Shroy completes state double

RENO - A PR and a second state title in the final race of his high school career. Carson's Richard Shroy couldn't ask for anything more.

Shroy, who is headed to Washington State in the fall, overtook Galena's Bryan Jordan on the backstretch for the second straight week to win the 4A 1,600-meter title at the NIAA state meet Saturday at Damonte Ranch.

Dayton junior Kathie Arias defended her 3A state shot put and discus title this weekend with throws of 124-5 and a PR of 39-0 1/4. Another double winner was Sierra Lutheran's Becky Grabow, who won the 1,600 (5:42.33) and the 3,200 (12:15.03).

Dayton's Kage Walker won the 3A high jump with a 6-2 effort, while Douglas' Amanda Brazeau cleared 11-3 to win the 4A pole vault.

Sierra Lutheran's Preston Lyons (600, 2:02.3), Wade Meddles (1,600, state and stadium record 4:16.88), Nathaneal Williams (1,600, 10:27) and Conner Love (pole vault, 11-feet) were all single-event winners in the 1A.

Shroy was timed in 4:18.80 which was a new Carson High record, besting the previous mark of 4:19.0 set by Alexander Tomas in 1997. Shroy's previous best in the 1,600 came last week in the regional finals when he ran a 4:19.92, which was a stadium record until Saturday when Meddles ran a 4:16.88.

Shroy's conquest of state double started Friday night when he won the 3,200 thanks to an impressive last lap in less-than-deal conditions.

"I'm done, thank God," exclaimed Shroy as he walked into the infield after accepting congratulations from his mother and several friends. " I'd been hurt (quad injury), and when I ran in the (regional) I ran well. My leg felt strong. I thought I could do it. "

The race was a carbon copy of last week's regional finals. Jordan took the early lead, and at the 800-mater mark was about 10 meters ahead of Shroy, who admits that he prefers being the chaser instead of the chased. Jordan maintained his 10-meter lead on Shroy going into the bell lap.

Shroy gradually closed the gap on a faltering Jordan, and passed him with about 200 meters left. Jordan had no second gear, but managed to finish second.

"I was fine with the pace," Shroy said. "It started out faster than I thought, but the pace was good. I enjoyed it. I let him (Jordan) have the first three laps. I just waited and stayed close. If you go out too fast, you are going to die (at the end)."

Arias, who is a junior, was pleased to hold on to her championships.

"It feels amazing," she said in a telephone interview after arriving back home from Reno. "I was worried because Makenna (Lommori of Yerington) was having a great year and I knew she was going to be my main competition."

Arias won both competitions thanks to winning efforts on her final attempts.

On Friday, she threw 124-5, her only throw of more than 120 feet on the night. Lommori was second at 122-2. On Saturday, she threw the 39-0 1/4 on her last throw. Lommori was in third at 36 feet.

"I hadn't thrown that far for a while," Arias said. "It was a good day for me."

Arias has some lofty goals for her senior season.

"I'm going to work my butt off this summer," she said. "Hopefully I'll hit 140 next year in the discus and my goal for the shot is 43 feet."

Meddles, who is headed to Azuza Pacific, said he came into his 1,600 race with the intention of setting records, and his 58-second first lap made everybody in the stadium take notice.

He ran the first 800 in 2:02, and he did that running alone. He had approximately an 80-meter lead late in the first lap. With the crowd urging him on in the final lap, he had an unofficial finishing lap of 60.88.

"I was going for both (records)," Meddles said. "I'd run a 4:17 at Winnemucca. Luckily the wind wasn't blowing today. My coach and I had set splits for every lap. Once I went out in 58, I threw that (strategy) out. Mainly I was just looking at the clock. The crowd was getting me pumped up. They were running with me."

Meddles blamed his fast 58-second lap on an "adrenaline rush." His first lap was four seconds faster than the first lap that Jordan ran in the 4A 1,600 race.

Brazeau's 11-3 was three inches shy of her career-best 11-6 set at last week's regional meet. The vaulters faced a little bit of a headwind at times during the competition.

In the 3A high jump, Walker improved by two inches after winning the regional event with a 6-foot effort in Winnemucca.