Damonte stuns Carson wrestlers

The Carson High wrestling team received a rude awakening from Damonte Ranch in a match between two of the Northern 4A's top squads.

Damonte Ranch stunned Carson by winning nine of 10 matches that were wrestled as it defeated the Senators 46-30 at home on Wednesday. The only wrestler who was able to win for Carson was Garrett Truesdell, who won by pin at 215 pounds.

Carson's other four wins came by forfeit. Todd Banko (119), Brian Halverson (125), Robbie Bozin (130) and Kyle Banko (135) all won by forfeit. Matt Heath also lost a close 6-5 decision at 189.

The Senators were without two of their starting wrestlers in Martin Azzam (152) and Travis Lamborn (160). Both were held out as a precaution to save them for this weekend's Las Vegas Tournament.

Lamborn sat out with an abdominal strain and Azzam sat out with a minor ankle injury. Had those two wrestled, it could have reversed the result, but Carson coach Tyson Thivierge said he and his team still obviously weren't happy with their effort.

"It was basically the consensus that nobody was happy with their performance," Thivierge said. "Nobody was satisfied with the way things went. "That just was basically the consensus up and down the board.

"We were faced with a challenge and we weren't ready. It's all preparation for zone in February. That's what I told the kids.

"We'll definitely work on the things we need to work on and the sun will come up tomorrow."

Carson will compete in the Las Vegas Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The event features more than 60 teams from all over the Western United States.

"The tournament coming up we'll be a tough test," Thivierge said. "We'll see what happens."