Senator Kyle Rudy makes quick work of Damonte Ranch freshman Kelson Long in a 138-pound match Wednesday night in Reno.
RENO — Carson High’s wrestling team always has a little extra in the tank when it faces Damonte Ranch, and Wednesday night was no exception.
The Senators won six of the 10 actual matches and won three others by forfeit en route to a 51-25 win in a key Sierra League matchup.
The win gives Carson a 3-0 record and a significant leg up in posting another undefeated league season and Sierra League title. The Senators have just two matches left with Wooster (home) and Douglas (away) and need to win just one of two to clinch a share of the regular-season title.
“I wouldn’t say that it was easy, but I didn’t think we’d win by that much,” Carson coach Nick Redwine said. “I was expecting an old-fashioned slugfest.
“I knew that Garcia (Richie, 220) and (Bryce) Bell at 113 would be tough. Our guys wrestled really well on top; riding when they are ahead. We’ve gotten a lot better as the season has gone on.”
Garcia won easily by pin and Bell won by technical fall over Luis Mayoral. Damonte’s other two on-the-mat wins came from Ramon Alvarez (tech fall at 120) and heavyweight Chris Gonzalez, who edged Brandon Macias, 5-4.
Other than that, it was a pretty dominant performance for CHS.
“The coaches felt this was going to be our toughest matchup of the year,” said 138-pounder Kyle Rudy, who won via pin in 35 seconds. “I hope that’s true.”
“It feels great,” said 182-pounder Jesse Case, who pinned Ivan Tapia. “We don’t like them.”
Redwine said that he worked the team really hard in preparation for the meet, which has annually decided the league title.
“We over prepared them, and we’ll treat Wooster and Douglas the same way,” said the CHS coach. “Rudy and Case looked really tough tonight.
“We are probably favored to win both (remaining matches), but I want them ready to go. Douglas has some good wrestlers, and they could make an evening out of it.”
The match started at 126 pounds, and Johnny Perkins gave Carson a quick 6-0 lead when he pinned Will Mendoza with 1:09 left in the third round. Mark Trost made it 9-0 when he carved out a 6-2 victory over Spencer Mitchell. Trost broke a 2-2 tie and scored four straight points to win it.
Rudy followed with his ultra-quick pin of Kelson Long to make it 15-0, and Darryll Heyward won via walkover at 145 for a 21-0 lead. Damonte won by walkover at 152 to make it 21-6. Bryce Newhall pinned Christopher Perez at the 4:46 mark to make it 27-6, and that proved to be the match-winner.
David Remer, who moved into the starting lineup when Newhall dropped to 160 pounds, pinned Ben Garlock with three seconds left in the second round, and Case followed with his 23-second pin for a 39-6 lead. Ty Evans (195) won via walkover for a 45-6 advantage.
The wins by Garcia and Gonzalez made it 45-15. After Ariel Vega’s walkover, the Mustangs won the last two matches by technical fall.
“We pretty much won the matches I expected us to win,” Redwine said. “I felt Brandon (Macias) should have won his match. He has to learn how to finish. The same thing happened at the Sierra Nevada Classic. He should have won that second match. I wish I’d had him all four years. He is starting to get comfortable.”