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May 27, 2009
ANDERSON, STEARNS, RENCHER PLACE Lindgren, Akers star in state track
By DON McDERMOTT
LAS VEGAS -- Ashley Lindgren set a Pahrump Valley High School record in the 800-meter run and teammate Ashley Rencher placed well in her specialties, but the Nye County girl who made a memorable impact on the Nevada State Track and Field Championships was Kattrena Akers of Round Mountain. In the Class A meet contested at Del Sol High School here, Akers, a junior, scored 34 of the Lady Knights' 58 points as she won the 400-meter dash for the second straight year in 1:03.23 and the long jump at 15 feet, 10 inches. Akers was also third in the high jump at 4-9 and second in the triple jump at 33-3 1/4. Round Mountain finished third in the team title chase, trailing Wells (67 points) and Smith Valley (66). Southern regional champion Beatty had 50 points, while Tonopah had 12. Lindgren did not run the 800 until 7:30 p.m. Saturday, but she made the wait worth it. In the top four at the halfway point, Lindgren stayed in contention until the final 150 meters as she finished fifth in 2:18.07 in the race won by Western's Ansharae Devine in 2:11.82. "The wind ... it was the only problem," said Lindgren, as the Trojan sophomore waited for the awards ceremony. Rencher was fourth in the discus at 126 feet, 5 inches and fifth in the shot put at 38 feet, 1 inch. The Trojans' senior standout didn't appear to be comfortable in the circle, scratching on three consecutive throws at one point in the competition. Avione Allgood of Legacy won the shot put at 42 feet, while Jessica Waggoner of Douglas was first in the discus at 143-10. Western junior Tierra Tyler led the Warriors to their first girls' track title since 1984, sweeping the sprints. Tyler retained her 4-A state championship in the 100 Saturday by winning in 0:12.19. The Warriors ran away with the title by scoring 88 points, 30 more than second-place Centennial. Michaelanne Laurent won two events for third-place Coronado (41 1/2). * Alex Anderson and Nick Stearns of Pahrump Valley put on their best performances of the spring season this past weekend, in the boys championships. Anderson, a junior, hopped, skipped and jumped a career-best 45 feet, 1/2 inch to finish fifth in the triple jump. Duke Williams of Reno Hug won at 48-8 1/2. Stearns, a sophomore, cleared 12 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault and finished eighth. Stefan Lillyhorn of Reno was first at 15 feet, based on fewer misses. That height was matched by Henderson Green Valley's Bryan Artman and Reno's Jordan Parker. In the Class 1-A boys meet, Beatty was sixth with 34 points, but the Hornets' most difficult moment came in the 400-meter dash. Defending state champion Anthony Turner was disqualified for reportedly running out of his lane coming out of turn 3. All four Hornet relay teams finished sixth or better, giving Beatty 22 points. Their best showing came in the 4x200, when Turner anchored the team of Tony Dare, Miguel Mendoza and Michael Gaitan to finish in 1:41.08. Tonopah had 19 points and Round Mountain added 3 for the Nye County 1-A contingent. Never before has a team won the 4-A state meet with fewer than 50 points. This year it took only 47 points as Valley's boys edged Reno (44) by three points and Chaparral by four (43) to win. Garic Wharton's second-place finish in the 200-meter dash, beating out Chaparral's Joeal Hotchkins by one hundredth of a second, clinched the meet for Valley. Shaun Murray of Liberty won the 200 in a time of 21.24 seconds. After Chaparral set a new state record by winning the 800 relay in a time of 1:26.36, things were looking good for the Cowboys. If form held, they would pick up double-digit points in the long jump with Hotchkins and Malcolm McMurray and add another eight to 10 points in the 200. It didn't happen. Courtney Gardner of Hug, seeded fourth, went nearly a foot over his previous best and won the long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 51/2 inches. Hotchkins, who was second after the first round of jumps, had to interrupt his jumps to run the 200. He had two final attempts to overtake Gardner, but with tired legs from his 200 he had to settle for second place. McMurray added three points with a sixth-place finish, but it wasn't enough. The meet belonged to Valley. Cheyenne's Marcus Sullivan won the 400 in 47.92. -- The Web site, nevadapreps.com, contributed to this story. |
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