RENO - Well, three out of four isn't bad.
Carson High's Kayla Sanchez put the finishing touches on her outstanding career with wins in the 4A long jump and the 200 at the NIAA State Track & Field Championships Saturday afternoon at Damonte Ranch High School.
Carson teammate Mike Arnold won the pole vault with a height of 15-feet 6-inches, and Dayton freshman Erika Garcia won the 200 and 400-meter races to conclude her first state meet with three wins and a third place. DHS senior Trace Feemster won the 100-meter dash.
Sanchez, who won the 300-meter hurdles on Friday, won the 200 in 24.21, breaking her own stadium record. In the long jump, she tied with Cheyenne's Sharonte Marshall at 17-4 1/4, but was awarded first place because she had a better second jump.
The double win gives her 12 gold medals, four each in the 200 and 300-meter hurdles, three in the 100 and one in the long jump. Not a bad career.
"I can't believe it's over," said Sanchez, as she packed up her stuff and headed toward the infield for the awards ceremony. "It's crazy. It's sad."
Sanchez led from wire-to-wire in the 200, outlasting Reno's Stephanie Rovetti and Legacy's Darriel Banks.
"I thought the girl that beat me (Western's Tiarra Tyler) in the 100 was going to run," Sanchez said. "It's all I was thinking about. I didn't find out until about an hour (before the race) that she wasn't running."
"That's the old Kayla," said Carson coach Richard Maw. "She looked good early."
Marshall, who scratched on two of her first three jumps, put the pressure on Sanchez when she pulled off her 17-4 1/4 on her next-to-last jump. Sanchez said she was unaware that she had the tie-breaker on her side.
"I thought I had lost; wasn't sure what was going on," Sanchez said. "I felt good the first few jumps. After I ran the 200, I didn't have my legs."
Arnold, was happy with his victory, but he wanted a better mark than 15-6.
He didn't come into the event until the bar was at 15 feet, and he missed his first attempt at that height. He cleared it the second time, and had the bar moved to 15-6. He also changed poles, going to a stiffer one.
Arnold missed his first try at 15-6 and was barely successful on his second attempt. He missed all three attempts at 16 feet.
"I'm still glad I won," Arnold said. "I know I have it (16 feet) in me because I clear it all the time in practice. A win is a win."
When you consider Arnold only cleared 13-6 last year, you can say he ended his season on a high note. He goes out as the school record holder in the event, and his mark may stand for quite some time.
"It's state," said Kevin Ply, Carson's pole vault coach. "It's always tough competition. The first goal is to win. He did fine.
"He wants to go higher. He was missing his placement (takeoff). He wanted to go to a 190 pole, but if you don't hit your takeoff, it's not going to work for you."
Sophomore Richard Shroy was the only other Carson athlete to medal. Shroy slipped into fourth place in the 3,200-meter race, clocking a 10:01.37.
"It went kind of how I expected," Shroy said. "It's such a tough race."
And the temperature, which reached the 90s made it even more difficult on the runners. Shroy arrived at the track about three hours before the race, but said he kept himself hydrated and loose.
'The heat is hard to run in," he said. "Your feet are burning on the track. There is not much you can do."
Neither Christy Works or Gloria Sosa ran well enough to medal in the 400. Works ran a 59.0 for sixth place, while Gloria Sosa ran a 60.08.
Carson feel short in its quest to win the girls' team title. The Senators finished fourth with 50 points. Reno won with 55, while Western and Canyon Springs tied with 51.
Dayton enjoyed another successful day on the track. The girls finished fourth with 71 points, as Boulder City (99.5), Spring Creek (93) and Pahrump (91) took the top three spots. The boys also finished fourth, picking up 72 points. Boulder City, Fernley and Faith Lutheran finished in the top three spots.
"We didn't have enough (athletes here) to win a team title," said Dayton coach Mike Paul. "Erika set three school records (in the 100, 200 and 400), and they were all pretty solid records. Trace had a great 100. He got off to a god start and was never really challenged."
Garcia seems to be following in the footsteps of Sanchez, who was dominant in her first season. She won both of her races comfortably. She was timed in 58.83 in the 400 and 26.24 in the 200.
"She (Sanchez) is a good runner," Garcia said. "We've run at the same meets. She's a good role model you could say. Hopefully I'll match some of her times (by the time I graduate).
"The events were kind of close (in time), but not too bad. I stayed hydrated. I knew coming in I would have a chance to be top three in each event, but didn't know that I would win all three."
Feemster concluded his Dayton career with wins in the 100 and 200, a third in the long jump and a nice relay leg. The 100 was his only race on Saturday.
"My goal for state was to win the 200 and get a school record and I did that," Feemster said. "To do that at the state meet was a good way to finish.
"I knew I had it in me. Faith Lutheran's (John Cartier) pulled me up. I usually finish strong. That's what I felt I was doing."
Tegan Volberding of Dayton was third in the long jump at 15-7, while Logan Ingersoll was fourth in the triple jump at 40-9.
Douglas' Jessica Waggoner was fourth in the 4A discus with a toss of 117-3, and Kyra Barth tied for fourth in the high jump, clearing 5 feet.
Sierra Lutheran was a respectable third in the 1A boys, finishing with 45.5 points. Calvary Chapel won with 114.5. The local school collected medals in two individual events and one relay.
Mike Kubel took fourth in the 3200, clocking an 11:08.54, while Taylor Love was fourth in the 800 at 2:11.35. The team of Nate Conover, Preston Lyons, Ryan Jackson and Levi Grabow took fourth in the 1600 relay.
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Unofficially, seven state records fell on Saturday.
Whittell's Shannon Marshall set a new 2A high jump standard with a mark of 5-2, breaking her old mark of 5 feet.
At the 1A level, Laughlin won the 800 relay in 1:52.12, breaking the 2003 mark of Trinity which was 1:52.35. Laughlin's Ariana Hardy cleared 5-5 in the high jump to break the 1977 record of 5-4 3/4 held by Kathy Tappe of Tonopah. Smith Valley's Wade Meddles ran 9:53 in the 3,200, which broke the 2007 mark of 9:57.66 set by Sage Ridge's Nathan Chellman.
In 3A competition, Kyle Mills of Pahrump Valley went 46-2 1/2 in the triple jump, which smashed the record of 45-1 held by Mike Lee of Moapa Valley.
Hug set a new 4A standard in the 400-meter relay when it clocked a 41.53, beating the old mark of 41.77 held by Clark High School. In the 800, Galena's Joe Abbott ran a 1:50.78 to wipe out the 2003 mark of 1:51.46 held by Hug's Alan Thomas.