Bonanza sprinter holds off rival for fourth straight title

CARSON CITY — The rivalry simmered for more than three months and finally reached its conclusion Friday.

When it was all over, Jayveon Taylor of Bonanza found Arbor View’s Ivy Dobson and slapped his hand in a sign of mutual respect.

“He’s a good dude,” Taylor said. “I like competition. Without competition, I wouldn’t be able to run the times that I run.”

Taylor had the final word in one of the most anticipated races of the day, holding off the hard-charging Dobson to win the boys 100-meter dash at the Division I state track and field meet at Carson High.

It was the fourth straight state title in the event for Taylor, who crossed the line in 10.51 seconds.

Dobson boldly declared at the start of the season that he would dethrone Taylor in the 100 and nearly followed through on his prediction.

Dobson was part of a nervy beginning as a handful of runners appeared to jump the gun and two were disqualified for a false start. Once the race began, the DePaul-bound standout started to gain ground after 50 meters, but Taylor proved too strong as Dobson finished in 10.63.

“Once I got to this point, three years and then lose to somebody I’ve beaten? That would be kind of silly,” Taylor said. “I had to train hard and do what I’ve been doing to prepare for my race.”

Centennial’s Tiana Bonds set a state-meet record in the girls 100 hurdles with a time of 13.50, the No. 3 legal mark in the U.S. this season, according to Dyestat.com, to help the Bulldogs take a commanding lead in the team standings with 57 points.

“I was pretty pumped up for it,” Bonds said. “This is one of the last times I’m running in high school, and I wanted to go out with a bang.”

Centennial didn’t have a first-place finisher on the boys side but scored 41 points and trails leader McQueen by two points. Dajour Braxton was second in the 800, and Braxton and George Espino finished 2-3 in the 3,200 for the Bulldogs.

Centennial also was second to Canyon Springs in one of the fastest 400 relays in state history. Marques Williams held off Corey Berner of Centennial on the anchor leg as the Pioneers set a state-meet record at 41.46, while Centennial tied the previous mark of 41.53.

Liberty’s Reno Tu’ufuli broke a 27-year-old meet record in the boys shot put (63 feet, 6¾ inches), while teammate Ashlie Blake broke the girls discus record that stood since 1999 with a toss of 158-5.

In Division I-A, Faith Lutheran’s Cayla Nikodemus and Clarissa Maxey went 1-2 in the girls 200 to give the Crusaders a big advantage in the team standings. Nikodemus set a meet record in the 200 (24.86) and also won the high jump (5-1) following a second-place finish in the long jump.

Faith Lutheran’s Mark Rubalcaba won the boys triple jump at 49-4¾, smashing the previous meet record by more than 3 feet. Teammate Chase Wood was first in the 3,200 (9:59.41) as the Crusaders sit in second place, six points behind Dayton.

In Division III, Jeneke Heerema of The Meadows won the girls 1,600 (5:28.53) and ran a leg on the Mustangs’ victorious 3,200 relay (10:33.69). Dani Chami was first in the girls long jump (16-8) as The Meadows’ girls ended the first day with 58 points, one behind leader White Pine.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.