Carson wrestling knocks off Reno

Olympic gold medal wrestler Kurt Angle once explained what it took to be a wrestler, "Discipline. It's the key in wrestling and also it's also the key to success in life."

For the Carson grapplers, who are nearing the end of their season, it's about enduring the rigorous training and continuing to show what they are made of. The Senators had a strong showing Wednesday night against the Reno Huskies as they walked away with a 55-21 win.

Carson saw a few new faces who made appearances for the Senators, who came out strong to prove their varsity spots. Caleb Jeffers was one who stepped out on the mat at 160 pounds for the first time and won 8-3 against the Huskies Sam Gill. Jeffers got a pat on the back from Coach Tyson Thivierge who also said he wasn't worried about the new line-up.

"This is all there is in the room, but the 14 that are there push hard and are tough, really tough."

Todd Banko out wrestled Michael Savage at 125s when he kept going strong and won by technical fall. Another senior, 140 pound wrestler Aaron Jolcover, came up with the most impressive pin for the night in just 40 seconds and added six points for the overall team score.

"It was cool to get a win for the team and me," Jolcover said. He also added what has helped drive him thus far, " Wrestling with (Martin) Azzam and all the other seniors this year, it's been fun."

In the lightest weight classes, 103-pounder Pat Craugh and 112-pounder Nick Schlager set a tone for the duel when they both wound up pinning their opponents. Craugh's pin came in the third period with 26 seconds remaining while Schlager had a pin time of 3:54.

"Pat went out and had fun, he had that intensity," Thivierge commented.

Additionally, Ricky Ugarte assisted his team in the win with a 2:34 pin beating Reno's Joe Smith at 119 pounds.

With Reno having a small team and being short wrestlers in some weight classes, Carson came up with four forfeits and only a small amount of losses. Thivierge said his team only had one match really slip through its hands.

"Their performance was much better. We are now wrestling through the third period and winning those close matches," Thivierge said.

As the night concluded, the Carson wrestlers quickly headed off to the showers anticipating the next week of hard work they will put in, while preparing for the regional championships.