Fallon wrestlers knock off Carson

FALLON - Fallon wrestling coach Mitch Overlie crossed his fingers when the Carson City Senators sliced the Greenwave's lead to 27-24 with five matches remaining in Wednesday's nonleague dual at Elmo Dericco Gym.

Overlie, though, had nothing to worry about except for one close match as Fallon rattled off five consecutive wins to defeat Carson, 53-24, on Senior Night.

"I knew if we could stay close in the 135- to 140-pound range, we would do some damage," Overlie said.

Fallon received its spark from Anthony Woller (135) whose come-from-behind win in the third round edged Adam Welch, 8-7, in a match marred by penalty points.

"After the first two rounds, I was getting more pumped up," said the Fallon senior, who was trailing 6-5 going into the third period. "After looking at the scoreboard, I picked it up. It was my last home dual, and I fought my hardest."

When time expired, a deafening roar came from the crowd as Fallon took a 30-24 lead.

"That was pivotal," Woller said. "It felt good to pick up the win and help the team keep its lead."

Carson then faced the Greenwave's strongest wrestlers.

"We faced the heart of their lineup, and it was hard to recover," said Carson Coach Tyson Thivierage.

The second-year coach said the crowd made a big difference.

"Last year we had the same thing," he said, referring to the good crowd support when the Senators defeated Fallon in Carson City.

The Wave finished Wednesday's dual match with wins from Cody Kapphahn (140), Trent de Braga (145), Tyler Reibsamen (152) and Trevor de Braga (160).

Kapphahn, who won his weight class on Saturday at the Spring Creek Kiwanis Invitational, took a 13-0 lead against Aaron Jolcover before recording a pin at 3:06. Trent de Braga also took a quick lead against his opponent, Martin Azzam, and won by technical fall at 4:33. The match was stopped when de Braga grabbed a 17-3 lead after springing a reverse on Azzam.

Reibsamen had a first-round pin against Junior Valadarez, and Trevor de Braga pinned Anthony Torkeo in 1:08.

Looking back at the dual, Thivierage said Carson lost four matches it should have won.

Thivierage said his team's chances looked good at 103 pounds. Fallon's Colin Merkley was out of the lineup because of illness, but sophomore Nery Sprague stepped in and stopped Patrick Craugh with a 6-0 decision.

Carson's Nick Schlager (112) and Ricky Ugarte (119) picked up back-to-back pins, but Carson still trailed, 21-18.

The Wave's Jon Gregory wrestled one of his best matches of the season when he pinned Brandon Bigley in the third round to keep Carson from taking the lead.

"Jon looked a lot better," Overlie said. "He had his head on the mat only a few times, but he pulled it up. This was a great win for Jon."

Todd Banko's first-period pin over Fallon's Nick Borovac pulled the Senators to within three points again, 27-24.

"Banko tried to get us back," Thivierage said.

Carson also had a win from Garrett Truesdell who pinned Daniel Reece in 30 seconds.

After the dual's conclusion and players shook hands, Thivierage said both teams wrestled well.

"My kids wrestled hard, and Mitch's kids wrestled hard," he added.