SUNRISE REGION: Silverado duo run to records

Ladale Jackson and Dante Carter have won plenty of races over the years for Silverado’s boys track team.

Few will be as memorable as their performances Friday, as the seniors ran into the history books while dominating the Sunrise Region meet at Del Sol High School.

Jackson won the 100-meter dash, the 200 and the 400 and anchored the winning 1,600 relay team, and Carter took the 800 and the 1,600 to carry Silverado to the boys team title.

“Me and Dante, from the very first meet of the year, we made an oath to lead our team to region and state titles,” Jackson said. “I’ve been waiting since freshman year for this. It feels good to come out and win a region title my last year here.”

Silverado’s boys won the team title with 144½ points, easily topping second-place Foothill’s 81.
The Skyhawks also took the girls team crown with 103½ points, edging runner-up Green Valley’s 96½.

Jackson’s time of 47.54 seconds in the 400 was a region and zone record and is the seventh-fastest outdoor mark in the nation this season, according to track website athletic.net.

“I was going for at least a low 48, but I really never expected myself to go 47,” said Jackson, who will compete in football and track at Utah State next year. “I was really shocked about that. I was blessed to run that.”

Jackson won the 100 in 10.88 and the 200 in 21.64. Silverado’s 1,600 relay team placed first in 3:22.67.

Carter made history in the 1,600, winning in 4:19.66 to set a region record, and took the 800 in 1:57.44.

Carter said the region record in the 1,600 was special because the 2007 mark of 4:22.27 belonged to another Silverado runner, Solomon Bennett.

“I’d been chasing his shadow for many years,” Carter said. “Solomon Bennett was always a step ahead, and I finally got a step ahead of him.”

Jerry Oliver, who coaches Silverado’s boys and girls, wasn’t surprised by the historic performances.

“Those two are special athletes,” he said of Jackson and Carter. “It’s not often you get two at the same time in the school. Their work ethic is amazing, and it rubs off on the rest of the team.”

Added Carter: “We’ve got Ladale, who’s been like a brother to me, and this team is a family.”

Silverado’s girls won the team title thanks largely to last week’s field events, but the Skyhawks also took Friday’s 400 relay in 49.14.

After winning the 3,200 last week, Green Valley senior Alyssa Rapovy captured Friday’s 1,600 title in 5:27.4.

“That’s all I wanted. It’s what I’ve worked the entire season for,” Rapovy said of her double victories.

Canyon Springs senior Jamila Pullum set a girls region record in the 400 in 57.57 and won the 200 in 25.89. She also was on the 1,600 relay team that set a region record in 3:58.57.

The best finish of the day was in the Sunrise boys 800 relay, as Canyon Springs anchor Isaiah Charles edged Basic’s Chris Bibbs in a photo finish, 1:28.75 to 1:28.76.

The top two finishers in each event clinched spots at the Class 4A state meet, which begins Friday at Del Sol. The fifth Southern Nevada entrant to state in each event will have the top third-place mark from either region.

Jackson said Silverado’s record performances bode well for the state meet.

“People think regionals are just like a 'whatever’ thing, just take the top two and go to state, but for me, it’s to really set your mark and see where you are,” he said. “When state comes, it’s your last time running, and you have to go all out for your best time.”