Reno boys, girls soar to the summit

Cameron Kroll shattered the state pole vault record Saturday to help Reno win the Class 4A boys title in the Nevada high school track and field championships.

It was a sweep for Reno over two days of competition at Del Sol High School as the Huskies girls won their title. Senior distance runner Marie Lawrence helped her team to a 78-70 victory over Carson.

Led by senior Dominique Maloy, who won three events Saturday to give her a record 15 in four years, Pahrump Valley's girls squad won the Class 3A crown -- the lone team title for Southern Nevada.

Pahrump's girls scored 139 points to beat Spring Creek (99.5) and Boulder City (97.5).

In boys 4A competition, Silverado (69) placed third.

Silverado senior Sean Zurko won the 800-meter run in the day's best race to end his four-year prep career unbeaten by a Nevada high school runner, he said.

Kroll, a senior headed to Cal, vaulted 17 feet to shatter the old mark by 6 inches.

Lawrence led the Reno girls squad by winning four events, including a sub 5-minute run in the 1,600. She finished in 4 minutes, 58.82 seconds, which was short of her state record by about 6 seconds.

Zurko started in the fourth lane in the 800 run and made up the stagger after 200 meters, but Galena's Joe Abbott passed him after one lap. Zurko moved back in front with about 200 meters left but had to stretch at the finish line to hold off Abbott by about a foot.

"I hate making it exciting," said Zurko, ranked second nationally in the 800 and going to Texas Christian University. "I really, really wanted to win the 800 in state for the third time."

While explaining a hip injury he incurred about three weeks ago, he had to drop a bag of ice he held on his upper thigh so he could go throw up.

"Oh, no," he said, feeling an impending loss of lunch -- and a week's worth of stress. "I've just been so worried about winning it. I didn't want to lose my last race."

CLASS 3A

Maloy, who will attend Arizona State, closed her prep career with a state-record time of 24.93 seconds to win the 200-meter dash after winning the long jump and 400 earlier in the afternoon. She won the 100 on Friday.

"I didn't realize I was only a few tenths off the state record," said Maloy, who was 0.64 off the mark. "I'm just happy. I'm tired. I'm satisfied."

Another top performer was Boulder City senior Katie Palmer, who won the 100 hurdles and 1,600 after opening the event with victories in the 300 hurdles and 800. She finished with 11 track championships and ran a personal-best 5:07.2 to win the 1,600.

Dayton High, located near Carson, won the boys title.

Pahrump's Kyle Mills won the triple jump with a leap of 46 feet, 3 1/4 inches.

CLASS 1A/2A

Rite of Passage, located in Northern Nevada, recorded the most points of the meet with 204 to win the boys 2A title. Whittel was first in girls.

In 1A, the Spring Mountain boys finished first, and Smith Valley edged Laughlin 112-103 for the girls title.

• RECORDS -- Southern Nevada athletes accounted for four of the 21 state records set during the championships.

Maloy had two (100, 200) and Palmer one (800).

The nationally ranked Silverado boys 800 relay team -- Zurko, Solomon Bennett, Josh O'Barr and John Reeves -- improved its record in the event.

A state record can be set only during the championships.