Carson wrestler earns gold medal

As far as the Carson Senators were concerned, it came as no surprise to see Ahron Osheroff on the medal stand Saturday night at the Clayton Valley Invitational wrestling tournament in Concord, Calif.

Osheroff was at the top of the medal stand, in fact, as the junior won his 140-pound weight class during a 31-team tournament that featured teams from the Bay Area and around Northern California.

This was not a big surprise, especially after Osheroff gave a strong performance last month when he advanced to the second day of the 85-team Reno Tournament of Champions.

"We were actually waiting for him to have a breakout tournament where he would end up as a high placer," Carson coach Tim McCarthy said. "And he was on it today."

Osheroff began the day as a No. 6 seed and advanced to the finals with a win over the No. 1 seed from Red Bluff, Calif. The Carson wrestler then came from behind to win his gold medal with an 11-8 victory against Ricky Williams of James Logan (Union City, Calif.).

"Ahron trailed 4-1 after the first round, so he definitely showed he had plenty of gas left in the tank," McCarthy said of Osheroff.

Sophomore Travis Lamborn also advanced to the finals of the 160-pound weight class, where he dropped a 10-8 decision to Mike Gilroy of Newark Memorial (Newark, Calif.).

Four other Senators returned home with medals (the top eight in each weight class placed): Loren Wooldridge was third at 152 pounds, heavyweight Eric Klug was fifth, while Todd Banko and Kyle Banko placed seventh in their respective 103- and 125-pound divisions.

Carson finished seventh as a team in the tournament. Red Bluff and Antioch, traditional powers in California, were the top two teams.

"Red Bluff is the No. 1 team in the Northern Section and Antioch is the No. 2 team in the North Coast Section, so there were some very good teams in that tournament," McCarthy said.

The Senators return to California for another tournament next Saturday - the Lindhurst Invitational in Olivehurst (Sacramento area).