State Cross Country 2018
A solid team effort helped the Carson Senators win their Northern 4A Region boys team championship last week in Reno. An even better effort will be needed Saturday in order to win at the NIAA state meet in Boulder City.
The Senators will need to get past two-time defending state champion Spanish Springs, Southern region champs Centennial and Desert Oasis, as well as arch rival Douglas on a day that showcases 4A, 3A and 1A/2A runners at Veterans Memorial Park.
The 4A boys race is scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m. and the 4A girls race at 10:45.
Carson edged past Spanish Springs, 80-82, to secure its region championship last Friday at Rancho San Rafael Park.
The Senators were paced by Zach Sever, Hunter Rauh and Ethan Byasse, who placed third, sixth and 14th respectively. Byasse was in position to crack the top 10, according to coach Pete Sinnott, who noted that the senior lost a number of positions after he experienced a cramp inside the final 800 meters on a warm afternoon.
All three are experienced: Rauh is in his fourth season with the program, while Sever and Byasse are third-year veterans.
Looking back to last week, Carson received some help when Spanish Springs suffered a setback after pace-setter Daniel Horner was unable to finish at the end of the race. Horner has won five of the seven races he has finished this season.
Last year, Spanish Springs swept the top three places on its way to a 38-point state meet victory at Reed High, however, the South expects to mount a stronger challenge this time.
In the South's two races last Friday, Conner Nicholas won the Desert Region individual gold medal 16:54 and led Desert Oasis to the team title with 41 points.
Desert Oasis had four runners crack the top 10 (all ran under 18 minutes) en route to its first region championship. Nicholas has won six of his seven races this season, including a personal 5K best of 16:12 on Oct. 13.
Meanwhile, Centennial won the Mountain Region team title by a 52-58 score over Shadow Ridge. Centennial returns six of its top seven from a team that placed fifth at last year's state meet and was impressive (four in the top six) in winning the UNLV Invitational by 30 points on Sept. 22.
MacKenzie Walker, Jakob Heller, Mark Ramirez and Adan Garcia complete Carson's seven-runner lineup. Even though Ramirez didn't run his first race until mid September, he has come on strong in the past month, according to Sinnott.
"I think all of our guys can run under 18 minutes," Sinnott said. "My guys weren't on top (of the North) at the start of the season. They were more in the middle of the pack, they've just gotten stronger each week and now they're peaking at the right time."
Note: Horner is one of three Nevada preps to runner under 16 minutes this season (15:34.8 in Sacramento). The second fastest time of 15:47.7 belongs to Sierra Lutheran senior Jared Marchegger, who will be looking for his third straight state 1A/2A title on Saturday.
Veterans Memorial Park is located at 1000 Airport Road in Boulder City.