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Wolverines fast on the track

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Keith Sheffield/Sierra SunTruckee senior Maisha Goodpaster sticks a triple jump during the Nevada state championship track meet at Reno High School Saturday. Goodpaster placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 32'11.75".
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Wolverine pride and strength showed up at the Nevada state championship track meet last weekend at Reno High.

Not only did many friends and family members come out to support their team, but the 19 Truckee athletes competing were focused and determined and pushed themselves to their limits.

In all, the Wolverines brought home 23 medals, several of which came in the relay races.



“I am so proud of this team,” said Truckee head coach Diana Yale. “They were ready, and every one of them put in a huge effort.

“Every relay team, both girls and boys, qualified for this meet. That is huge.”



And with only 10 boys competing, the Truckee boys team placed fourth overall.

“For 10 boys to place fourth, it shows our strength, courage and determination,” Yale said.

The girls, with only nine competitors, placed 10th overall.

A big win for Truckee came in the boys 4×200 relay, as Austin Lynch, Drew Stewart, Sam Silver and Brandon Peterson earned gold in a personal record time of 1:32.6 to defend their state title.

“This relay team was ready and knew what they had to do,” Yale said.

Peterson pulled ahead of the field with a very strong anchor leg, finishing a full second ahead of Pahrump and two seconds ahead of Faith Lutheran and Spring Creek.

With Emila Skytte, Maisha Goodpaster, Melanie Lashbrook and Whitney Brixey running the 4×800 relay on Friday, “Emilia got tripped up and stuck in a pack, having to run on the outside, costing us some time,” said Truckee assistant coach Robbie McClendon.

However, the girls came back with a gutsy effort to earn bronze in a time of 10:31.

Later in the meet, sophomore Lindsay Holt placed fourth in the 200 with a time of 28.0.

Leading off the events for the boys on Friday was Brandon Peterson and Austin Lynch in a very competitive 100.

“All season Brandon was well ahead in winning gold, with no one there to push him,” Yale said. “At this meet, he had competition and saw the speed out of the South. Yet it was still a great meet for him.”

Peterson earned silver in the 100 in personal record time of 11.16, just behind Boulder City’s Shaka Richardson. Lynch placed sixth in 11.77.

In the distance events later that day, sophomore Troy Calandra earned a silver medal in the 3,200 in personal record time of 10:33.

“Troy had a big meet, three distance events in two days, and did an outstanding job,” McClendon said.

On Saturday, the boys 4×800 team (Sam Silver, Sean Wilson, Kyle Britto and Calandra) came back after making an error the night before in the 4×400. Silver had the fastest split in 2:04, giving the team a strong lead.

“The 4×800 guys came back strong and proud after an upset in the 4×400, placing second in 8:28, just behind Spring Creek,” Yale said. “We’ll be after Spring Creek next year with an even faster team.”

Freshman Micah Silver had an impressive performance in the 1,600 on Saturday, Yale said, earning bronze in 4:49.2.

“Micah has improved tremendously this season, learning from every race,” McClendon said.

Calandra placed a close fourth behind Silver.

“Troy came back after a tough 800 relay leg and pushed himself in that mile,” McClendon said.

After leading off the 4×200 to gold, Lynch came back and placed fourth in the 400 in personal record time of 52.4. He then placed sixth in the 200 in 23.83.

Also in the 200, Peterson earned another silver in 22.8, just behind Boulder City’s Richardson. Peterson then went on to earn fourth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6′.

The girls 4×100 team of Kalei Cofer, Hailey Vincent, Shannon Holt and Lindsay Holt placed sixth in 54.09.

Skytte, in her first state track meet, placed sixth in the open 800 in 2:33.3. She then came back to lead off her 4×400 team (Goodpaster, Lashbrook and Rachel Hines) to sixth place.

Goodpaster also earned fourth place in the triple jump with a leap of 32’11.75″.

“Considering our challenges in training (in Truckee), I am very pleased with this team’s performance,” Yale said. “Just think what greater things could happen if some day we were to get an all-weather track.”

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