Southern squads fall short of titles

RENO -- Southern Nevada teams couldn't quite reach the top at the state cross country meet Saturday.

Centennial and Green Valley, the Sunset and Sunrise Region champions, finished second and third in the Class 4A boys race behind Carson. In the girls 4A race, Carson was first, followed by Arbor View and South Tahoe.

It was a disappointing result for Centennial's boys, the defending state champions. The Bulldogs ran well, placing two runners in the top 10 and all five of their scoring runners in the top 16. They also tallied a team total of 56 points -- the identical score of Centennial's 2008 total that won the state title by one point over Carson.

But this year, it wasn't enough as the Senators placed three runners in the top 10 to finish with 49 team points.

Carson's Richard Schroy won the race in 16 minutes, 6 seconds over the 3.1-mile course at Rancho San Rafael Park. Galena's Brian Jordan (16:15) was second, followed by McQueen's Geoff Hull (16:25), Elko's Eric Sandall (16:38) and Centennial's Nick Hartle (16:41).

Green Valley's Julius Kim (17:05) was sixth, leading the Gators to a third-place team finish with 79 points.

Clark's Jacob Naylor (17:11) took eighth, and Arbor View's Greg Marschik (17:16) was 10th.

The girls 4A race had the same outcome as the boys race, with Carson running away with the crown. Arbor View was second.

The Aggies, who finished sixth at state a year ago, had finished second to Shadow Ridge in the Sunset Region and were considered a long shot for a top-four finish at state.

"We talked about it before the race, the importance of pushing hard up the hill the third time," Arbor View coach Tyrell Cooper said. "The girls really came through at the end."

South Tahoe's Kelsey Smith, who won with a course-record time of 18:59, led the way. Carson won the team title with 58 points.

Arbor View had 83 points, followed by South Tahoe (90), Coronado (93) and Shadow Ridge (97).

Shadow Ridge's Michelle Schenck (20:19) and Elaina Vlassouposos (20:23) were the South's top finishers, placing fifth and sixth. Palo Verde's Kelsi Koch (20:33) was eighth and Coronado's Lauren Lucas (20:43) ninth.

Lowry swept the Class 3A team titles, winning the boys meet with 24 points. The Buckaroos also won the girls title with 50.

Moapa Valley's Josh Thompson won the 3A boys individual title in 17:17, and teammate Chase Witter (18:15) was fifth as the Pirates finished second with 40 points.

Boulder City's Matt Lundgren (17:38) took second individually.

Truckee edged Boulder City 54-55 to finish second in the 3A girls race.

Boulder City's Jessica Tobler (21:34) and Stephanie Adams (21:44) finished second and third.

In the Class 2A boys race, Sierra Lutheran's Wade Meddles set a course record, winning in 16:06.

The Falcons won the team title with 32 points.

In the 2A girls race, Incline's Briana Drago won the individual title in 20:23 to lead the Highlanders to the team title with 39 points.