Carson Invitational set -- weather allowing

With a little help from Mother Nature, the Carson High Kiwanis Invitational today should offer something to watch for any track and field fan.

For those who are interested in the sprints, the Carson boys will send out its record-setting duo of Javier Vega and George Pincock to face a talented field that includes Reed standout Thai Welty and Hug's Alan Thomas.

The hurdles? Barrett Young of Galena and Arthur Higgins from Rite of Passage waged a duel to the wire in the boys 110-meter highs last Saturday at the Reed Invitational in Sparks.

Distances? The girls 4x800 relay this morning will feature a rematch between talented Reno, Lowry and Carson, teams that dipped under 10 minutes at Reed last Friday night. Also, the girls 3,200 also figures to feature a battle between three of Nevada's best: Collier Lawrence of Reno and the Carson tandem of Cassia Roth and Shanna Sparks.

Weights? Carson's Josh Carter will lock horns against Wooster's J.J. Milan in a duel between two of the top shot put and discus throwers in Nevada.

Vertical jumps? Dayton's Shaun Merrill, the defending 3A state pole vault champion, will face Reed's Welty, one of the best in the Northern 4A, in a rematch.

It all gets started with the field events at 9 a.m. at Carson's Jim Frank Track and Field Complex with 23 teams and approximately 900 athletes from Northern Nevada and California scheduled to compete. The 4x800 relay will be the first running event at 9:30.

Poor weather conditions this week have been an ominous sign, especially since the Carson meet was snowed out.

"I just hope the weather will be nice because it should be a real good, solid meet," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "On paper, the boys 100 should be good, the 200 should be good and the 400 should be good. The girls 4x800 and 3,200 should be good races. The pole vault should be good. The high hurdles, the the two Galena and ROP kids had a great final last week. The throws should be good, also."

This will be a chance for hometown fans to watch Pincock and Vega, who combined to break three of Carson's school records in the boys sprints last Saturday at Reed. Pincock set his first record in the 200 meters in the prelims on Friday night when he ran 21.74 seconds. Then Vega blazed to a school record time of 11.04 in the 100 and Pincock ran 49.57 to set a record in the 400. Vega and Pincock are also members of a 4x400 relay team that has run 3:27 and is only one second off that school record.

"It will depend on weather, but I think if everybody is healthy and running, they should get that (record)," Ackerman said.

The only disappointment last Saturday came in the 400 when Pincock ran unchallenged but had to settle for second-place overall when Hug's Thomas ran 49.33 in another heat. The two times are the fastest in Northern Nevada so far this season.

"George will get to run with Thomas this time and it should be a good race," Ackerman said.

"Hopefully the kid from Reed (Welty) will get to run the 100 with Javier, too. It'll be interesting to see how we match up with everybody," the Carson coach added.

Welty was unable to run the 100 at the Reed meet and had his attempt to win the pole vault cut short when he sustained a cut on his head. Merrill won the event with a clearance of 13-feet while Welty finished second at 12-6.

Carter set a meet and personal record in the shot put at Reed in the shot put with a heave of 57-0-1/4, nearly three feet better than Milan of Wooster. Milan came back to win the discus at 152-11, while Carter finished second at 150-6.

Galena's Young won both the 110 high hurdles and 300 intermediates with respective times of 15.33 and 39.54. The 110 highs turned into a photo finish as Young edged Higgins by one-hundredth of a second.

Another noteworthy rematch figures to take place in the girls 3,200. Last week, Roth handed Lawrence her first loss of the season in Nevada with an 11:36 effort at Reed. Lawrence finished 14 seconds back, while Taryn Mendive of Douglas finished third in a personal record time of 12:14. That group will be joined by defending state 3,200 champion Sparks, who missed the Reed meet last Saturday and ran at the high-powered Arcadia Invitational in Southern California instead -- she finished 12th overall in a lifetime best time of 10:50.33.