Kyle Sharp.
Twenty-eight and counting.
Carson High’s wrestling team won nine of 14 matches en route to a huge 43-22 win over Damonte Ranch Wednesday night at Morse Burley Gym.
The win gave Carson a 3-0 Sierra League record and runs its win streak in league duals to 28. Carson finishes the season with duals against Douglas and Galena as it strives for is six-peat.
Carson got pins from Nicholas Lani (138), Brady O’Keefe (145), Sheldon Miller (220), Corey Jasper (heavyweight) and Brandon Basa (106). Dom Kinder (126), Kyle Sharp (132), Nolan Shine (152) and Brady Rivera (182) all won by decision.
“We did talk about it all week,” Sharp said. “We knew this dual was going to be the most competitive, and coach (Paul) Carter fired us up. He talked about how Damonte was cheering for Liberty to beat us at the Natomas tournament. We wanted this to keep the six-peat alive.”
“For sure we’ve been looking at this one,” senior 182-pounder Brady Rivera said. “This was probably going to be the most competitive meet. It gets to a point where we’re just shooting for the league championship, and the streak goes along with it.”
Paul Carter, Carson’s first-year head coach, was pleased as to how his team responded to his challenge during the week.
“We knew this was going to be one of our toughest matches,” Carter said. “The kids did a good job of winning the matches that were close, and we did a good job of staying off our backs in matches where we weren’t favored (or supposed to win).”
Two of the close matches that Carter talked about were Rivera’s 5-2 win over Rory Anderson and Shine’s 7-4 victory against Drake McAdow. Shine’s win made it 18-0, while Rivera’s decision made it 21-12.
After a scoreless first period, Rivera scored on an escape and takedown for a 3-1 lead. Anderson, who seemed to be more defensive minded, worked an escape in the final period but was unable to get a shot off against Rivera.
“He tried to out-muscle me,” Rivera said. “That was OK with me. A win is a win.”
Shine was tied at 4, but worked a takedown in the waning seconds of the second period for a 6-4 lead, and then got an escape early in the third period for the win.
After a loss at 195, Miller and Jasper pulled off first-period pins for a 33-15 lead. Miller’s was in 43 seconds and Jasper’s was in 22 seconds.
“I didn’t know what to expect from them,” Carter said. “You are talking about a freshman and sophomore. Those were big wins for us.”
Basa put Carson over the top when he pinned Raeann Wagstaff in 54 seconds of the first round for a 39-15 advantage, rendering the rest of the matches meaningless.
Carson did lose the next two matches before Kinder ended the match with a 12-4 win over Cameron Sandoval.
The match started at 132 pounds, and Sharp gave Carson a 3-0 lead with a 7-4 win, and then Lani and O’Keefe posted pins in the first and third round, respectively. Lani led 5-0 before winning with 15.7 left, and O’Keefe had a 9-0 lead before winning with 25.5 left.
“I wanted to get it over with; get it done,” Lani said, explaining his mindset. “Coach wanted us to finish matches.”
Damonte did cut the lead to 18-12 when both Elijah Fajayan (160) and Cody Cunningham (170) lost by pin. Cunningham’s loss was especially frustrating. He was ahead 7-5 with time running down. He was unable to finish off a shot and was pinned by Matthew Barrett.
Carson, which wrestles in Marin County on Saturday, restored order with wins in three of the next four matches.
VARSITY GIRLS
Incline 46, S. Lutheran 9
INCLINE VILLAGE — The Falcons were held to four points in the first three periods in a lopsided non-league loss to Incline Wednesday night.
Sierra Lutheran fell to 6-10 overall.
Sabrina Ronato led the team in scoring with five points.
JV GIRLS
Carson 47, Wooster 9
Brianna Alvarado scored 16 points to lead Carson to an easy win.
The Senators, who also got six from Melissa Glanzmann, visit North Valleys Friday. CHS is now 14-1.
Truckee 30, Dayton 5
The Wolverines had an easy time disposing of Dayton. No other information was supplied by the Dayton coach.
JV BOYS
Carson 57, Wooster 30
RENO — Jace Keema scored 12 and Julian Alvarado added 10 to lead the Senators to an easy win Tuesday.
Tez Allen added nine for the Senators, who improved to 13-2.
FROSH BOYS
Carson 48, Wooster 28
RENO — Jesse Lopez had six points and eight steals to lead the Senators to a lopsided win on Tuesday.
Truckee 39, Dayton 16
Carson Crosby led Dayton with eight points and Chris Beatty grabbed five rebounds for the Dust Devils in the losing effort.
Weston Hill added four points and two blocked shots.
FROSH GIRLS
Carson 54, Wooster 15
RENO — Josie Share scored 13 points and Molly Otto added eight to lead CHS to an easy road win.
Truckee 30, Dayton 2
The Wolverines pounded the Dust Devils, holding them to a single basket.