Carson, Dayton track grab state titles on Day 1

Richard Shroy went into Friday night's 3,200-meter race as the favorite, and came out of it as a state champion.

Shroy and Reno's Brandon Nied were neck and neck for several laps before Shroy pulled ahead for good with about 600 meters to go and finished with a 9:36.

The news wasn't as good for the rest of the Carson contingent, however.

The girls' 800-meter relay team of Julianne King, Haleigh Ward, Krista Baumgartner and Emily Field clocked a 1:47.36 which was good for sixth place. Krista Baumgartner finished seventh in the open 400 in 1:02.

The 3,200 race followed much the same strategy as the Northern 4A final the previous at Douglas High School. The first lap was about 1:10, which Shroy said was slower than normal.

"It was slow," Shroy said. "We usually go out in 64 or 65. I went with it (the slow pace). I knew Brandon was behind me. I knew he would go out and set the pace. Once the pace picked up, that's when I picked up. I stayed with him until there were 600 meters to go and I just took off."

"It was a great race," said Jeanne Stelzer, who coaches the CHS distance runners. "He and Brandon started to separate from the pack on the third or fourth lap, and with two laps to go, Richard put the hammer down."

It's the second state title for the Shroy clan. Richard's older brother, Chad, won a state cross-country title two years ago. Chad is currently at the Naval Academy.

"I haven't told him yet," Shroy said. "With the three-hour time difference, he's probably asleep. I talked to him earlier this week."

Stelzer, who was leading the CHS contingent after head coach Robert Maw was called back because of a family emergency, said the relay quartet ran a decent race.

"They ran pretty good," Stelzer said. "They had good handoffs. They ran against a pretty fast field. It's (the time) about what they have been running."

Stelzer said Baumgartner may have been a little intimidated prior to the race. She ran more than a second slower than what she ran in the zone trials and finals.

Dayton grabs three individual titles

The Dayton boys track team is right where they need to be if they want to bring home a state title from the 3A state track and field championships in Las Vegas.

The Dust Devils are just one point behind Faith Lutheran with 44 points and in position to bring their third state title in four years.

Logan Ingersoll grabbed the title in the triple jump with a school record of 44-0.50. He was followed by teammate Jason Joyner, who scored a personal-best 40-5.5, a vast improvement over his 38-0 in the regional competition.

Ruben Torrez finished fourth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 42.10 and Nick Bircheff had a personal-record 45-8.25 in the shot put.

The boys also won the 4x400 with a time of 3:28.02, which is a school record.

"We've done everything we need to do on the boys' side to be set to win, or in position to win if things go well (today)," Dayton track coach Mike Paul said.

On the girls side Erika Garcia defended her state title in the 400-meter with a time of 58.80, also a school record. But the sophomore was edged in the 200 despite matching her 2008 time of 26.24 that earned her the state title previously.

Kathie Arias took home the discus title as expected with a throw of 119-5. She was followed by teammate Aundria Pluck, who finished fourth with a 107-0 and Sara Elissa's fifth-place throw of 105-5.

Taylor Hill finished third in the high jump with a 4-10 and Tegan Volberding also finished third in the long jump with a season-best 16-2, which tied last year's state title mark set by Yerington's Kiara Ross.

The girls are in third place, but missed an opportunity to grab more points when they were disqualified in the 4x200 for a lane violation.