RENO - The Carson High wrestling team finished in the middle of the pack overall - but tops among Northern Nevada teams - when the 10th annual Reno Tournament of Champions concluded on Tuesday.
Micah Whitcome and Ahron Osheroff won four matches on Monday to emerge as the only Carson wrestlers to advance to the final day of the 85-team tournament held at the Reno Livestock Events Center. Both lost their first matches on Tuesday morning at the hands of opponents ranked in their respective states.
Osheroff dropped a 7-3 decision to Antoine Cisco of Toole, Utah, a third-place finisher at the Utah 3A state tournament last season. And Whitcome was pinned with five seconds remaining in the second round by Kenneth Packard of Roosevelt High in Fresno, who is currently ranked No. 8 among 152-pounders in California and No. 2 in his Central Section.
It was a very respectable showing overall, according to coach Tim McCarthy.
"Both those guys did very well," McCarthy said. "Ahron was right there to move on, too. He was tied 4-4 with maybe 15 seconds to go before the Toole kid got him."
Osheroff won by fall in the opening round on Monday and then was pinned by No. 6 seeded Clark Buffington of Skyview, a third-place medalist at last season's Alaska 4A state tournament. Osheroff won his next match by a 6-4 decision, then scored an 11-5 victory over Snake River's 12th-seeded Colt Grimmett, who placed fourth as a 135-pounder at last season's Idaho 3A state tournament.
Whitcome won three matches by fall and another by major decision on Monday. The senior pinned his first two opponents before dropping a 14-6 decision to No. 2-seeded J.R. Harris of McArthur (Lawton, Okla.), an Oklahoma 4A state champion last season.
"I think I wrestled well," Whitcome said. "It was a close match until the last 30 seconds. I was down 9-6, I had to go for something at that point, so I tried to throw him and he took me down for five (point move)."
Easton, Pa., edged Wasatch (Heber City, Utah) 187.5-183.5 to win the team championship. Carson finished 39th as a team with 57 points, which was the best finish among teams from the North. Fallon finished 53rd with 38.5 points and Galena 55th with 36 points.
"That was good, especially with Fallon there. There's that rivalry with Fallon in wrestling, so it's always good when we can get them," McCarthy said. "The tournament was good for our team as a whole. It was good experience and I think we will improve next week at the Sierra Nevada Classic."
Contact Dave Price at dprice@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1220.