of noise Saturday at the 17th annual Capital City Duals with five straight pins in the 132-pound class to lead the Senators to a third-place finish.

Carson went 4-1, losing a 40-39 thriller to eventual champion Reno. Carson, which wrestled without Nolan Shine at 152 pounds, beat Wooster, 61-17, in the third-place match. Reno beat Reed, 48-30, for the championship. Carson beat McQueen 82-0, Manogue 76-6 and Douglas 60-15.

Rogers was one of five CHS wrestlers to go 5-0 on the day. The others that went 5-0 were Brady O’Keefe (152), Nathan Mersino (138), Connor Sievers (195) and Brady Rivera (220). Six other Carson wrestlers lost just once during the grueling day.

“It’s the first time I’ve gone 5-0 at the varsity level,” Rogers said. “I was pretty excited just to get out on the mat.”

“That was one of the best performances I’ve seen (from Rogers),” Carson coach Paul Carter said. “Spencer looked like he was in good shape. Some of our other football players aren’t there yet. I thought Connor Sievers wrestled really well, a heck of a lot better (than at Damonte). That one-point loss to Reno was frustrating.

“There were a lot of things that we could have done against Reno; a lot of little things that make a difference.”

In the next-to-last match against the Huskies, Kellen McDermott gave up a reversal in the closing seconds of his 21-13 loss. Had he only lost 19-13, O’Keefe’s walkover win would have tied the match. It wasn’t just McDermott, however. Mersino had a chance to pin which would have garnered three more team points.

Rogers was one of many football players who were forced to sit out the match against Damonte Ranch, which snapped Carson’s 30-match Sierra League win streak. He has made a seamless transition. He moved around like a young colt, showing good killer instinct whenever he got his opponent in trouble.

“Football shape is completely different than wrestling shape,” Rogers said. “I don’t regret going up to varsity (for the playoffs). I didn’t get to play too much, so I wasn’t banged up like some of the other guys. I had a little more energy coming into it (the meet).”

His biggest win was a pin in the Reno match, which cut Reno’s lead to 36-30. He had just gone ahead 6-4 when he put his opponent on the mat for good.

Rogers was actually wrestling up a couple of weight classes.

“I think I’ll end up going to 126,” Rogers said. “If I’m able, I’d like to get back down to 120s. On the 14th, I can go to 126s. I’d like to go down to 120s.”

Sievers, who lost a heartbreaker in the third round at Damonte, won three by walkover and two via pin.

Mersino, the newest Senator, continues to impress. He had to wrestle for all five of his wins n Saturday. He racked up two pins and three decisions. Rivera had three walkovers and two pins, and O’Keefe had two walkovers, a decision and two pins. He wrestled up in Shine’s spot on Saturday, but will drop down to 145 on Wednesday against Wooster.

“We aren’t where we’re going to be in terms of weight,” Carter said. “There are still some guys that are going to be moving around.”

About the only sure thing is that Corey Jasper, Sievers, Rivera and Sheldon Miller will be in the final three spots in the line-up. Right now, Sievers appears to be the best bet at 195, Rivera at 215 and Miller at heavyweight. Miller will be giving up some weight most nights, but he should be able to hold his own.