Carson wrestlers eliminated in tournament

RENO - The Carson Senators began Friday with four wrestlers who had a shot at placing in the 33rd annual Asics Sierra Nevada Classic at Reno Livestock Events Center.

But the hopes of seniors Garrett Truesdell and Martin Azzam as well as those of sophomores Nick Schlager and Ignacio "Junior" Valadarez ended well before the championship round and the Senators ended up placing 38th, with 57.5 points.

Spring Creek, entering only eight wrestlers, had the best performance of any Northern Nevada team, with two champions and one third place to finish sixth with 126 points.

Los Gatos (Calif.) won its first SNC with 148.5 points, followed by Caldwell (Idaho) with 143.5, Eldorado (Placentia, Calif.) with 138, Auburn (Wash.), with 135.5 and Central Catholic (Modesto, Calif.).

Fallon had three placers along the way to finishing 13th - second best for Northern Nevada - with 107.5 points. Reed finished 17th (91 points), Galena 18th (88.5), Douglas 22nd (79) and Damonte Ranch ended up 28th (70).

Truesdell entered Friday 3-0 in the 215-pound division, but fell out of the championship bracket via pin to No. 2 seed Josh Wood before dropping a 5-1 decision to Brian Herrera, of Modoc (Calif.).

"I came out sluggish," Truesdell said. "I kinda picked it up after the first match, but it still wasn't enough. (Wood) was really good...I don't know if I could've beaten him. The only thing that beat me (against Herrera) was the weight. I thought I was faster and stronger. He took me down the first time and was on top of me and the weight was too much for me to handle."

Truesdell has been wrestling at 195 pounds and against the far shorter, stockier Herrera, he had trouble getting low enough to attempt any successful shoots. Nevertheless, Truesdell thought the experience would benefit him in the long run.

"It should. I learned a few good things," Truesdell said. "I have to keep my elbows in and be more conservative. I still want to go to regionals and my ultimate goal is state."

Dylan Rutledge (Auburn, Wash.) pinned the 160-pound Valadarez in 3 minutes, 35 seconds in the fifth consolation round and Azzam dropped a decision to Jacob Conklin, of Federal Way (Wash.), in their 152-pound matchup.

The 112-pound Schlager started the day off with a 3-0 decision over Wes Peterson of Douglas, but fell in the sixth round of the consolation bracket to No. 3 seed Eric Dowd, of Folsom, Calif.

Fallon got a pair of fourth-place finishes from Matt Reibsamen at 152 pounds and senior Trevor de Braga at 160 before junior Trent de Braga advanced to the 145-pound final against Brock Gutches, of Crater, Ore.

Brock and de Braga had a scoreless period in a conservative matchup between two old rivals. De Braga held his only lead with a second-period escape to go up 1-0, but Brock scored a takedown to take the 2-1 lead into the final period.

Brock outscored de Braga 3-0 in the final period to take a 3-1 win. Reibsamen dropped a 15-1 major decision to Wooster's James Nava and Trent de Braga dropped a 5-0 decision to Isaiah Jimenez, of Palma, Calif.

"It was a great tournament," said eighth-year Fallon coach Mitch Overlie. "All of the kids wrestled pretty well; they battled hard. That's what we're looking forward to this time of the season. I love the way we wrestled, I just wish it turned out a little better."

Doug DelPorto and Jeremy Wilson each placed for Galena. DelPorto took a decision over Corey Johnson, of Del Oro, Calif., to finish third in the 125-pound division, while Wilson finished sixth after surrendering to Jesse Stafford, of Del Oro, with an injury default at 130.

Spring Creek, which had previously had only two SNC champions in team history - 135-pound Bryce Saddoris in 2004 and 140-pound Trinity Perkins in 2005 - ended up with two in the same day after Cameron Hopper and Nick Wooden brought it on home for the Spartans.

No. 1 seed Wooden didn't allow a point the whole tournament and took a 7-0 decision over Aaron Westphal, of Alhambra (Calif.) North, in the 130-pound final.

Only a sophomore, Wooden went 53-4 as a freshman and is now 28-2 this season.

"I think this is our best team ever," Wooden said. "It means a lot to me because last year I finished third and I wanted to win this tournament. This is my biggest high school win."

Hopper scored a 6-2 decision over Vincent Perez, of Pitman, Calif., to win the 112-pound championship and Bryan Saddoris placed second in the 152-pound division to add to the record day for the Spartans, who have won four consecutive Class 3A state championships.

"It was a good tournament," said 11th-year Spring Creek coach Wade Pehrson. "It was a long two days for the kids, too, but they battled through it. There were some tough matches. This gets us going for some tough tournaments and sets us up for going to Idaho next week.

"This was the best finish in the history of the school. It feels good. We needed a few more guys in the medal rounds and to place. But I'll take it as it is. It was a good weekend for the kids."