Fallon places in top 10 in final large meet

In the final push to compete against the best in the region, the Greenwave track and field team did not disappoint.

The Fallon boys finished sixth out of 21 teams and the girls were ninth out of 23 at the Big George Invitational at Douglas High School. Fallon’s boys placed highest among the 3A schools with 57 points, even finishing ahead of the 4A’s McQueen, Spanish Springs, North Valleys and Carson.

The Lady Wave was second to Truckee by 3.25 points after finishing with 30.25. It also finished ahead of Fernley, South Tahoe and Sparks of the 3A. Reno won the boys division with 79 points while McQueen finished with 96.25 to win the girls.

“We’re going to look pretty good for regionals. We’re getting better,” Fallon girls coach Paul Orong said.

The 3A North regional trials are on Saturday at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex where the best will advance to next week’s two-day regional finals in Carson. Only the relay events, unless some don’t meet the minimum entry requirement, will not be conducted at the trials. The 1A and 2A regional trials will also be in Fallon.

Colton Peterson powered the boys on the track by placing second in the 200 meters and fourth in the 100. Peterson actually placed first in the 200 preliminary with a personal best 22.89-second dash before running the final heat in 23.32. He ran the 100 in 11.84. Broder Thurston had a season best 23.64 and Clayton Steelmon ran a personal best 23.93 to finish 11th and 18th in the 200 pre.

“Colton is getting back to good form just in time for the region meet,” Fallon boys coach Steve Heck said.

In the hurdles, Reid Clyburn, Trevor East and Trevor Brown shined. Clyburn fell one spot shy of making the finals in the 110 by running it in 18.06. Clyburn, though, medaled with a fifth-place time of 43.95 in the 300. East finished ninth at 44.67 and Brown was 14th at 47 in the 300.

“Reid is also running really well in the hurdles. He is hoping to make an impact at the region meet,” Heck said.

J.R. Demillo continued to improve by posting a personal best in the 400, finishing 23rd at 56.57, and Justin Cathey also PR’d in the 800 at 2:21.01 to take 30th. Joseph Terry led Fallon in the 1600 with a 4:56.35 performance for 14th and Daniel Tapia was 30th in the 3200 at 12:17.12.

The relays fared well with the 4x200 taking fourth in 1:33.92 and the 4x100 finishing fifth in 45.77. Drake Copley, Thurston, Clyburn and Peterson ran both relays.

The 4x400 team of East, Demillo, Jacob Weber and Copley finished in 3:47.16 for sixth, and the 4x800 team of Demillo, Justin Cathey, John Kirkland and Terry finished in 9:00.81 for seventh.

“The 4x200 ran their best time of the year and moved to the number one spot in the North,” Heck said. “The 4x800 team took nearly 30 seconds off its best time this year. I am very excited to see our relay teams improving so much.”

In the field, T.J. Mauga and newcomer Ben Dooley had a strong showing. Mauga finished second in the discus at 146 feet followed by Dooley, who finished with a 132-foot throw for third. Mauga also took sixth in the shot put at 44-0.5.

“T.J. is also in good form as we get ready for the region meet,” Heck said. “One of the nice surprises for the day was Ben throwing over 130 feet in the discus. He is improving every week.”

Colton Tognazzini scored a personal best in the pole vault at 8 feet, while Duenas almost won the triple jump with a 41-foot leap, a personal best. He also jumped 18-7.5 for 14th in the long jump.

“Bryan has been hoping to get over the 40-foot mark in the triple jump all year and he got there Saturday,” Heck said. “He did it in nice fashion going over 41 feet.”

For the girls, Whitney Skabelund is finding a new niche in the hurdles after winning two state jumping titles last year. She won the 100 hurdles pre with a PR of 15.96 but took third in the finals at 16.39. She also took third in the 300 at 49.08, a season best. Skabelund won the triple jump with a season-best 36 feet and was seventh in the long at 15-11.

Allie Lister placed eighth in the pole vault at 7-0.5 and Savannah Robinson was eighth in the high jump at 4-6. Gracy Lisanti led the team in the discus with a throw of 81-11 for 16th and Lillie Wohle was 28th in the shot put at 20 feet.

Kyndal Collins led the sprinters with a 13th-place finish in the 200 pre at 27.95, a personal best, and was 16th in the 100 pre at 13.56.

“She’s healthy and we’re going to need her,” Orong said of Collins. “Our rankings came out and she’s ranked third in the North.”

Chandler McAlexander had a personal best in the 400, finishing 13th in 1:06.98, and finished 10th in the 800 at 2:40.83. Robinson was 11th at 2:41.19 and Amanda Pursley was 30th in the 1600 at 6:50.72 and 18th in the 3200 at 15:12.60.

“Chandler ran well,” Orong said. “Amanda keeps improving and she has a shot.”

The 4x200 relay team finished sixth in 1:56.39 and the 4x100 team was seventh in 55.06. Emily Evett, Brynlee Shults, Lister and Collins competed on both teams.