With only one meet remaining on the schedule for the Division I-A regional competition, the Greenwave track and field team is coming together at the right time.
Fallon’s girls team placed 10th out of 22 teams in the Big George Invitational on Saturday at Douglas High School, while the boys team finished 16. Douglas won the boys with Sparks (fifth) being the highest-placed from the Division I-A. Reno won the girls while Fernley (seventh) placed the highest from the Division I-A.
“This was our last chance to compete against the larger Division 1 schools because their region meet starts this weekend,” Fallon boys coach Steve Heck said. “We had quite a few PRs. Our relays really shined. They are starting to come together well.”
Fallon traveled to Spanish Springs on Tuesday for a JV meet while the varsity competes in Fernley on Saturday. The two-day regional meet is next weekend in Yerington.
Whitney Skabelund returned to her true form by winning the long and triple jumps with leaps of 17 feet, 6 inches, and 34-7, respectively. Her mark in the triple jump is third-best in the entire state, regardless of division, and she’s only 1.5 inches behind the leader.
“She’s very determined,” said Fallon girls coach Paul Orong of Skabelund, who was out for a month with an injury. “She’s worked really hard to get back and to her form.”
Brynlee Shults took fifth in the triple at 33-4.25 while Skabelund also placed sixth in the pole vault at 8-6.
Leann Stands finished sixth in the discus at 100 feet and placed 10th in the shot put at 30-1.
“She’s coming around. She’s throwing real well,” Orong said of Stands, who ranks in the top in the Division I-A.
In the running events, Jordan Beyer placed sixth in the 100-meter race with a time of 13.51 seconds, and Shelby Hickox was 10th in the 300 hurdles at 53.30.
For the boys, Joseph Terry placed 11th in the 3200 at 10:50.01 while Colton Peterson was 13th in the 200 at 23.89. Reid Clybun finished 12th in the 300 hurdles at 45.08 followed by Davis Koenig in 16th at 45.80. Fallon’s 4x200 and 4x800 relay teams finished sixth while the 4x800 and 4x100 teams were eighth.
“Although no one scored in the individual events, we had some nice performances,” Heck said.
The 4x800 team consisted of Isaiah Williams, Mario Ugalde, JR Demillo, and Terry. The 4x100 and 4x200 teams consisted of Drake Copley, Broder Thurston, Clyburn and Peterson. The 4x400 team was Peterson, Williams, Dustin Hopkins, and Thurston.
“My goal for the weekend was to get all the relays to score and they came through,” Heck said.
In the field, Taylen Cordes placed 12th in the shot put at 40-1.50 and Ryan Bitter was 15th in the triple jump at 36-8.
“Taylen Cordes is hitting over 40 feet pretty consistently now and is becoming a threat in the event,” Heck said. “One of the big surprises of the day was Ryan Bitter ‘PRing’ in the triple jump by a foot and a half.”
Thomson, Mauga compete Calif. Meet
Tristen Thomson and TJ Mauga faced stiff competition on Saturday and they didn’t disappoint their followers.
Thomson won the 1600 open division with a time of 4:23.22, a personal best, and he placed fifth in the 800 invite division in 1:56.64 at the Sacramento Meet of Champions.
Mauga took seventh in the discus invite division with a throw of 153-4 and placed 16th in the shot put open division at 45-1.75. The invite division included elite athletes in the region.