Fallon's Juan Mazuera, left, races McQueen's Najee Jackson and fellow Fallon runner Clayton Steelmon in the 100-meter dash during the abbreviated meet at Fernley.
While young, the Greenwave boys track and field team is looking to make some noise at this week’s Division I-A regional meet in Yerington.
“We are really young and I am hoping for good showing from all the athletes,” Fallon coach Steve Heck said. “However, we have some tough kids who are very competitive. I have seen really strange things happen over my coaching career. If some things fall our way and the kids have a great day, anything can happen.”
The regional meet begins today and runs through Saturday. The top four in each event will qualify for next week’s state meet at Carson.
Senior Tristen Thomson and junior TJ Mauga lead the boys into the two-day meet after guiding the Greenwave throughout the regular season. But their support cast has held strong during the season, showing improvement and breaking personal records every week.
“Obviously, Tristen and TJ are the backbone of the team, but we have a lot of kids who can make an impact at the region meet,” Heck said. “We are going to be focusing on our relays. Hopefully, we can get a few of them qualified. They are all right on the bubble floating around the fourth spot. If they have good days, it will help our point totals a lot.”
Thomson, though, is nursing an injury and is a game-day decision for the meet. Thomson ranks first in the 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter runs and owns the school record in the 800 at 1 minute, 55.20 seconds. He ran a 4:23.22 in the 1600 and 9:49.70 in the 3200. Running mate Mario Ugalde is sixth in the 3200 at 10:33.78.
Mauga’s second in both the shot put and discus behind rival Zachary Hawley from Dayton. Mauga’s throw of 48 feet, 1.25 inches in the shot put came in March while his 157-5 mark in discus was in last month’s Del Oro Invitational. Teammate Taylen Cordes has an outside shot at the shot put as he sits 10th at 41-5, 3-5 shy of fourth. Cordes will also compete in the discus.
Heck said several individuals could surprise the competition and qualify for the state meet.
“I am confident we will have some kids step up and at get us some points for region and hopefully qualify for state,” he said.
Although not ranked in the top 10, Juan Mazuera, Clayton Steelmon, Oscar Garcia and Drake Copley will run in the 100. In order to qualify for state, they will need to run in the mid 11-second range.
Colton Peterson is ranked fifth in the 200, just 0.05 seconds off from fourth place. His best time of 23.46 came in Fallon’s Conclave of Awesomeness two weeks ago. The leader in the 200 is Sparks’ Nick Van Patten, who clocks in at 23.03. Along with Peterson, Broder Thurston, Copley and Steelmon will run the 200.
Running the 400 are JR Demillo, Isaiah Williams, Dustin Hopkins and Thurston, while Joseph Terry, Williams and Demillo will run the 800. Justin Cathey, Michael Anderson and Terry will run the 1600, and Cathey and Kapili Gleason will compete in the 3200.
“Joseph Terry and Mario Ugalde could be surprises in the distance events,” Heck said.
Reid Clyburn is 2 seconds from cracking the top four in the 300 hurdles with his best time of 44.72 coming in last month’s Carson Invitational
Trevor East, Trevor Brown, Davis Koenig and John Kirkland will compete in the 110 hurdles, while Jordan Boothe, East and Koenig join Clyburn in the 300 hurdles.
In the relays, all four teams have a shot at moving on. The 4x100 and 4x200 teams include Copley, Thurston, Clyburn and Peterson, while Peterson, Clyburn, Hopkins and Thurston are on the 4x400 team. The 4x800 team includes Williams, Demillo, Ugalde and Terry.
Bryan Duenas is third in the triple jump at 38 feet and fourth in the long at 18-7, while Kirkland is ninth in the triple at 37-0.5. Ryan Bitter and Koenig will compete in the triple jump, and Garcia, Koenig and Hopkins are slated for the long jump.
“Bryan Duenas in the jumps has a definite chance of making it to state,” Heck said.
Gleason, Kirkland, Garcia and Cathey will jump in the high jump and need to clear at least 5-6 to have a chance at qualifying for state.
