Carson wrestlers win Rosemont Invitational

While it was considered just a tune-up tournament for what's to come, this may have been the weekend in which the Carson High wrestling team turned the corner.

Carson won the Rosemont Invitational in Sacramento, outlasting Calaveras, Calif., for the title. The Senators finished with 178 points while Calaveras had 163 points.

Nick Schlager (112 pounds), Todd Banko (125), Martin Azzam (145) and Trent Simpson (171) all won titles to lead Carson. The Senators brought 15 wrestlers to the event and 13 placed.

The event was a high-powered tournament with 14 teams, including Calavaras, an 11-time section champion and it could have been Carson's best effort of the year.

"We needed to come out and wrestle solid," Carson coach Tyson Thivierge said. "The kids wrestled really hard.

"It's about time we wake up. I would say it's probably something we lacked all year. We looked incredible. Up and down the lineup we wrestled really, really well."

The tournament was preparation for a tough week ahead in which Carson will travel to Fallon for a dual on Wednesday. Then 11 of Carson's wrestlers will compete on Friday and Saturday in one of Idaho's biggest tournaments, the Tiger Griz Invitational. "It's going to be a good test," said Thivierge about the Idaho event.

At the Rosemont event, Carson won largely on the strength of Schlager and Azzam, who both beat Calaveras wrestlers in the finals.

Schlager won 2-0 and Azzam won 7-5. Banko was also dominant, winning all four of his matches by pin. "I think this is the most solid he's wrestled all year," said Thivierge about Schlager.

Another highlight came when Simpson moved down to 171 and came back to win in the finals. Simpson scored the winning nearfall with seven seconds left in the match. "He looked incredible," Thivierge said. "He looked great at 171.

Others who placed for Carson were: 103 - Patrick Craugh, third; 119 - Ricky Urgarte, third; 130 - Adam Welch, fifth; 135 - Aaron Jolcover, second; 140 - Anthony Torkeo, fourth; 152 - Junioir Valadarez, second and Jimmy Weir, sixth; 189 - Garret Truesdell, second; heavyweight - Max Schadek, fifth.