BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Carson's Kayla Sanchez, center, and Andrea Keirstead compete in the 200 meter finals at Damonte Ranch High School on Saturday. Sanchez finished first.
RENO - Todd Ackerman knew going into Saturday's Northern 4A region track and field meet that his girls would give Reno a run for the team title.
Ackerman also counted on the Huskies' depth being the deciding factor between these two rivals from the Sierra League.
"I didn't think we would have enough to win it. Reno has so much depth," Ackerman said.
Reno, powered by its long distance running, won the team title with 128 points, and Carson finished second with 98. Galena took third with 64 points followed by Elko with 58 and Reed with 56.
"We were getting just about everything out of it, especially on the girls side," Ackerman said. "They've done very well. Every girl that we thought would qualify has."
The top three finishers in each event advanced to this week's state meet in Las Vegas. The 1-2 punch of Kayla Sanchez and Andrea Keirstead led to three top two finishes for the Senators.
Sanchez won the 100-meter dash, 200 dash and 300 hurdles while Keirstead came second in all three. Sanchez also took second in the long jump, and Keirstead placed third in the 100 hurdles.
"Kayla ran great in the 300 hurdles against the wind," Ackerman said. "Andrea has done well. It's what we expected. She did very well to get second (in the three events)."
Sanchez won the 100 dash in 12.47 seconds followed by Keirstead at 12.85. Sanchez finished the 200 dash in 25.64, and Keirstead came in at 26.24. Sanchez's third win came at 43.71 in the 300 hurdles with Keirstead right behind her at 45.86.
"It's a really good feeling," Sanchez said. "My goal is always to do the best I can with every race and try to PR (set personal record)."
Sanchez said overcoming the wind was crucial in the three races, especially in the 300 hurdles.
"The wind was a big factor, and I don't have good records in the wind," she said. "I had to make sure to keep my head down (in the 100 dash). I t was pretty windy."
Like the regular season, the Sanchez-Keirstead combination frustrated opponents, and Keirstead said racing behind her teammate makes her push harder.
"I really like racing with her and going 1-2," Keirstead said. "It's fun. Racing with someone faster makes you want to go fast."
Christy Works won the 400 dash for the second year in a row in 58.49, and the 4x400 relay team won in 4:03.58, and 4x800 team took third at 9:56.2.
"It's just the thrill of the home stretch in front of everybody," Works said about her favorite thrill of running the 400. "I feel accomplished. It's exciting to make it there to state."
On the boys side, Carson finished 11th with 24.5 points as Reno ran away with the team trophy with 187.5. Hug took second followed by McQueen, Damonte Ranch and Galena.
"We're not as strong as the girls," Ackerman said. "With the boys, every school is tough. The ones that are here have competed real well."
A dropped baton during the final 100 meters of the 4x400 relay opened the path for Carson to finish third and advance to state.
Coming down on the home stretch, Reno and Hug battled around the corner before Reno started to pull away. Reno's runner dropped the baton 50 meters before the finish line to give Hug the title and send Carson to state.
Shaphard Darquea was the closest individual to qualifying for state as he came in fourth in the pole vault followed by Mike Arnold. Darquea cleared the bar at 13 feet, six inches shorter from tying for third place with Galena's Doug Del Porto.