SMALL-SCHOOL TRACK: Lone Warrior marches to two victories

First, Kenric Davis pulled the upset. Then, the Western senior took a few minutes to wax poetic.

“I’m the only one from my school to make it past regionals to state,” Davis said. “To actually be here, it’s something different. And to be the only one, well, that’s a feeling all its own.

“And to win it? It’s like watching a thousand stars in the sky dance for you only.”

Davis came from behind to win the boys 200-meter dash Friday, topping a field that included defending champion Mark Rubalcaba of Faith Lutheran, and also was first in the 400 at the Division I-A state track and field meet at Del Sol.

He is the first state champion from Western since 2006 when Dell Guy swept the 100 and 200 at the Class 4A meet.

The Division I, I-A, III and IV state meets conclude Saturday at Del Sol with the track events starting at 8 a.m. and the field events scheduled to begin at 9.

“It’s all for the school,” Davis said. “It means everything to me to come back and show them that Western isn’t all bad things. We got a lot of good things going on. Everybody was counting on me to do the best that I can and bring it on home. It feels so great to have it on my shoulders. … I appreciate every moment of it.”

Davis suffered an injured groin last season and didn’t qualify for the Southern Region meet. In the fall, he hurt his ankle during the Warriors’ winless football season but healed in time for track.

Davis trailed Rubalcaba, who is headed to Auburn, for much of the race but caught him with about 50 meters to go. Davis then held off Andrew Peterson of Sierra Vista to narrowly win (22.31 to 22.33), while Rubalcaba faded to fourth.

“(Rubalcaba) blasted out, and he was running hard. I got out a little lackadaisical. I was probably going around 75, 80,” Davis explained. “Coming out of the curve, though, I started to pick it up. I had a nice slingshot out, and I was probably in about fourth place by then.

“I just kept my arms big and my knees high and I fought back into the race every step of the way. I used the people in front of me as fuel to go get it, like a dog chasing a bunny out on the regular track.”

Davis won the 400 in 49.04.

Rubalcaba upped his meet record in the boys long jump (24 feet, 8 inches) as Faith Lutheran leads the team standings after the first day with 53½ points. Rubalcaba had five jumps of more than 24 feet in his series.

Faith Lutheran’s Chase Wood outkicked Abdirahman Mohamad of Desert Pines to win the boys 1,600 in 4:28.52 and also ran the anchor leg on the Crusaders’ 3,200 relay team that set a meet record (8:01.12).

Moapa Valley’s R.J. Hubert had a busy day as he won the boys 110 hurdles in 14.84 and was third in the long jump and high jump. Hubert’s mark of 23-2 in the long jump set the school record.

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 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 also set a meet record in the girls 1,600 relay (4:06.35), and are in second place overall with 67 points.

Agassi Prep’s Tyler Overton (110 hurdles) and Kobe Williams (200) each won an individual event and ran a leg on the victorious boys 800 relay team. The Stars are in second place in Division III boys with 42 points, six behind North Tahoe.

In Division IV, Spring Mountain’s Laron Smith won the 400 and went 1-2 in the 110 hurdles with teammate Kenneth Brown to help the Golden Eagles take the lead in the boys team race with 83 points.