Tough day for Carson wrestlers

After finishing strong on the opening night of the Zinkin Invitational at Buchanan High in Clovis, Calif., on Friday, the Carson High wrestling team crashed down to earth on the final day of the event on Saturday.

Carson lost all 10 of its matches it wrestled on Saturday in the high-powered event that featured 51 schools, virtually all of them from Central and Northern California. The only match the Senators won came by forfeit as Martin Azzam was awarded fifth after being awardeda forfeit win.

The Senators had rallied to finish in ninth after the first day of wrestling and were just a half-point out of eighth. But after Saturday's debacle, Carson fell to finish the event in 15th.

"We were pumped," said Carson coach Tyson Thivierge on how his team felt after concluding its matches on Friday.

The Senators had three wrestlers advance to the semifinals in Azzam at 152 pounds, Todd Banko at 125 and Garrett Truesdale at 215. But all three lost their semifinal matches and Banko and Truesdale weren't able to win a match as they both settled for sixth.

Banko lost in the semifinals to Clovis East's Steven Fitzgerald, a wrestler who Banko beat 1-0 in last spring's World of Wrestling event in Reno.

Carson had two other wrestlers alive on Saturday in Aaron Jolcover at 140 and Junior Valadarez at 160. Both had a chance to still take third, but both lost their first match to be eliminated.

Thivierge was especially frustrated with the fact that his wrestlers lost many close matches.

"We weren't able to finish matches," Thivierge said. "It was frustrating not being able to finish a match. It just tricked right no down to every kid. Everything just unraveled."