Baker enjoys big day on track for Senators

RENO — Dakota Baker had a big day on the track Saturday, and if he can duplicate it seven days from now, he’ll punch his ticket to Las Vegas for the state championships.

Baker PR’d in both the 110 high hurdles (15.34) and the 300 hurdles (40.38), he also moved on in the high jump and ran a leg on the qualifying 1600-meter relay team to lead Carson High at the NIAA Division I trials at Damonte Ranch High School.

“He had a great day,” Carson coach Robert Maw said. “He had a busy day. He had a big drop in the 110s and he dropped almost a second in the 300 race. He got through in the high jump which we’re happy about. I’m still going to let him high jump next week. I think he’s got a 6-foot jump in him. He got 6-feet last year. If he can get a 6-foot jump ...”

Other individual boys qualifiers included Corey Reid (high jump, 400, 800), Nathan Hazard (discus), Nick Greene (1600), Daniel Jauregui (1600), Anthony Cacioppo (1600), Taylor Bradshaw (800), Zach Heinz (800), Asa Carter (triple jump) and Aaron Woodbury (pole vault). The Senators also qualified their 400 and 1600 relay squads.

Baker has the second-fastest time in the 110s and third-fastest in the 300s. You could tell he was happy, but he wasn’t jumping up and down about it like you would expect.

“I hit a couple of hurdles in the 110,” Baker said. “I think it’s going to take the same time or maybe even a little faster next week.”

In the 300 race, Baker was fluid until the fourth-to-the-last hurdle when he did a little stutter step and the final hurdle, He admitted after the race those two hurdles usually give him problems.

Reid also enjoyed a big day, advancing in the high jump (5-10), 400 (50.23) and 800 (1:59.14). He appeared to be coasting most of the way in both running events, and he can clear 5-10 in his sleep. In the 400, Reid was leading at 200 meters and appeared to turn it up a level on the final turn,

“I was just trying to get a pretty good time,” Reid said. “I didn’t start to run hard until I could hear Shamir (Geisinger, Spanish Springs) coming up on me.”

Reid has been posting some impressive times despite some nagging ailments.

“He’s been having trouble with blisters,” Maw said. “It’s a problem he didn’t have last year. They have been tearing up his feet. We let him jump one time in the high jump and shut him down. He said he jogged the 800. He’ll bring the fire next week. We kept him out of the 1600 relay today because we knew we could qualify without him. He’ll have to run it next week. I don’t want to risk not moving on in the relay.”

A pleasant surprise on the boys side was the performance of Woodbury, who PR’d by a foot in qualifying at 11-6. The performance didn’t surprise vault coach Jim Reid.

“He’s been pretty good the last few weeks,” Reid said. “We moved him up to a 13-foot pole and he took it well.”

In his exuberance, Woodbury forgot to check in for the triple jump, his other speciality.

Maw was also happy to see Hazard move on (136-5 1/2) in the discus because of his recent ankle problems which had limited him.

Heinz PR’d in the 800, clocking a 2:00.09. Carson has three 800 runners in the 12-person final next week. Taylor Bradshaw (2:01.10) also advanced in the 800.

PRESTON ENJOYS BIG DAY

Madison Preston qualified first in the triple jump (35-7 3/4) and seventh in the long jump (15-5 1/4) in addition to moving on in the high jump at 4-10 to lead the Senators’ girls contingent on Saturday.

Joining Preston at next weekend’s finals are Elena Thurman (100, 200, triple jump), Sahara Winder (300 hurdles), Kayla Aikins (high jump), Eveline Delgado (800, 1600), Alex Drozdoff (800, 1600), Cindy Juchtzer (1600), Athena Favero (300 hurdles), Maddi Saarem (pole vault), Courtney Hack (shot put), and Teresa Boehmer (shot, discus).

“I think I did well (overall),” Preston said. “I’d like to get to 36 (in the triple), but I’m still shooting for 37. I only had to do 4-10 in the high jump, and that’s pretty easy. I want to get to 5-2. There are only a few girls doing that. In the long jump, I didn’t do as well as I wanted.”

“She had a great day in the triple jump, and she did well in the high jump,” Maw said. “I think she can move on in both of those events. She has an outside shot at moving on next week in the long jump.”

Thurman, one of the top triple jumpers in the north, almost didn’t make it. She scratched on three of her four attempts and settled for a 34-4 and seventh place. The top nine advanced. The fiery Thurman was steamed and refused to talk about her jumps.

“She is usually in the last flight (of competitors), and doesn’t get enough run-throughs,” Maw said. “She needs good 20 minutes to get her mark down. Sometimes if her first jump isn’t on, she battles herself. We’re going to go ahead and let her do all three events next week, but if something conflicts with the triple jump I will pull her out of one of the runs.”

Earlier in the day she did qualify in her two sprints. She was sixth in the 200 and fifth in the 100.

“I didn’t like my start,” Thurman said of her 100 race. “I was leading and then she (Reed’s Jasmine Thigpen) picked it up.”

Maw was especially pleased with Winder, who ran the 400 for the Senators a year ago. She just started running the 300 hurdles late this year, and is one good performance from state.

“This was only the fourth time she’s run the race,” Maw said. “She’d run a 55, 53 and 52, and then she pops a 48.8. It was a good run.”