GIRLS STATE TRACK: Badger, Bonds power Centennial; Liberty’s Blake rules discus

Sydney Badger and Tiana Bonds each won one individual event, and the Centennial girls track and field team doubled the score on its nearest challenger after the first day of the Division I state meet Friday at Silverado.

The Bulldogs lead with 60 points, with Damonte Ranch (30) in second place.

“We’re where we want to be and where I expected us to be,” Centennial coach Roy Session said. “Five (of the nine) events (today) are our best events.”

Badger ran away from the field in the 1,600 meters but missed the record she was aiming for, running 4 minutes, 57.89 seconds in windy conditions. Coronado’s Sara Dort finished strong to nab second place (5:14.16).

“Sydney is disappointed that she didn’t run faster,” Session said. “But there was no way she could get a record in that wind.”

Bonds won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.39, passing runner-up Courtney Robinson near the 50-meter mark.

“I got a bit of a bad start,” Bonds said. “Nerves got to me a little, but I caught her about half way and felt good after that.”

Liberty’s Ashlie Blake won the discus with a throw of 154 feet, nearly 36 feet farther than the second-place throw of 118-1 by Lotulelie Mele of Hug.

It was 3 feet short of her best throw this season and 2 feet off the state record, but Blake took it in stride.

“I’m just glad to get it out of the way and do what I do best (the shot put),” Blake said. “It’s been a slow year for me (with the discus). It’s coming along, much better than a year ago. I’m finally getting it to go where I want it to go.”

Coronado began the meet by winning the 3,200 relay in 9:35.86. Kristin Morrill opened a 10-meter lead on the second leg that the Cougars never relinquished.

“It’s nice to train hard for something and see it pay off,” said Morrill, the only senior on the relay team. “We really wanted that one. It’s been an awesome season.”

Freshman Vashti Cunningham of Bishop Gorman won the high jump (5-8) and was second in the long jump behind Hug’s Shaina Carthen (18-1¼).

“The wind was a real problem (in the high jump),” said Cunningham, who is the national leader in the event with a best of 6-0¼. “Once I was in the air, the wind would pull me back away from the bar. It was hard to adjust. The wind was gusty.”

In the Division I-A meet, Cayla Nikodemus won the long jump with a wind-aided leap of 19-0½ and was second in the high jump to help Faith Lutheran grab the lead with 58 points.

Nikodemus’ mark in the long jump would have set a state-meet record under legal wind conditions.

Nevertheless, it was the day’s best jump and nearly 1½ feet better than Kaitlin Klem of Pahrump Valley (17-6).
Jasper Gray of Cheyenne was the only double-winner among the girls in Division I-A. Gray won the 200 with a time of 25.74 and the 400 in 56.93.

Adriana Newell of Reed was a double winner in Division I, taking the 200 in 24.91 and the 400 in 54.76, the fastest time run by a Nevada girl this year and less than a second of the record (54.23).