Carson High wrestlers advance 4 to state tourney

David Remer began the 2017-18 season wrestling JV tournaments, and he will end it at the NIAA State Championships.

Go figure.

Remer, Carson High’s 170-pounder, pinned Bishop Manogue’s Lincoln Hauck in the first round to win the regional championship Saturday at Morse Burley Gym.

Remer will be joined at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas next Friday by Kyle Rudy (second place, 138), Jesse Case (second, 182) and Alex Wells (third, 152).

Remer had won his only two matches at 170 this year, but he was considered a long shot to reach state, and an even bigger long shot to win the division.

Truth be told, his job was made easier by the fact that Hauck upset pre-tourney favorite Logan Klonicke in the semis while Remer outlasted Ryan Vera of McQueen, 8-5.

Remer scored a quick takedown, and then kept attacking, and after being locked up with Hauck, he was able to register the pin.

“I saw him try to shoot, and I just shot in,” Remer said. “I just scooped the leg and kept on going.

“It feels amazing. I had confidence in myself, and I was ready to wrestle.”

The effort didn’t surprise Carson coach Nick Redwine, who said Friday it wouldn’t surprise him if Remer made the finals.

“He was ready to go,” Redwine said. “I think Hauck looked a little nervous. David was definitely ready. He has been working a lot with (Nick) Schlager. Another key is that he’s stayed (relatively) healthy. That is a big factor.”

Remer injured a pectoral muscle prior to the Douglas match, but said he worked with weights to strengthen it.

Case, who pinned Bobby Crampton of North Valleys in the semis, lost 16-6 to Sierra League rival Blake Murray in the finals. Case will conclude his career with a first trip to state.

Murray led 7-4 after two periods, and steadily built on that lead to grab the title.

“Blake is the hardest guy I’ve wrestled, and I did the best today that I’ve ever done against him,” Case said. “That gives me a lot of confidence going into next week.

“I’m happy. I went from fourth last year to second this year. That feels good.”

Rudy, who has been hampered by a shoulder injury, topped Patrick McDonald of Wooster in the semis.

He ran into Werner Hunter in the finals, and he was hoping to settle a score. Rudy injured his shoulder last weekend in a match against Hunter.

Unfortunately, Rudy never mounted an attack, and was pinned in the second round. He left the gym after his match, and was unavailable for comment.

“He gutted his way through,” Redwine said. “The Spanish Springs coach had been watching Kyle, and he knew exactly what Kyle was going to do.

“Hopefully he can heal up and make it to state. We’ll see how he responds to working with the trainer.”

Wells, who transferred from Reed this year, reached state as a third-place finisher.

“Very proud,” Wells said. “The coaches have pushed me a lot. Even from Reed and coming here I didn’t have to learn new things. Worked on what I knew and they totally accepted it.”

Wells rolled to a 4-0 lead after two periods. He gave up a takedown early in the third period to make it 4-2, but got a 3-point near fall and a 2-point takedown to win 9-5.

“I’d wrestled him before,” Wells said. “He doesn’t do any moves. He is really, really strong compared to me. I was trying to hold on to what I had. Just riding him out and working it. Win by points is OK.”

In the semis, he ran into to former teammate Christian Richer in the semifinals, and lost 8-2. He reached the third-place match with an 11-1 win over North Valleys’ Sean Bergsen.

Wells got the first point of the match, and then Richer scored the next six.

“We used to grind at Reed all the time,” Wells said. “We hadn’t seen each other since I left. Just out there go and get it. Every time he grabbed my leg surprised me. I couldn’t get the leg down. Fun wrestling him.”

Ty Evans (195) and Izayah Pando (145) both fell one win short of making state.

Evans went 0-2 on Saturday, losing to 195 champ Joey Miller, and then getting pinned by Spanish Springs’ Colby Preston.

Pando, a freshman, lost his semifinal match to eventual 145 champ Logan Blocher, and then remained alive by pinning Reed’s Carson Miller in the third round. He was overmatched in the third-place match, getting pinned in 43 seconds by Reed’s Ilya Vasey.

One CHS wrestler who was expected to make it was 160-pounder Bryce Newhall, who dropped a 14-12 heartbreaker to North Valleys’ Joseph Castleberry.

Newhall had tied the semifinal consolation match at 12, but then gave up an immediate reversal to Castleberry just a split-second before the final whistle.

Both of Newhall’s losses in the tournament came at the hands of Castleberry.