Vandal track teams second at Pershing County Invite

Only Battle Mountain bested the Eureka County High School (ECHS) track and field teams at the Pershing County Invitational on Friday, April 3. The Vandals and Lady Vandals each finished second out of 14 teams.

“Both girls and boys teams did great! The girls broke three meet records, and the boys 4×200 relay broke our school record,” ECHS head coach Gio Minoletti informed.

The 4×200-meter relay team of seniors Joseph Minoletti, Nathan Tudor, Alex McKay and junior Preston Auch ran 1:38.63 to break a school record that has stood since 2004. McKay also won the 110-meter hurdles and was fourth in the 300-meter hurdles. Auch was fifth in the 200-meter dash and 13th in the 100 meters with a personal best time of 12.46 seconds. Minoletti was third in the high jump.

ECHS junior Russell Rowley posted personal bests in the discus, the mile and two-mile races. His discus throw of 110 feet, three inches was good for fifth place, and he finished third in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. Sophomore Lian Allred also posted personal bests in the mile and two-mile, taking fourth in the 3,200 meters and fifth in the 1,600-meter race.

The Lady Vandals had three athletes break meet records. Junior Brooke Watts ran the 300-meter hurdles in 53.36 seconds. Sophomore Anna McKay ran 800 meters in 2:38.92, and freshman Melissa Johnson, in a second-place finish, bested the 3,200-meter meet record. 

Watts also won the 400-meter race and the triple jump with a personal best leap of 30 feet, 10 inches. Johnson was second in the mile, and Anna McKay cleared four feet, two inches for the first time in the high jump, which was sixth-best.

Freshman Sophie Hassell had personal bests in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, finishing fifth and third, respectively. Sophomore Reagan Mello had her best long jump of 14 feet, 2.75 inches to take fourth, and she threw the discus nearly 68 feet to finish fifth.

The Vandals will host 14 teams for the Eureka Invitational on Friday, April 10. Field events start at 10 a.m. and races start at 10:30 a.m. They head to the Elko County Invitational on the 17th, the Carson Invite on April 24-25, and the Battle Mountain Twilight Meet on the 30th. 

“It’s senior appreciation week, so we’ll be honoring our five seniors: Alex McKay, Joseph Minoletti, Julia Minoletti, Chris Bender and Nate Tudor,” Coach Minoletti informed. “They’ve been with our program for all four years, and I appreciate all their dedication, hard work and discipline.”