Carson's Anya Woodbury wins the 4A girls triple jump at the regional championships Saturday with a leap of 36-feet even.
Three years ago, Anya Woodbury set a Carson High triple jump freshman record and then left the program.
She returned this year, and has been nothing short of sensational, leading the Senators most of the season in both the long jump and triple jump.
Woodbury, now a senior, PRd with a leap of 36-feet to win the 4A regional championship Saturday afternoon at the Jim Frank Track & Field Complex and advance to next weekend’s state meet in Henderson.
Woodbury will have company, as teammate Abbey Paulson also PRd with a jump of 35-5 3/4 to finish second in the event, earning her first state trip.
Both girls PRd by at least a foot, which is impressive for this late in the season.
“I knew I could do better than I did my freshman year,” Woodbury said. “I had to prove it to myself.
“I’m just hoping to do well when I get to state. There are a couple of girls with better PRs than me.”
Paulson was only jumping 32-33 in late April, but she came on strong of late.
“I knew I had a 35 in me,” she said. “I just tried to stay confident.
“It’s hard for me to tell if I’ve had a good jump. During practice, we don’t do a lot of actual jumps. We work on technique.”
And Paulson has worked extra time with head coach Robert Maw, who coaches the jumpers.
“Abbey has been doing the Vertamax every morning,” Maw said. “I’ve coached 10 years and I’ve had a jumper make state every year.
“This is the first year I’ve had jumpers go 1-2. It’s awesome and I couldn’t be more excited for them.”
Woodbury is now tied for the fifth best mark in the state and Paulson is ranked 10th.
That wasn’t the only good news to come out of the Carson camp.
Abby Pradere won the 800 in 2:16.59, giving her two regional championships. She nosed out Manogue’s Rosie Linkus by .08 seconds.
Pradere led virtually the entire race. Linkus started creeping up on the final lap, and with about 60 meters left, she was right on Pradere’s shoulder.
Pradere showed she had another gear and ran away from Linkus.
“I heard her the last 200,” Pradere said. “I wanted to run fast. I just went out fast.”
Pradere admitted she hates to lose, and it showed in her last race of the weekend, the 1600-meter relay.
A not-so-good exchange between Jaidyn Shepard and Ashley Britt put Pradere in the middle of the pack after three laps.
Pradere never quit, outleaning a McQueen runner at the tape to give Carson a 4:07.19 and a berth in next week’s state meet.
Pradere fell to the ground right after she crossed the finish line, scraping her elbow in the process.
Annika Wick ran a 61.9, Shepard ran a 61.1, Britt ran a 64 and Pradere ran in the 60-second range.
“It was a heck of a battle,” CHS assistant Steve Nelms said. ”It was a great finish by Abby. Annika gave us a good start and Jaidyn ran well.”
What is scary is that this group includes two freshmen (Wick and Shepard) and two sophomores (Pradere and Britt).
1A: Falcons win team title
Elaina Marchegger collected two more individual wins and a relay win to cap a perfect 4-0 weekend, and lead the Falcons to the team title.
Sierra Lutheran outscored Wells, 154-120.
Marchegger, who won the 1600 and ran a leg on the 3200 relay team on Friday, came back on Saturday and recorded wins in the 800 (2:33.55) and the 3200 (12:34.69).
Teammate Aleyna Gilson was second in the 100 (13.43) and the quartet of Abby Ferenz, Gilson, Rachel Hall and Ciera Schinzing chalked up a second with a meet record of 53.75. Grace Bonafede, who also qualified in the long jump, was second in the triple jump with a 32-10 1/2.
Emily McNeely took third in the 3200 with a 12:51.94. She’s also moving on in the 1600. Ferenz, Clare Davison, Rosalie Antonucci and Schinzing were third in the 1600 relay at 4:47.59.
Taylor Davison was fourth in the 800 (2:35.06) and fourth in the 3200 at 13:08.99. Hall was fourth in the 300 hurdles at 51.67.
Virginia City’s Kimberly Tlapa was fourth in the triple jump at 30-11 to grab a state berth.
3A: Mason has good day
Ashley Mason won her second regional title of the weekend, jumping 35-9 1/2 to win the triple jump.
Mason was also part of the Dust Devils’ 800 and 1600-meter relay squad.
The 1600 squad of Ashley Mason, Rebecca Mason, Sydney Strickler and Grace Wells ran a school-record 4:13.74.
On Friday, the Masons, Strickler and Macie Callan set a school mark in the 800 relay with a 1:50.09.
“Ashley had a great weekend,” Dayton coach Mike Paul said.
“She came within a half-inch of the school record (today) and she ran a great relay leg. She is on fire.”
