WINNEMUCCA — Carson High got off to a nice start on the first day of the NIAA State Wrestling Championships at the Winnemucca Events Center on Friday.
Brady O’Keefe (145), Nolan Shine (160) and Brady Rivera (220) all won first-round matches and moved into today’s semifinals at 9 a.m.
O’Keefe pinned his opponent in 28 seconds,. Shine won 6-3 and Rivera recorded a second-round pin.
“I think all three of those guys, if they wrestle to their capabilities, have a good chance to win a title,” Carson coach Paul Carter said. “Nolan and Brady Rivera’s road is a little tougher than O’Keefe’s. The other two No. 1 seeds are on the other side of the bracket, so O’Keefe has a great chance to get to the finals. The guy O’Keefe wrestled walked right into a head and arm. Right now, we’re the No. 1 team in the north, and I’m pleased with that. We wrestled pretty well.”
Brandon Basa (113) lost his opening match, 5-0, but bounced back to beat Spanish Springs’ Hayden Bosco, 1-0, in a consolation match to remain alive. Basa, who had beaten Bosco twice, needed a second-round escape to grab the win. He beat Bosco 4-2 and 8-0 in the previous two meetings.
Heavyweight Sheldon Miller who was pinned in his opening match, bounced back with two pins of his own to remain alive in the consolation bracket. The first consolation pin was against Spanish Springs’ Conner Hendriks, who beat him 4-3 in the regionals. Miller closed out his day by pinning an opponent from Palo Verde.
“Sheldon made a mistake in that first match,” Carter said.
“He took the guy down and then there was a weird scramble. Against Hendriks, he got an escape in the second round, and ten took him down and pinned him.”
BASEBALL
WNC stopped by Riverside
RIVERSIDE — If the Western Nevada College baseball team intends to win its third straight series to start the season, the Wildcats will need to beat Riverside City College in the teams’ final two games this weekend.
Riverside capitalized on four first-inning errors and then rode the pitching of left-hander Austin Sodders to a 8-1 victory over WNC.
The unbeaten Tigers, ranked eighth in the California Community College Athletic Association preseason poll, scored four unearned runs against WNC sophomore right-hander Max Karnos in the first inning.
“If you have a groundball pitcher on the mound, you’re going to have to field groundballs. We didn’t make the plays and didn’t make the catches,” said WNC coach D.J. Whittemore.
With it second straight defeat, WNC’s season record slipped to 6-3. Despite the lopsided score, the Wildcats nearly outhit the Tigers, finishing one hit shy of the host’s nine. Sophomore outfielder Jake Bennett led the Wildcats with three hits, while sophomore infielder Corey Pool contributed two.
The Wildcats combined a couple of base hits to scratch across a run against Sodders in the second inning. Pool came home on a base hit by Brandon Lapointe.
“Max kept us in it and saved our bullpen for the weekend,” said Whittemore about Karnos, who didn’t allow an earned run over five innings.
The two teams meet again today at 1 p.m.
“We’re just going to worry about winning a game from them tomorrow. So far, eight teams have tried, and nobody has done it,” Whittemore said.
VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL
Whittell tops VC
ZEPHYR COVE — Parker Chaplin scored 30 points to lead Whittell to a 57-43 win over Virginia City Friday night.
The loss was Virginia City’s first in conference play. The Muckers beat Whittell at home. VC closes its season against Hawthorne today.
Clint Hess led VC with 17 points.
VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL
Sierra Lutheran falls
Cali Benton posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for Sierra Lutheran in a 37-29 loss to Coleville. Jee Youn Benton scored seven points, Amy Westre had five steals and Clare Davison and Leanna Temple each added four steals for the Falcons.
Dayton falls to Fernley
DAYTON — Poor free throw shooting was a big factor in Dayton’s 55-28 Senior Night loss to Fernley Friday night.
Angela Sikora led Dayton with nine points and six steals, while Christi Ricci and Elvia Diaz added six points each.
JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
Carson rolls past DHS
MINDEN — Carson (21-3, 15-1) ended a banner season in style with a 48-27 win over Douglas. Jenae Steele scored 10 points, Josie Share, Mallory Otto and Molly Otto all had eight points, Julia Ruedy had five points, Camiell Simpson had four points and Sophia Ruedy added three points for Carson.
Dayton falls
DAYTON — Elora Neep scored 11 points in Dayton’s 57-14 loss to Fernley.
FROSH GIRLS BASKETBALL
Carson avenges loss
MINDEN — Carson avenged a loss earlier in the season to Douglas with a 36-31 win.
Abbey Paulson led Carson with 15 points and three assists. Katelyn Morse had 10 points. Carson ends the season with a record of 18-6.
JV BOYS BASKETBALL
Douglas edges Carson
Geraet Rauh scored 14 points, but it wasn’t enough as Douglas won a thriller 36-35. Gurpreet Badhan added seven and Sevon Mandoki chipped in five.
Carson falls to 14-10.
FROSH BOYS BASKETBALL
Douglas edges Carson
MINDEN — Derek Barry scored 13 points and Trent Robison added eight points for Carson in its 49-43 loss to Douglas.
