The Dayton High boys track team wasn't about to let happen what transpired last year this time around.
Dayton had to watch helplessly last year as the NIAA 3A State Championship slipped away. But the scenario was far different this year as the Dust Devils won the state title with 116.5 points, outdistancing second place Pahrump Valley, which finished with 95.
The title was significant because it was the first ever won by the school in a boys team sport at its current site. It was the second ever state team crown for Dayton, following the girls volleyball team, which won in 2004.
"It's great for the school," Dayton coach Mike Paul said. "It's great for the kids. To win any state championship is a big deal. For Dayton it's especially big to get the first one in the history of the school."
Dayton went into Saturday's competition at Reno High in fifth after Friday's first day with 28 points and trailed first place Pahrump by 10 points.
"We sort of expected to be a little bit behind on Friday," Paul said. "That wasn't surprising to me we were down a little bit."
The Dust Devils got off to a fast start on Saturday when Trace Feemster jumped 21 feet to set a personal mark and school record in the long jump and Paul Cox and Brandon Seymour went 1-2 in the discus. Cox uncorked an outstanding throw of 158-3 to win the event.
"That kind of set the tone for the day," Paul said. "We knew we had to get a good start."
Other top efforts included Josh Wagoner taking second in the 110 meter high hurdles and Mike Martin taking second in the 400 while setting a personal mark. Martin had an outstanding meet, competing in four events.
Dayton's depth in the high jump and the 200 was also key. Jesse Vickers took second in the high jump and was also joined Erik Hopper and James Yeater in the event. The Dust Devils also had Bill Storrs, Feemster and Martin in the 200.
On Friday, Wagoner set a school record of 41-9 in the triple jump in taking third. Storrs also had an outstanding meet, competing in the 100 and setting a personal mark of 11-6 in the pole vault.
In addition, Dayton had Matt Cantwell, Vickers, Hopper and Feemster in the 4x200 relay and Yeater, Martin, Vickers and Nathan Kato in the 4x400.
Last year, Dayton had to watch helplessly as Boulder City had two runners in the last event, the 3,200. All the runners had to do was finish, which was exactly what they did to give Boulder City the title and relegate Dayton to second. "Last year was a heartbreaker," Paul said.
Paul didn't have to experience heart break this year. "It was a great feeling," he said.
"Almost without exception our kids really stepped up to the challenge. The kids did everything they needed to do. It truly was a team effort."
With only six athletes, Dayton's girls were also able to take sixth at state. "I thought they had an exceptionally good meet," Paul said.
Highlights included Shaelynn Morris, Portia Horn, Jerrika Gutierrez and Maria Weeks setting a school record in winning the 4x100 in 52.31; Rebecca Monzello winning the shot put and taking second in the discus; and Melissa Karges, Gutierrez, Weeks and Morris taking second in the 4x200.
BAKER IN ADVENTURE RACE
Sgt. Wayne Baker, who is an instructor for Carson High's Naval Junior ROTC program, knows plenty about challenges, so it's not surprising that he's willing to take on the challenge of competing in the Silver Sage Adventure Race on Saturday in Reno.
Baker will compete for the first time in the event and will do the race known as the "sprint," which is actually a 2-4 hour race. The event will include a 1-mile trek down the Truckee River, a five-mile run and a 10-mile bike ride.
Baker, 54, will compete in the two-man Masters Division for those 45 and older with Spanish Springs ROTC instructor Mike Coger. Map reading skills are also a major component of the race and that should work to Baker's and Coger's advantage, with their military background.
"He couldn't find anybody else," said Baker about why he's racing with Coger. "It should be fun. I was in great shape when I was 45. I'm still in pretty good shape."
Baker, a retired Marine of 24 years, is used to challenges have served five tours of duty, three in Okinawa, Japan, one in Vietnam and one in Desert Storm in 1991.
He's also run a challenging 10K race in Bridgeport in which the first third is run all uphill. CHS junior Chad Shroy, an outstanding long distance runner and a member of Carson's ROTC unit, has won that race.
This Saturday's event may whet Baker's appetite to try a mini-triathlon or even an endurance triathlon, he said. "This is something that might spark my interest in doing it," he said.
At Carson, Baker coaches one of the nation's most successful rifle programs. Northern Nevada has many top rifle teams, including Spanish Springs.
"The rifle competition in Northern Nevada to me is just as good as anything on the national level," Baker said.
This year, the Carson team of Cody Stokes, Leah Taboada, Sarah Stadler and Mike Moltz finished fourth in the nation among all ROTC units and first among Navy teams. Individually, Stokes finished seventh overall in the country and Taboada was 11th.