With more than 1,600 athletes and 33 schools competing, the Douglas Tiger track & field teams had a very successful weekend at the Reed Sparks Rotary Invitational.
"We finally had some decent weather and the results turned in were great," Douglas coach Rick Brown said. "The coaches were extremely excited by the performances."
The Lady Tigers continued their rise up the ranks of the regional contenders by finishing fourth as a team during the two-day meet.
Freshman Jessica Gorton led the team with a second-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 2 inches. She also finished fifth in the triple jump with a jump of 33-11.
"Jessica is learning so quickly," Brown said. "Her long jump was more than a foot further than her previous best coming into the weekend and her triple jump was almost two feet better than her previous best."
Also helping out in the Lady Tigers' success was Skylar Young, who took fourth in the 400 meters with a season-best of 61.27. Alicia Sturgess took fourth in the high jump (4-11) and sixth in the 1,600 (5:37.9).
Sarah Hartley took fourth in the triple jump (34-0), fourth in the 200 (27.09) and fifth in the 100 meters (13.13).
On the boys' side, Tyler Tinstman finished fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 23.87, Spencer Lewis finished fifth in the 800 with a season-best time of 2:03.6 and sophomore triple jumper Will Sheerin broke the school record with a fifth-place jump. The boys' team took 12th overall.
"Our team is progressing on all fronts," Brown said. "Even the kids who don't get mentioned in the articles because they don't place at these big meets are improving every week.
"Our throwers are improving, our distance kids are improving, our hurdlers are improving and it's all because we have a great staff of coaches that can spend time with each athlete and share their knowledge with them on each of these events."
Douglas next competes in Outer Relays at Fallon Thursday. Seven of Douglas' top athletes have qualified and will compete at the Woody Wilson Invitational at UC Davis Friday.