Nathaniel Klein is tied for 9th in the pole vault with a mark of 10 feet, while Dayton’s Jonathan Ply leads the event at 14-6. Boothe and Terry will also compete in the pole vault.
Lady Wave track eyes regional team title
For the first time since joining the Division I-A, the Lady Wave track and field team stands a strong chance at not only competing for the team title but also leaving Yerington with some hardware.
“We’ve never been this close,” Fallon girls coach Paul Orong said about his team’s chances at a regional title. “We’ve had some people in the right place to not only compete but a chance at winning the events. It puts us right in the mix. If we can qualify two or three girls in the jumps, that’s just going to help us.”
Possessing a well-balanced lineup, Fallon coach Paul Orong will rely on the sprints, relays and jumps to help guide Fallon into Division I-A regional meet, which goes from today through Saturday at Yerington. The top four in each event qualify for next week’s state tournament in Carson.
Whitney Skabelund is jumping as if she hasn’t lost a step after being sidelined for nearly a month with a leg injury.
She ranks first in both the long and triple jumps with leaps of 17-6 and 34-7 feet. Her mark in the long jump is also the third best in the entire state and tops in all four northern divisions. Skabelund is also tied for fifth in the pole vault at 9 feet.
“She’s getting back to normal,” Orong said. “We just got to qualify. If we win, we win but we want to qualify for state. That’s always something good for Whitney. She’s a competitor. I’m hoping she does well for us. She’s a great kid and very competitive. We worked hard getting ready for regionals so we expect good things from her.”
Brynlee Shults, Emily Evett, Cassidy East, and Sierra Hickox have the potential to crack the top four and help Fallon sweep the jumping categories.
Shults ranks third in the triple (33-4.25) and fourth in the long (15-9), while Evett is tied for fifth in the long at 15-7 and East is ninth in the long at 15-2.5 Hickox jumped 32-4 in Fallon last month to sit in sixth in the triple and Shults is also tied for eighth in the high jump at 4-8. East and Dahl will compete alongside Beyer in the high jump.
“They’re starting to peak at the right time,” Orong said of his jumping group. “I’m very excited to have these girls in the top six. They jumped really well in Fernley. We’re going to try and go for the sweep. We’ve got a great group of jumpers. They’re great friends and work really hard. We’re going to try to put the pressure on it.”
Jordan Beyer is Fallon’s best shot in the sprints although she’s competed for only a month because of her ski competition. She sits third in the 100-meter at 13.23 seconds and seventh in the 200 at 28.09. She needs to shave about 0.50 second to crack the top four. Beyer is also tied for second in the high jump at 5 feet, 2 inches shy of first.
Also running in the 100 and 200 are Caitlin Knox, Melyssa Williams and Glenda Lee. Elizabeth Ebner and Mayla Dahl will compete in the 400, while Melanie Nuckolls, CC Ramos and Chloe Overlie will run the 800. Amanda Pursley, Overlie and Nuckolls will also run the 1600 and 3200, while Mary Grace Young will compete in the 1600.
Shelby Hickox, Ebner and Ramos will compete in the 100 and 300 hurdles while East will compete in the 100.
Sierra Hickox, Evett, Shults and Beyer will run the 4x100 relay, while all but Shults will be on the 4x200 team. Skabelund will run a leg on the 4x200. Shelby and Sierra Hickox, Dahl and Shults are on the 4x400 team, while Shelby Hickox, Dahl, Nuckolls and Overlie are on the 4x800.
Leann Stands ranks No. 1 in the discus at 109-7 and is second in the shot put at 34-6, while Misake Clare is sixth in the shot put at 29-7. Gracy Lisanti and Lillie Whole will compete in the shot put while Lisanti and Allie Marrujo will throw in the discus.
“She’s very competitive and we expect her to qualify also,” Orong said of Claire. “We have a good shot at this thing. We have a good shot at winning the title. Leann’s worked real hard. She’ll rise to the occasion and qualify for state.”
Allie Lister ranks seventh in the pole vault at 8 feet.
“You always have kids that surprise people and nobody counts on. That’s what I think Allie Lister will be,” Orong said. “She’s going to be right there and surprise a lot of people.”