Carson boys and girls cross country impressive at Stanford Invitational

Appeal Staff Report

One's stock can't be placed entirely on comparative results, but if what happened at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday is an indication of what's to come, the Carson High boys and girls cross country teams could be in for its share of success down the road.

After a 13th place finish at last year's event, the CHS boys went on to finish as the NIAA 4A State runner-up. This year the Senators took seventh out of 37 schools in the big schools class.

Carson was the top Nevada school in the class, edging Palo Verde, which took eighth. Palo Verde is one of the South's top schools. Galena and Reno High also competed, but were in different classes.

Last year, Carson's girls took sixth and went on to win the NIAA 4A State title. Out of 30 schools this year, the Senators took sixth again.

So on a hot day, the Senators had a solid effort. "A great day for the kids," Carson coach Pete Sinnott said. A great course. One of the great cross country courses and races in the West."

Carson received a strong effort from three sophomore boys in Evan Richards, Logan Philippi and Brent Moyle. The Senators also received a outstanding race from Nick Schlager.

Despite the hot day, Schlager improved his time by 30 seconds over last year, finishing the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 46 seconds.

Schlager took 15th overall. Richard Shroy took 32nd in 17:04 for Carson. "He actually had a little bit of an off day," Sinnott said.

Philippi finished in 17:05, Moyle finished in 17:49 and Richards finished in 17:59 as Carson's top five runners all finished under 18 minutes. In addition, David McMasters finished in 18:16 and another sophomore, Brandon Bournacorsi finished in 18:31.

"We had four sophomore boys run really well," Sinnott said. Making Carson's effort more impressive was the fact it was without one of its top runners, Zach Mapes, who had a sore calf.

Carson's top three girls also had an outstanding race. Amanda Gordon took 14th in 19:57, Yvonne Hollett was 16th in 19:59 and Jenny Mital, a National Merit Scholar semifinalist, was 18th in 20:11.

Also for Carson, Erica Sosa finished in 22;21, Laura Sosa finished in 22:52, Haley Ward finished in 22:54 and Chelsea Gordon finished in 24:28.

"The top three girls ran really well and the other three girls started to close the gap on the top three girls," Sinnott said.