Schweitzer steps down as wrestling coach

The Carson High wrestling program is now without a coach again, meaning the Senators will go through their fourth coaching change in the last five years.

Casey Schweitzer, who coached Carson for just one season this past year, has stepped down to return to Montana for family reasons.

During the past year, Schweitzer has been apart from his family as his wife, Tina, had to stay in Montana due to her job requirements. With his wife expecting their second child, Schweitzer decided he had to return to Montana.

"It was important for me to get together again with my family," Schweitzer said. "Being apart for this year was very, very hard. I'm sad to be going, but I'm a bit relieved I'm going to be getting back together with my family."

Under Schweitzer this year Carson took fifth at the NIAA 4A State Championships in Las Vegas and for the first time in recent memory had five wrestlers place at the state tournament: Todd Banko, third, 112 pounds; Kyle Banko, second, 130; Travis Lamborn, third, 160; Ahron Osheroff, second, 171; Jonas Schenzel, fourth, 189.

"I thought we had a very successful season," Schweitzer said. "Everything was working, everything was clicking.

"I had a great group of kids to work with. Whoever's going to come in is going to come into a nice situation."

Schweitzer also said Carson was a good organization to work with from Bob McDonald and the Carson Bulldogs who allowed the high school team to use its facility to the parents.

"I really felt we had a lot of momentum going there," Schweitzer said. "There's a lot of potential at Carson. I really enjoyed all the facets of the wrestling program."

Schweitzer also helped train Fallon's Riley Orozco and Douglas High's Shane Miller for the recent National Senior High School Championships. Orozco, the state 171 champion, and Miller, the state 189 champion, both had strong showings.

Orozco went 6-2 and came within one point of placing in the top eight and Miller advanced to the final 32.

Carson's coaching merry go-round began when longtime coach Tim McCarthy stepped down after 2002. He was replaced by Dean Schmanski, who coached for two years and led the Senators to the Northern 4A title and a third place finish at state in 2004.

McCarthy came back to co-coach with Jim Franz in 2005 before Schweitzer took over this past year.