Tiger track opens season with home meet

Tiger track and field opened the outdoor season Thursday afternoon at home, hosting Carson High prior to the winter weather hitting the area.

On the boys side, senior Reed Ward won the 200-meter dash in 23.57 seconds and was second in the 100-meter dash in 11.58.

Ward also won the long jump, leaping 17 feet, 2 inches.

Freshman Lukas Neely took home the top spot in the 400 meters in 56.64. Junior Kevin O’Connell was third in 57.3. Neely was also second in the high jump.

Luke Davis was second in the 800 and 1,600 in 2:08.81 and 4:51.20, respectively.

Freshmen Lucius Tomassi and Drew Keith went first and second in the 110-meter hurdles while Tomassi finished second in the 300-meter hurdles.

Senior Nakoah Smokey was second in the shot put with a throw of 38-7.5.

Sophomore Alex Winter was second in the discus, having his throw taped off at 107-1.

Carlo Barton started his senior season by winning the pole vault with a clearance of 11 feet.

On the girls side, sophomore Grace Strabala picked up where she left off last season in winning the 100-meter dash in 12.96. Senior Elizabeth Gneiting was second in 13.7 seconds.

Strabala also won the 200 in 27.52 for the Tigers.

Douglas swept the top spots in the 800, as sophomore Lucia Nord won the event in 2:46.15.

Katelyn Coons, a sophomore, won the 100-meter hurdles in 17.54 before turning around and winning the 300-meter hurdles in 51.23.

In the field events, senior Harley Smith registered a throw of 29-4.5 in the shot put to win the event. She also posted a personal record throw of 70-7 to win the discus.

Logan Karwoski and Gneiting tied for first in the high jump with clearances of 4-10.

Gneiting won the long jump at 16-10.5.

DOUGLAS SOFTBALL 3-3 IN ARIZONA

The Douglas High School softball team opened its 2024 season in Arizona against some of the toughest competition in the Western U.S. over the weekend.

The Tigers beat Kofa (12-1), Fountain Valley (2-1) and South Hills (5-3), but recorded losses to Norco (2-0), Orange Lutheran (3-1) and Hamilton (9-0).

Douglas senior Talia Tretton threw every inning in the circle for the Tigers, covering 34.2 innings of work.

She struck out 59 over the six-game set and allowed 16 earned runs and just four walks.

Tretton was 5-for-17 at the plate with a home run and five RBIs in the six games.

Fellow senior Haley Wilkinson went 7-for-18 for the Tigers with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs.

Norco took second place in the CIF-Southern Section’s Division I last season while Orange Lutheran was a semifinalist in the same division.

Hamilton was a semifinalist in Arizona’s Class 6A (largest class) state championship last season.

UP NEXT: Douglas (3-3) had its Tuesday contest against Reed canceled. The Tigers will be back in action March 12 at McQueen. 

DOUGLAS BASEBALL CALLED OFF

Winter weather took a toll on the opening weekend of play for Douglas baseball.

Despite having a trio of games scheduled, all contests were called off due to inclement weather.

Douglas’ next contest was originally scheduled for Tuesday at North Valleys, but has been moved to April 12. 

Monday, the Tigers will play Carson at Peccole Park at the University of Nevada.