Special to the LVN
The drive for a third straight state title came up short on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The Fallon boys track team finished in second place to Division I-A newcomer Mojave, as the Rattlers edged out the Greenwave 80.5-73 at the DI-A state track meet. Chaparral came in third with 71.
“I’m proud of the team and their effort,” Fallon boys coach Steve Heck said. “It would be a lie to say that we are not disappointed. The kids really wanted that third championship. My hat’s off to Mojave, though, they never faltered.”
The Lady Wave, meanwhile, took seventh with 48.5 points, while Faith Lutheran won the title with 101.
“We did good and gave it our best,” girls coach Paul Orong said.
The boys held a slim 41-36 lead after Friday’s competition, which featured a broken camera that halted the meet for about an hour.
Several key mistakes, though, doomed the Wave’s bid for a third consecutive crown. The 4x100-meter relay team dropped the baton and finished eighth, while Beau Marshall scratched on all six attempts in the long jump and did not record any team points.
Despite the errors, Fallon pole vaulter Nathan Heck recorded a person-best with a height of 13 feet, 6 inches, good for second place.
“Nathan had a great day in the vault,” Steve Heck said. “He PR’d at state, and that’s what want to do.”
Tyson Ernst, who won four gold medals at last year’s meet, took second in the long jump with a leap of 21-1. Nick Marsan took seventh with a mark of 19-0.25.
Marsan had a solid performance in the hurdles, as the defending state champ in the 110 placed second in the 110 and 300.
“Nick had a solid all-around performance,” Steve Heck said. “He ran incredibly well.”
Fallon’s arsenal, though, came in the jumps as the Wave qualified three each in the long and triple jumps. Marshall took fifth (41-10) in the triple jump followed by Ernst in sixth (41-4) and Jake Ernst in seventh (39-9).
As for the Lady Wave, Elena Murray once again put on a solid showing. The Fallon junior captured the 100 hurdles title with a nail-biting win over Azia McBrown of Sunrise Mountain by .06 seconds.
Murray followed that up with a win in the triple jump (35-7.25) and was fourth in the long jump (17-0.75) and sixth in the 200.
“She’s a beast,” Orong said. “She put the competition down and in the hurdles she came out strong.”
Julianne Hale took fourth in the high jump (4-10) and third in the triple jump (33). Abigail Belbin, meanwhile, added a seventh-place finish in the long jump (14-8.75) and eighth in the triple jump (30-7).
Maddie Alegre placed third in the pole vault with a height of 9-3.
“We took nine girls to state and finished ninth, not too bad,” Orong said.