Fallon boys 2nd at McQueen track meet

It was yet another solid performance on the track, rings and the pits by the Fallon boys track team.

The Greenwave took second place in a crowded field Saturday at the Northwestern Invitational at McQueen High School in Reno. The boys finished with 89 points behind meet champ McQueen (155.5).

The Lady Wave, meanwhile, took ninth (32.5) behind Douglas (104), Spring Creek (97), McQueen (86), Damonte Ranch (75.5), Bishop Manogue (75), Spanish Springs (57.5), Reed (48.5) and Carson (36.5).

“I think we proved we can compete with that division (I),” Fallon boys coach Steve Heck said. “It’s just nice to compete with a lot of the big dogs and beat them.”

Junior Nathan Heck had another standout performance in his three events and was the only Fallon athlete to nab a first-place finish. He won the pole vault with a height of 13 feet, 6 inches.

In addition, Heck also took third in the 300-meter (42.10) and fourth in the 110 hurdles (16.35).

In the pits, senior Beau Marshall scored three top four finishes. He was second in high jump (5-10), fourth in long jump (19-8) and third in triple jump (39-9). Teammate Miguel Lebron added a third-place mark in the long jump (19-9.5).

In the rings, junior Justin Hatfield was second in the shot put (47-11) and senior Dakota Schelling took eighth (44-3). Freshman T.J. Mauga continued his breakout season with a fourth-place finish in the discus (134-5).

In the sprints, meanwhile, Jake Ernst was third in 100 (11.61 seconds) and sixth in the 200 (23.68). Trent Tarner added to the point total as he placed fourth in the 100 (11.75) and 200 (53.52).

Senior Nathan Schank chipped in with a seventh-place finish in the 800 (2:05.57) and an eighth-place mark in the 400 (53.82).

The Lady Wave, meanwhile, were led by their trio of standouts — seniors Elena Murray and Emily Coleman and sophomore Patricia Leggett.

“It was a good measuring stick to compete against the Division I and know they can,” Fallon girls coach Paul Orong said.

“A lot of the little things we’ve been trying to teach them finally clicked. They finally understood what we’ve been trying to teach them, which is a good thing.”

Murray tallied three top four places including a pair of second-place finishes in the 100 hurdles (16.30) and in the long jump (15-10.75). She was fourth in the triple jump (32-8.75).

Coleman took sixth in the shot put (33-6), while Leggett was second in triple jump (32-8.75) and eighth in the high jump (4-6).

The teams return to action this week at the Del Oro Invitational in California.