NCS Success Shows Bright Future for Tam Wrestling

Things didn't go as expected for at the North Coast Section (NCS) Wrestling Championships this weekend, which wasn't entirely a bad thing.

The Red-tailed Hawks' top wrestler, , couldn't overcome a knee injury that has bothered him since December. But two of his young teammates came through with surprising performances at the annual championships at Newark Memorial High.

Freshman 152-pounder , who finished fourth at the Marin County Athletic League meet (MCAL) last week and got into the NCS event as an alternate, surprised 19-match winner Emillio Pollock of Maria Carrillo with a pin 3:46 into their first-round match.

Carleston lost his next two matches 11-3 and 7-4, but Tam coach was quite excited nonetheless.

"He pinned a senior," Salinas boasted of Carleston, who finished his freshman season with an impressive 23-10 record. "That bodes well for next season."

Part of that bright future no doubt includes sophomore , a 140-pounder who pinned two opponents in the event, including McKinleyville's K.C. Poston at 1:50 in his first match.

After losing to second-seeded Nolen Kajiwara of James Logan, Duler bounced back to pin William Goike of St. Patrick at 5:23 of their consolation-bracket match. He was then pinned by Laurin Hunter of Las Lomas to end his day and his season with a 21-9 record.

Cortez, unseeded because the knee injury kept him from competing much this season (he brought just a 10-7 record to the event), suffered an immediate setback in his 103-pound opener when he lost 2-1 to William Booth of Mission San Jose.

But the senior courageously fought back to win three in a row -- one by pin and two blowouts (8-0 and 13-3) -- before having his season end at the hands of Sonny Nguyen of College Park in a pin at 2:19.

"Every match it (the knee) bothered him," Salinas said. "The last two matches, I had to use all my injury timeouts. He had high hopes. Not the way he wanted to go out as senior. He had hoped to place."