Regional wrestling starts today at Carson

The wrestling post-season gets under way today when Carson High hosts the 4A NIAA regionals at Morse Burley Gym.

Opening ceremonies are at 3 p.m. with action set to begin at 3:30. On Saturday, the semifinals kick off the action at 10 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 3:30.

The top three finishers move on to the state meet next Friday and Saturday at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

Carson coach Tim McCarthy, whose team went undefeated in Sierra League duals for the fourth straight year, likes the make-up of his team entering the two-day event.

"Spanish Springs is who everybody is chasing," McCarthy said. "They have so many kids that they can pull out of a hat."

That doesn't mean McCarthy is throwing in the towel, far from it.

Seven Carson wrestlers are pre-seeded No. 1 on the Sierra League side: 106-pound Kyle Sharp (32-7), 113-pound Sammy Mercado (19-12), 120-pound Adan Ortega (25-10), 126-pound Cole McCarthy (26-2), 132-pound Nicholas Lani (28-10), 138-pound Austin Brown (25-13) and 182-pound Nico Garcia (29-7).

Second seeds went to 145-pound Colby Brown (13-15), 152-pound Jordan Luhrs (18-10) and heavyweight Brayan Burgos (9-4). Third seeds went to 170-pound Brady Rivera (9-11), 195-pound Javier Torres (10-15) and 220-pound Patrick Cooke (22-9).

McCarthy said he wants his top-ranked wrestlers to come in confident, but not cocky. Simply put, don't put too much emphasis on the seeding. The beauty of wrestling is that everything is decided on the mat.

"We have 10 kids who have a legitimate chance to make state," McCarthy said. "We have three (McCarthy, Sharp and Garcia) guys that will be favorites to win."

The one thing working "against Carson this weekend will be the absence of a 160-pounder. Cody Cunningham, who was 7-5 and placed fifth at Oakdale, suffered a season-ending injury in late December. His absence could mean up to 20 fewer team points, depending on how long he would have remained alive in the tournament.