Round Mountain track: The few against the many

The smallest track team in Nye County, Round Mountain, said they had success at the two-day state meet at Carson City last weekend.

People think Beatty and Tonopah have small track teams. Beatty had 28 at the end of the year and Tonopah had around 15, but Round Mountain has nine.

Of those nine, the team sent five to state, four girls and one boy: Isabel Olmedo, Kaitlynn Chunn, Angelica Smith, Carly Chunn and Ivan Chavez.

Knights coach Candace Brown has been teaching in Round Mountain for 18 years and said the school has always put up a track team and considered the state meet to be pretty successful.

“This is my second year coaching this team,” she said. “Considering we have 85 students in the high school and have a baseball and softball team too in the spring, nine students on the track team is pretty good. The girls team did really well in the four events they entered, setting personal bests.”

The girls team scored 13 points and the one boy scored 5 points.

The girls put up two relay teams, the 4x400-meter relay and the 4x800. The 400 team (Olmedo, Kaitlynn Chunn, Smith and Carly Chunn) finished in fifth place (5 minutes, 35.09 seconds) and the 800 team, composed of the same girls, finished in sixth place (13:25.94).

Then three girls ran the 800-meter: Carly Chunn finished in fifth place (3:11.19), Olmedo sixth place (3:18.57) and Smith finished in seventh place.

Chavez ran the 800 and finished in fifth place (2:14.90).

Brown said the team was tough.

“We put up with the hot weather at Boulder City during the regionals and then went to Carson City and put up with the cold,” Brown said. “My goal for next year is to keep building on our tradition of having a good track team and improving at every meet. I want my team to build confidence and have fun.”

Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com