2023 in sports: Three titles and a big anniversary

With just a handful of games left in December and with the calendar about to turn to a new year, here’s a look back at the big events in 2023 for area sports:

STATE CHAMPIONS

The year finished with three high school state championships for area teams.

• In the spring, Douglas won its last 25 games to run away with the 5A softball title. The Tigers swept through the Northern Region and state tournaments with seven wins by a combined 66-13 score.

Douglas pitcher Talia Tretton was later named as Nevada’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

• Also in the spring, the Sierra Lutheran boys track team ended the year with the 1A state title. The Falcons were led by a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 meters at the all-division state meet at Reed.

• In the fall, the Carson girls cross country team won its second straight 5A state title in dominating fashion. The Senators had four runners place between third and eighth on the way to scoring 29 points, comfortably in front of second-place Bishop Manogue.

NIAA REALIGNMENT

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s realignment cycle for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years brought with it some major changes for Northern Nevada schools.

There were some wholesale changes, such as Northern Nevada’s large schools reclassifying from 5A to 4A in basketball, along with adjustments in some other sports. The big changes, though, came in football.

For the first time, the NIAA split one of its classifications, creating three subdivisions for 5A football. For Carson and Douglas, that meant playing at the 5A-Division III level (along with Galena, Hug, North Valleys, and Wooster). The six other Northern 5A teams played at the Division II level, with Division I reserved entirely for Clark County schools.

The season ended with both Bishop Manogue and Galena playing for state titles. Douglas, which won the 5A-III regular-season title, was promoted to the Division II level for next season.

RECORD-SETTING TIGERS

The Douglas football program, coming off consecutive 1-8 seasons, turned things around in a huge way.

The Tigers roared to the 5A-III regular-season title with a perfect 6-0 record and finished the regular season at 9-1, losing only at Division II-level Reed (21-14). Along the way, Douglas shut out seven opponents — including five in a row at one point — and established or tied dozens of team records.

On offense, tailback Connor Jackson was a force all season, rushing for 2,176 yards (8.4 per attempt) and scoring 31 TDs.

100 YEARS

The state’s best high school sports rivalry reached a big milestone in 2023 when the Carson and Douglas football teams met in Minden.

That game — won by Douglas, 35-0 — marked a 100-year anniversary of the series’ first game in 1923. The teams have met 85 times overall in what is believed to be the state’s oldest annually played game.

This year’s win cut Carson’s advantage to 54-27-4 in the series’ history. Douglas has won five of the past eight meetings.

ELSEWHERE …

• The Carson girls basketball team is on its third coach of the calendar year. Todd Ackerman stepped down at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season and was eventually replaced with former Dayton coach Steven Nichols. That change lasted only six games before Nichols resigned in December. Former Carson coach Nate Tolbert is now leading the team on an interim basis.

• The Senators’ Ellah Olson made history by winning the first girls wrestling state title at Carson. She went 3-0 at the state event to finish on top of the 152-pound field.

• The Nevada football program wrapped up a second consecutive 2-10 season in November, then fired head coach Ken Wilson on Dec. 1. Douglas’ Chris Smalley, the only Carson Valley player on the roster, finished the 2023 season with 13 tackles and two hurries.

• The Wolf Pack basketball team was somewhat of a surprise pick to reach the NCAA Tournament, but the Wolf Pack did manage to land in one of the four play-in games. Nevada’s 22-11 season, though, ended quickly in a 98-73 blowout loss to Arizona State.

• The Reno Aces finished with their best regular-season record ever (88-62) but did not earn a postseason spot in the Pacific Coast League’s two-team playoffs.