Green Valley leads state track meet as Mack wins twice

The field for the boys 400-meter dash at the Division I state track and field meet was billed as the fastest in state history. The lineup for the 200 was pretty stacked, too.

But nobody could outrun Green Valley senior Ian Mack.

Mack won both of his individual events and set a meet record in the 400 on Friday to help Green Valley lead the team standings after the first day of the Division I meet at Del Sol.

The Gators scored 50 points, with Centennial and Carson tied for second at 38½. The Division I, I-A, III and IV state meets conclude today at Del Sol, with the track events starting at 8 a.m. and the field events scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

“Perfect day,” Mack said.

All eight competitors in the 400 ran under 49 seconds in qualifying, and the field included defending state champion Corey Reid of Carson and McQueen’s Connor Ross, last year’s state champ in the 800 meters.

Mack stayed relaxed around the final curve and made his move past Ross with about 110 meters remaining. Mack crossed the line in 47.03 seconds, topping the 47.15 Reid posted to win last year.

“I just held my ground and finished really strong,” Mack said. “I felt like I had so much more in that 400. I was smiling at like 10 meters left because I knew I had it. It was such a surprise. I was so happy.”

Mack added the 200 title in a time of 21.82, though he fell short of the meet record because of a strong headwind on the homestretch. He also ran a leg on the Gators’ 800 relay team that finished second and will try to top the meet record of 10.39 in the 100 today.

Centennial’s Dajour Braxton took the first installment in his three-part battle with McQueen’s Kai Benedict, winning the boys 1,600. Braxton went to the front early and never relinquished the lead, crossing the line in 4:13.45.

Braxton also ran a 1:51.5 anchor leg on Centennial’s 3,200 relay that won in a meet-record time of 7:48.89. Centennial was disqualified in the same event last year when officials ruled Braxton created an “acceleration zone,” costing the Bulldogs the state title.

“Last year we got DQ’d, and ever since then we’ve been thinking we’ve got to get back here and show them who really is the four-by-eight champion,” Braxton said. “This is my last year running for Centennial, and I’m trying to go out with a bang.”

Centennial’s Karina Haymore and Alexis Gourrier finished 1-2 in the girls 800 as the Bulldogs lead the team standings with 65 points. Coronado is second with 33.

Haymore went wire to wire to win in 2:10.89, knocking more than five seconds off her previous best, while Gourrier came back to win the 3,200 in 11:05.18.

In Division I-A, Faith Lutheran’s Chase Wood outkicked Abdirahman Mohamad of Desert Pines to win the boys 1,600 in 4:28.52 and ran the anchor leg on the Crusaders’ 3,200 relay team that set a meet record (8:01.12). Mark Rubalcaba upped his meet record in the boys long jump (24 feet, 8 inches) as the Crusaders lead the team standings with 53½ points.

Faith Lutheran’s Haley Vinson won her second straight title in the girls triple jump (36-9¾), and the Crusaders set a meet record in the 1,600 relay (3:54.16) as they lead the team standings with 47½ points.

Kelbie Middleton of Pahrump Valley won the I-A girls 100 in a wind-aided time of 11.76, beating Faith Lutheran’s Clarissa Maxey and Cayla Nikodemus. Maxey took second by one-thousandth of a second (11.858 to 11.859) over Nikodemus, the defending state champion.

Cheyenne set a meet record in the boys 800 relay (1:29.82), and Sierra Vista broke the meet record in the girls 400 relay (48.97).

In Division III, Dani Chami set a meet record in the girls pole vault (10-3½), and Ellen Hirsberg and Jeneke Heerema completed a 1-2 finish in the girls 800 for The Meadows.

The Mustangs set a meet record in the 1,600 relay, winning in 4:06.35, and are second in the team standings with 67 points.

Agassi Prep’s boys are second in Division III, and Spring Mountain leads in Division IV with 83 points.

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