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North Tahoe track and field | Adams wins 100-meter dash at state

Sylas Wright
Sierra Sun
Submitted to swright@sierrasun.comA fired-up Jonathan Adams yells as he nears the finish line of the 100-meter dash at the 2A State Track and Field Championships in Las Vegas on Friday. Adams won the state title in the event with a time of 11.55 seconds.
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Jonathan Adams’ blistering regional title in the 100-meter dash was no fluke.

A week after outdistancing a speedy field of sprinters to earn the North’s No. 1 seed in the event, the North Tahoe senior repeated the performance to capture the 100-meter title at the 2A State Track and Field Championships in Las Vegas this past Friday.

Adams posted a winning time of 11.55 seconds, shaving more than .10 off his time at regionals (11.68) and coming within .01 of his personal-best time (11.54). He could have recorded an even faster time, said North Tahoe head coach Skip Piechocinski, but he shifted into cruise control near the finish as he hoisted his arms in victory.



and#8220;He could have had a PR (personal record). He could have been in the 11.4s, but he eased up,and#8221; Piechocinski said. and#8220;He was behind in the start, then he pulled ahead and knew he had won it, so he kind of eased up and threw his hands up at the finish.and#8221;

Adams finished just ahead of Carlo Harrington of Rite of Passage, who was runner-up in 11.65. Jeremy Randolph of Silver Stage rounded out the top three in 11.68.



The state title in the event was a rare feat for a Laker, Piechocinski said, as North Tahoe track and field is not typically noted for its sprinters.

and#8220;I’m not sure, but it might be the first time a North Tahoe kid has won the 100 meters,and#8221; Piechocinski said. and#8220;He worked hard all year toward this goal, and he achieved it, so it was great to see.and#8221;

Piechocinski said he knew his top sprinter could pull off the win. But with such a tiny margin for error against an evenly balanced field, he wasn’t sure of anything until Adams broke through the finish tape.

and#8220;I knew after he won at Fernley (regionals) that his confidence was boosted, and I never doubted it. It’s just that you never know what’s going to happen,and#8221; the coach said. and#8220;But he had the confidence. He knew he could win it.and#8221;

Senior teammate Carson Clark, representing the Lakers in the 3,200-meter run (2-mile), nearly matched Adams’ individual title. Clark finished runner-up in the event to John Robinson of Whittell, recording a time of 10:22.23 to Robinson’s 10:11.90.

and#8220;He let Robinson go out ahead of him and then he just ran his race. He did a great job,and#8221; Piechocinski said.

Robinson won four state titles on the day in the distance events and#8212; the 400, 800, 1,600 and 3,200. and#8220;He’s a stud. He was awesome,and#8221; Piechocinski said of Robinson.

Clark and Adams weren’t the only Lakers to bring home hardware from the state championship. In fact, nine of the 10 North Tahoe athletes who qualified to compete at state earned a medal, which went to the top four finishers in each event. The only Laker who didn’t medal, freshman Angela Wood, was sick the entire week and didn’t practice.

The boys’ 4×100 relay team, made up of Adams as the anchor, Chris Hoffman, Trevor Trimm and Brett Roberts, finished third with a time of 46.63 and#8212; a personal-best mark. Yerington won the race in 45.53.

The boys’ 4×800 relay finished just outside the top three while also setting a new personal record, as Clark, Noah McDermott, Hugo Ramirez and Fletcher McConnell placed fourth in 8:56.33. Whittell won the race in 8:44.11.

and#8220;They PR-ed big-time,and#8221; Piechocinski said. and#8220;They ran well.and#8221;

On the girls’ side of the state meet, North Tahoe senior Carly Leininger finished fourth in the 800-meter run, posting a personal-best time for this season in 2:38.89. Katie Cochran of Incline won with a time of 2:23.05.

Wood placed seventh in the high jump, clearing the bar at 4 feet, 6 inches.

and#8220;They did great,and#8221; Piechocinski said of his team, adding that the Lakers accomplished what they did without the benefit of a track, which was covered in snow all season. and#8220;This is the time when a coach just sits back and doesn’t coach and let’s the kids do it. That’s the way it should be. You work hard all week long, and then just enjoy the track meet.and#8221;

Find complete results from the state championship meet on the NIAA website, http://www.niaa.com.


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