Senators set for meet

Carson High has made one change entering today’s NIAA Division I Track & Field Championship.

Ian Van Rensselaer, who reached the finals in both the 800 and 1600, has been pulled from the latter event. Van Rensselaer will now run the 800, 1600 relay and 3200 relay. The latter, a finals only event, wasn’t run last week.

“He has a better chance (of making state) in the 800 than he does the 1600,” CHS coach Robert Maw said.

“We don’t want him to bust his rear in the 1600 and finish fifth,” distance coach Sean Lehman said.

It’s one less race to worry about on what will be a long day on the track. Van Rensselear ran a 1:58 at the Sacramento Meet of Champions, and Maw is hoping he can turn in that kind of effort today.

Van Rensselaer said earlier in the week he would have to be at 2-minutes or better to move on. His 2:03.12 last weekend ranked him 10th out of 12 finalists.

In the 3,200 relay, Van Rensselaer will team with Hector Gomez-Barrios, Adam Flaten and Trinity Medina. Carson has a season-best 8:17:56 which was run by Medina, Van Rensselaer, Flaten and Brandon Copeland. The Senators are in the top three in Northern Nevada.

Carson won the 1600 relay last week, but will get a strong test from McQueen today. Teams are allowed to substitute from week to week.

Ian Schulz will be looking to bring home individual titles in the shot and discus. He’s the leading qualifier after throws of 56-5 1/2 and 162-8 last week in less than ideal weather conditions.

The weather report for today is winds could get up to 20 mph, and Schulz is happy about that.

“I felt pretty good in practice, especially yesterday (Wednesday),” Schulz said before Thursday’s light workout. “If the weather is good, I’m going to have a big day. I’d love to throw at least 170 in the discus, and I threw 57 feet in the shot yesterday. Last year, I’d set real big goals for PRs. I’d like to improve by one foot each week.”

Asa Carter is the favorite in the triple jump even though he qualified second last week at 43 2 3/4. He has a season-best of 48-3, top among Division 1 jumpers in the state. He’s the seventh seed in the long jump at 20-2, and probably needs a 21-foot jump to move on. He’s also running a leg on the 800 and 1600 relay squads.

Freshman Abby Pradere enters the finals as the No. 1 seed in the 800 (2:20.55) and the No. 4 seed in the 1600 (5:18.62). She took it easy last week and had no trouble qualifying. Look for her to step it up a notch today. She’s ranked No. 2 in the state in the 800 with a best of 2:13.68 and third in the 1600 (5:07.70).

Another potential individual qualifier is Athena Favero, who made state last year in the 300 hurdles. Favero is currently No. 5 in the state (46.24) and No. 1 in the north (47.55). She’s also entered in the 200 and runs a leg on the 1600 relay team.

“Athena has some tendinitis, but she is still going to run,” Maw said. “If it’s bothering her after the hurdles race, we may scratch her in the 200 (she is seeded ninth) so she can run the relay.

High jumper Greg Wallace has a season-best of 6-4, and he should challenge Quintin Mills (best of 6-7) for the title.

Hector Gomez Barrios qualified sixth in 51.45, and he’s going to have to shave two seconds off that to advance. Sophomore Abby Paulson qualified fifth at 32-11 1/2, and the third qualifier Journey Artis of Reed qualified at 33-10.

BASEBALL

Dayton eliminated

ELKO — The Dayton Dust Devils ran into tough luck for the second consecutive day at the Northern 1A regionals at Spring Creek High School.

Dayton was eliminated after losing to Elko, 5-3, on a one-out walk-off homer in the seventh.

“This was as good as we’ve played, and it’s a shame our season has come to an end,” Dayton coach Mike Burrows said. “Our club has come a long way since the beginning of the season. We will be back next year with a lot more confidence and experience. I’m happy with the direction we’re headed.”

Dayton scored two in the first on run-scoring hits by Jesse Schmidt and Dylan Baker, but the Indians came back with two of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Dayton starter Isac Von Schoff blanked the Indians until the seventh when they got two baserunners before the game-winning hit.

Jacob Nelson went 2-for-4 and Schmidt went 2-for-3. Baker, Trevor Burrows and Zach Woitas all had one hit.