The Trojans boys track team got help from all areas of the track in their recent win at its last home meet of the season on April 6 and then went to the Valley Relays at Valley High School in Las Vegas and took third among 11 teams.
Las Vegas High School was first with 103.93 points, Coronado was second (93.94) and Pahrump was third (64.99).
At home, the boys team compiled 153 points among five teams to take first place, Del Sol took second (126), Desert Pines third (66), Tonopah fourth (19) and Indian Springs fifth (6).
The Trojans took eight first-place finishes during their last home meet.
Dylan Montgomery took two first places in the 400-meter run (52.8 seconds) and the 110-meter hurdles (15.26). Bryce Odegard also had two first-place finishes, winning the 800 (2:10.3) and the 1,600 (4:51.8).
Cole Goodman took first in the 3,200 (11:17.10), Nik Clark took first in the 300-meter hurdles (42.8) and Jeremy Albertson took first in the discus (146 feet, 11 inches).
The Trojans took first in the 4×800 relay (8:57.3) composed of Nik Clark, Dylan Montgomery, Layron Sonerholm and Bryce Odegard.
At the Valley Relays, Dylan Montgomery took first in the 300 hurdles out of 16 runners (41.16).
Albertson took first place in the shot put (44 feet, 5.0 inches, a personal best) out of 21 throwers. He also took first in the discus (153-10, a personal best) out of 19 throwers.
“My coach is always pushing me hard to get better,” Albertson said. “I have already broken my best throws from last year.”
His coach, Fred Schmidt, is also pleased by the direction he is going and the improvement he has shown this year.
“Albertson is not only being coached by me, he is also being instructed in Las Vegas by his club track team,” Schmidt said. “He has former Olympic champions instructing him. I am not worried about the kind of information he is getting. We are just tuning him up a bit.”
“Biomechanically, the throw is the same,” Schmidt said. “Everyone, regardless of their size, has to throw it the same way. We are just finding what his limitations are and we are bending that to work with the biomechanics of the throw. So he uses his body the best way he can.”
IN OTHER FIELD EVENTS
Sophomore Chance Farnsworth is making some noise in the high jump. He is on a quest to top six feet. In Boulder City at the Ron Resler Invitational on March 31, he jumped 5-10 and he feels he can go higher.
Farnsworth loves to jump, which is evident in his choice of sports, track and basketball.
“I am really competitive and just want to be the best,” Farnsworth said. “I use the Fosbury Flop to get over the bar. I train with my dad, who was a jumper too. My ultimate goal is 6-8.”
The Fosbury Flop was perfected in 1968 by Dick Fosbury, who won a gold medal in the high jump with it in the 1968 Summer Olympics. After that, it became the dominant style of high jumping.
It requires the athlete to jump backward over the bar, allowing your center of gravity to pull your feet over.
The next Trojans track meet will be at 3:30 p.m., on April 18 at Chaparral High School.
Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com