Hot performances on track

Sunday was another hot and windy day at the Pacific Association Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships. Almost as hot as some of the performances on the track as the age group meet concluded its two-day run at Carson High School.

Not too many of the participating athletes were faster than 14-year-old Cheri Craddock, who knifed through a head wind to post impressive victories in the girls 13-14 age group 100- and 200-meter dashes and anchored her 3M Track Club's first-place finish in the 4x400 relay.

Craddock, who just completed her freshman year at James Logan High School in Union City, Calif., started her day by running the 100 meters in 11.98 seconds to shatter the meet record for the girls 13-14 division by four-tenths of a second. The time was a personal record, fast enough to have placed second in Sunday's boys 13-14 race, and put her under the 12-second plateau for the first time.

"She was shooting to go under 12," said coach Will Pittman of the Oakland-based 3M Track Club. "She also wanted to get under 24 in the 200. She didn't do that today, but she'll probably get it pretty soon."

Craddock came back to win the 200 in a time of 24.83 and finished off the day by running anchor for a 3M team that won the girls 13-14 division 4x400 relay in a fast 3:58.94. Craddock was unchallenged as she cruised the final lap in a split of 55.62.

None of this came as a surprise, considering Craddock qualified for the the 200 meters and also helped James Logan place second at the California state high school meet two weeks ago.

"Cheri is one of those unique girls ... she's been in my program since she was 4 years old," Pittman said. "She is a very polite girl with ability and desire, and she's a 4.0 student in school. She just a positive role model."

Maurice Dosty of the MP Striders was impressive in the sprints as he sped to first-place in the boys 17-18 age group 100 and 200 meters. Dosty won the 100 with a 10.64 clocking and the 200 in 21.58.

Kyle Hammerquist of 3M set won the boys 13-14 shot put with a meet record heave of 48-10, a mark that was more than a foot-and-a-half further than the previous record.

Joe Suder of South Lake Tahoe and the Silver State Striders placed third in the shot put with a throw of 41-1.

The top eight finishers in each event qualified to compete at the Region 14 Junior Olympics on July 1-2 in Fresno, Calif., which is the final step toward qualifying for the nationals in Buffalo, N.Y.

Some local athletes qualified for the regional trip, including Tigger McIntyre of Fernley and the Silver State Striders, who placed second in the boys 15-16 triple jump with a 39-9 effort.

Aaron Henry of Carson City placed third in the boys 13-14 100-meter dash in 12.22, three-tenths of a second behind the winning mark. Mark Davis of Yerington and the Silver State Striders placed third in the boys 13-14 100-meter high hurdles in 16.46.

A pair of Galena High School athletes logged second-place finishes: Janine Bodo in the girls 17-18 discus (117-6) and Joanna Hixon in the girls 15-16 triple jump (33-4).

The Silver State Striders placed eighth in the boys 15-16 age group 4x100 relay, but the all-Carson City quartet of Jack Brooks, George Pincock, Matt Waterman and Ryan Henry ran a strong time of 45.8.

For meet organizers, the two-day meet culminated work that began back in September.

"This was very exciting," said Anthony Davis, who coordinated the staff of meet officials. "For me, the thing that was especially exciting was seeing all these athletes in our area. We always have to travel to the Bay Area or Sacramento for these meets; it was nice for everybody to be able to come up here and check out our area, our track, our weather, our altitude, just to see Nevada."