SPARKS - Shay Tom had a simple plan of attack from the outset of the 4A girls shot put at the NIAA Track and Field Championships on Friday.
Catch me if you can.
The Carson High School senior did just that by unleashing a personal record throw of 39-feet, 7 1/2-inches in the first round to take a lead she never relinquished en route to a gold medal during the opening day of the state meet on a cool and breezy afternoon and evening at Reed High's Dave Nolte Northern Nevada Regional Track Facility.
"That's what I was going for. I wanted to get my first throw out there to set it up for them to chase me," Tom said. "I was ecstatic (after the first throw). I knew then it was going to be smooth sailing."
Much smoother than the week before when Tom was hobbled by a sprained ankle and settled for second-place with a throw of 35-11 at the Northern 4A Regional meet.
"She sprained her ankle the week before zone, so we only let her take two throws, just enough so she could qualify for state," said Chuck Tremain, who coaches Carson's throwers. "We knew she could do this. She's a competitor; she rose to the occasion today, and that's what it's all about."
Reed's Jennifer Onyeagbako, the regional shot put champ, finished second this time with a throw of 37-10-1/4.
"After last week, I said, 'This is my event.' I worked too hard to not take it," said Tom, who has earned medals in the state shot put each of the last three years.
The strong opening throw sent a message that she had come to win.
"Her first throw was good. That put pressure on everybody else, and nobody responded," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said.
Tom's performance provided the major highlight for Carson on a day when Tilor Smith placed fourth in the boys long jump (21-3-1/2), Stephen Waicul was fifth in the discus (146-11) and Josh Heilman took sixth in the 200 (22.98).
The long jump was a nail-biter in which one-half inch separated the top three finishers. Desert Pines senior Mike Washington went 23-5-1/2 on his final attempt to edge Fallon's Tim Hall by one-quarter of an inch.
Heilman's performance was significant because he was the top finisher from the North. Better yet, the junior lowered his time from 24.1 at the end of the regular season to 22.80 at the regional meet.
Carson is 12th in the 4A boys team standings with 12 points after the opening. Cimarron-Memorial leads the boys team race with 44 points, followed by Desert Pines (34). Galena was third (33), led by first-place points from sophomore Nick Shannon in the high jump and senior Stephen Pottey in the 1,600.
Pottey gave one of the day's top performances when he ran a stadium record 4:17.19 and won the race with a stirring comeback on the final lap.
Reno's Jonathan Cardenas took out the pace from the start, passing the first lap in 61 seconds and the midway mark in 2:08. On the final lap, Pottey still trailed by two seconds when he reached the top of the backstretch, but he proceeded to run down Cardenas in the next 100 meters to take the lead for good.
"I had him at 59 seconds for the last lap; that was pretty incredible," said Domingo Tibaduiza, who coaches Galena's distance runners. "Jonathan ran a perfect race. He did everything he had to do to win, Stephen just has too much speed. In this race (the 1,600), you've got to have heart, and you've got to have that racing speed."
Pottey is now headed to Cal-Berkeley as a two-time state champion in the 1,600.
"I wanted to have fun, I wanted to help my team and I wanted to represent God as best I could," Pottey said. "I knew Jon would go out fast. But I know how hard it is to start like that, so I tried to stay back. I actually wanted to be a little further back, but I felt pretty good so I went for it."
Even though Shannon cleared 6-6 to win the high jump, Galena received a setback in the event when top-seeded Justin Houk was disqualified.
There were highlights for Galena in the girls competition, as the Grizzlies placed second in the 4x400 relay with a season-best time of 3:57.79, behind only Reno's state meet record 3:55.20 clocking. Mandy Dickman also placed second in the pole vault with a 10-3 clearance and Alyssa Abbott was fourth in the 800 with a 2:19.91 effort.
In the 3A competition, Yerington's Mark Lemmos emerged as a champion in the boys discus with a throw of 139-10. Fernley's Corey Ryan placed second in the boys 400 with a 51.32 clocking, followed by Dayton's Billy Mountjoy (51.90), who rallied from sixth with 120 meters to go and placed third.
Dayton also placed second in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:21.59 and Kristel Thompson took second in the girls pole vault (8-6) to help the Dust Devils move into fourth-place in the 3A girls team standings with 30 points.
Dayton's Bridgette Galles broke her own school record in the 300-meter low hurdles by running 48.31 for third-place and Stephen Novello placed third in the boys 1,600 (4:41.89).
