Damonte wrestling too much for Carson

It was a rivalry many were looking forward to, but looking up at the scoredboard after the matches was not something many wanted to do. It was Wednesday night in the Morse Burkley Gym, a battle was won as the Damonte Ranch Mustangs defeated the Carson Senators wrestling team 52-16.'

Senators coach Tyson Thivierge was first to give acknowledgments, "Damonte was on point and looked great," he said, "It was an eye opener for our guys tonight."

Although the score wasn't a pretty one, many matches were not won till the final ten seconds. Senator Nick Schlager held a one point lead with only .3 seconds left at 112 popounds until Damonte's Kaleb Kight put Schlager on his back for two points, winning the match 11-10. Another heartbreaker came after Carson forfeited the 119 weight class and Ricky Urgarte took a close 4-6 loss to the Mustangs Jonathan Ramirez at 125 pounds, also in the last few seconds of the third period.

Senior 130 pounder Todd Banko stepped up to the plate knowing Carson needed some points and picked up a major decision with a 14-2 win.

"Even though I won, I wasn't ready to wrestle," Banko said, "I just didn't warm up right, mentally or physically."

Damonte then received three straight pins from Spencer O'Neal at 135, 140 pounder Michael Artenis and Nick Hassett at 145. The match-up in the 152 pound weight class was arguably the best of the night, when Martin Azzam of Carson took on Damonte standout Brock Frank as they both grappled all six minutes. Although it was Frank with the 10-6 win, Damonte assistant coach Ken Chalk gave well deserved credit to both wrestlers.

"I was impressed with Brock who wrestled really well against Azzam who has really improved tremendously over the past three or four years," Chalk said.

With only two matches left, Carson leader Garrett Truesdale continued to show his talent on the mat with his quick 1:27 pin to put six more points up for the Senators. "I was just drained tonight but I pulled it out," Truesdale admitted.

The heavyweight division was also a forfeit with Damonte not having a wrestler. At 112 It was childhood wrestling teammates turned opponents Garret Manoukian and Carson's Patrick Craugh. Manoukian won with a major decision of 18-7.

Overall the night was full of excitement and left both teams with plenty to think about.

"We worked hard tonight and had a great close which is always rewarding when you come and wrestle a great school like Carson," Ken Chalk said.

Coming from a different perspective, Thivierge would have liked to see better results. "There is a difference between living off a Carson singlet and buying in when other wrestlers work all through the summer and spring," Thivierge said.

Senior captains Truesdale and Banko were right there to agree about tonight's performance,

"We came out scared, not mentally ready," Banko said. "But now we have something to prove this weekend."

With tonight behind them, Carson will head to a tournament this weekend in Clovis, Calif.