Carson girls win Kiwanis invite team title

Shay Tom threw further than she ever had before and the Carson High School girls won their first championship of the season during the sixth annual Carson Kiwanis Invitational track and field meet on Saturday.

Tom uncorked a lifetime best throw of 39-feet, 4-3/4 inches to win the shot put, plus she won the discus to help Carson's girls capture top honors as a team during competition at the Jim Frank Track and Field Complex. The Senators got a further boost in the sprints from Amanda Benson and Sineid McSweeney, who went 1-2 in the 400-meter dash as the Senators outdistanced Hug by a 122-101 margin in the team scoring.

Meanwhile, Tilor Smith met a challenge to his No. 1 ranking in the boys long jump with a personal record leap of 22-2 to help Carson finish third in the boys team standings. Smith also won the triple jump with a lifetime best 43-3-1/4 and ran legs on first-place 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams to provide additional highlights for the Senators on a sunny, 70-degree day.

"It was a great day for a meet and a great day for us," Carson coach Todd Ackerman said. "The girls winning was a highlight. That's the first time in a long time we've won our own meet."

It was a big day for Tom, who improved her season best in the shot put by more than two feet. She won the event by nearly three feet over Lowry's Yuri Castaneda (36-11-3/4), while Yerington's Brittney Wilkison finished third (35-1-1/2).

"I knew I could do it. I knew there were a couple of things I needed to work on and I came out and just felt good today," said Tom, who placed third in the shot at last year's 4A state meet. "I'm so excited right now."

To complete a successful day, the senior won the discus with a throw of 120-3, while teammate Alex McAlman placed fifth with a personal record 103-4. Tom's throw was only three feet off the personal record 123-8 she set Wednesday during a conference meet at home.

On the track, Carson's girls were impressive while logging season-best times in winning the 4x200 (1:49.45) and 4x400 (4:09.75) relays. The 4x400 was a true team effort in which Christa Dixon (1:03.02), Lindsay Ford (1:02.28), Benson (1:01.65) and McSweeney (1:02.73) all gave solid performances. The same four runners combined to win the 4x200 by nearly two seconds over Bishop Manogue.

Benson won the 400 with a 1:01.70 clocking, just ahead of McSweeney's 1:02.51, while Dayton's Sabrina Cantrell placed a close third (1:02.67). McSweeney also ran to second-place in the 200 (27.96).

Another highlight for Carson in the girls competition came from Terah Laack, who ran 2:30.78 to place fourth in the 800 in her first competition since going down with an ACL injury during the fall soccer season. Annie Brinson also placed fifth in the 800 (2:35.98) and fourth in the 1,600 (5:48.76) and Janine Stone took third in the 3,200 (13:36.99).

Smith may well have given the performance of the meet after collecting gold medals in four events, including an impressive victory in the long jump. The junior surpassed 22 feet for the first time, but only after he found himself looking at a 22-foot mark put up by Smith Valley's Jordan Savidge.

"This (22 feet) has been my goal for about three weeks now," said Smith, who never dipped below 21-11 on any of jumps during the competition. "I was glad to see the competition. I always jump better with adrenaline, and when I saw him hit 22, I knew I had to do it.

"I have that (state-leading mark), so I have a reputation to keep," he added with a smile.

Savidge finished second with a mark of 22-0-1/4 that broke the Smith Valley school record previously held by his own brother, Kevin. Savidge also took second-place in the 200 with a school record 22.71 and second in the 100 (11.40), and to finish up a successful day, he won the pole vault at 14-0. The pole vault mark was short of his state-best height of 15-7.

Mike Horrigan, Tsuyoshi Curtis, Matt Moore and Smith also combined to win the boys 4x200 relay in a season best time 1:32.56 clocking, just ahead of South Tahoe (1:32.90). Smith also ran a season-best 51.26 split in the 4x400 relay to join Adam Houghton, Moore and Curtis in a first-place performance. The Senators ran 3:31.91 to win the 4x400 by nearly 12 seconds.

Moore won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in a time of 41.41, just ahead of Manogue's Thomas Peregrin (41.66).

The boys pole vault supplied yet another highlight for Carson when junior Jon Christensen placed second with a 13-foot clearance that marked his personal best by one foot.

Among the other Carson Country highlights, Dayton's Bridgette Galles won the girls high jump with a height of 5-4 that equals her state best. Douglas junior Iani Dunbar placed second in the boys 400 with a personal best 52.06, just ahead of Dayton's Billy Mountjoy (52.24). Douglas sophomore, Harmony Bennington ran a lifetime best 50.72 to place third in the girls 300 low hurdles - less than three-tenths of a second out of first-place.