Carson High’s Ellah Olson circles her opponent from Hug High on Saturday at the Reno Events Center during the 152-pound girls final at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Olson became the first female wrestler in Carson High history to win her bracket at the TOC.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
Carson High’s Ellah Olson has been impressing in the Senator wrestling room since last season.
Olson, who moved from Colorado, has a unique style on the mat but it’s one that she’s crafted out of her exemplary knowledge of her own skillset.
“It took time to be able to place at these tournaments over these years,” said Olson, who said her work in the offseason has been crucial to her growth as a wrestler.
Olson works in freestyle and Greco wrestling when out of the high school season and it has gone a long way for the senior.
In her 152-pound weight class at the Reno Tournament of Champions, Olson went 4-0 en route to the title.
Hug’s Maria Delpalacio-Goormastic got the first takedown of the contest and held a 2-1 edge on the scoreboard, heading into the second round.
That’s when Olson capitalized with a pin 2:13.
“I knew she was going to try to ankle pick me. She was going to look for me to roll her and that’s how I was able to set up the switch,” Olson said. “She was only on one side of my body. I knew if I pivot switched real fast, she would be off balance.”
The two had met before in a Greco match in the offseason.
Carson High head coach Nick Redwine was equally pleased with his senior’s performance.
“Ellah’s biggest strength as a wrestler is being able to stay in good position,” said Redwine. “The switch she hit was well executed and well timed. She didn’t expect it and it worked to perfection. … She understands where her strengths are and she plays to them.”
Olson’s path to the title started with a first-round pin in 2:26 followed by two wins by decision.
It marks the first Reno Tournament of Champions winner on the girls side in Carson High history.
Senators face top-end talent at TOC
The Reno Tournament of Champions continues to grow yearly and there was no shortage of teams and talent in the building over the two-day event.
Nobody on the Carson boys side was able to make it out of the first day, falling in the consolation leading up to the placing matches.
As a team, the Senators ended the tournament with 17 points on the boys side, which ranked them 80th of the 95 teams in attendance.
J.T. Heaton won three of his matches by fall in the 175-pound weight class, measuring out a 3-2 record for the tournament.
Toby Krehbiel had a win by fall at 144 pounds while Jon Barnes-Hurt picked up a 6-3 decision win at 157.
“The boys tournament is tough. There are teams here who have had a lot of success for a lot of years,” said Redwine. “We came back to it seeing where we were at and we got a little education from it. We are going to use it as fuel in practice.”