Track, swim set for state

Eighty points could be the magic number for the Carson High girls track team when it comes to making a run at the NIAA 4A State title.

Carson now has a better than expected shot at winning the title when the state meet for all classes is held on Friday and Saturday at Del Sol High in Las Vegas. The Dayton boys track team looks to also have an excellent chance to defend its NIAA 3A State crown.

Meanwhile on Saturday, the Carson boys swimming team will look to finish as high as possible at the NIAA 4A State Championships at the University of Nevada. The meet begins at 1 p.m. Saturday.

It looked like Carson's chances of winning a state title were dashed at the Northern 4A zone qualifier after the Senators failed to qualify their 4x100 and 4x200 relays for the zone finals. But at the zone finals, the Senators received a lift when their 4x800 relay qualified for state.

Reno High, which won the zone meet while Carson took second, will also be in the mix to win the state crown. But the Huskies won the zone meet on the strength of many fourth, fifth and sixth place finishes and those athletes won't be going to state as only the top three advanced.

The Huskies also only advanced one runner to state in the 800 and 1,600. "We got a lot of help this weekend," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said.

When describing how he felt about his team's chances to win state after the zone meet as compared to after the zone qualifier, Ackerman said, "I feel a whole lot better."

But the Senators will still need to have an outstanding meet. Kayla Sanchez and Andrea Keirstead will be counted on to pile up the points in their events.

Sanchez, a junior, who has already won six state titles, could win four more this weekend in the 300 hurdles, the 100 and 200 and the long jump. Keirstead will compete in the 100, 200 and both hurdles. Keirstead is the defending champion in the 100 hurdles.

Christy Works will also be counted on to finish high in the 400. And the Senators will need strong efforts from Works, Gloria Sosa, Yvonne Hollett and Julissa Gonzalez in the 4x400 relay and Works, Sosa, Hollett and Katarina vonRumpf in the 4x800 relay.

If everything goes well for the Senators, they could score more than 80 points and with a few breaks that could be enough to win state. And Reno still has Mel Lawrence, who will pile up the points for the Huskies.

"It will be interesting," Ackerman said. "We're going to have to run exceptionally well and be lucky and score the points that we can score. We'll be in the hunt that will be for sure."

Chad Shroy, Floyd Hernandez, Caleb Carter and Matt Mattoon will also compete for Carson's boys in the 4x400 relay.

Dayton's boys should also be in the hunt to win the state title after winning the Northern 3A crown last weekend. Among Dayton's leaders will be Michael Martin, Bill Storrs and Trace Feemster in the sprints. They will be in the relays along with Matt Cantwell, Erik Hopper, James Yeater, Rudy Reyna and Josh Melia.

Paul Cox should be one of the favorites to win the discus while Bill Savran should also do well in the shot put. Brandon Seymour could also provide Dayton valuable points in the discus.

Hopper could also give Dayton some points in the high jump and James Roberts, Taylor Bonnet and Storrs could all score in the pole vault while Feemster could score in the long jump.

SWIMMING

Carson coach Monica Weaver said her boys team could place in the top four or five at state. "I know my boys are going to do better, go faster," Weaver said.

Individually, Carson will have Garrett Clayton in the 100-yard breaststroke. Clayton won the zone title in the event last Saturday.

Kevin Dyer will also be in the 100 butterfly and the 500 freestyle, John Wandel and Matt Grunert will be in the 100 free and Jacob Cornwell will be in the 200 free. Carson also qualified for all three relays and all those swimmers along with Alex Updegrove and Scott Wandel will be available to swim in the relays.

No doubt, the Senators will be chomping at the bit for another shot at the 200 free relay. At the zone meet, Carson was beaten by Reno by 45th/100ths of a second and that turned out to be the difference in the meet.

Reno won in 1 minute, 33.09 seconds while Carson took second in 1:33.54. That result allowed the Huskies to outscore Carson 415-410 for the zone title.

For Carson's girlos, Tatum Boehnke, Danielle Judge, Beth Lewis and Julie Asire qualified for state in the 200 free relay.