The Lake Tahoe School track & field team finished another highly successful season at the Tah-Neva championships in Carson City. On a wet, cold afternoon students represented 19 different middle schools from the Tahoe Basin, Carson City, Reno, and other parts of Nth Nevada, with hundreds of athletes all determined to achieve individual glory and team championship trophies. The LTS athletes displayed true grit and determination to overcome the rain and cold to achieve tremendous success.

The LTS Bobcats once again performed magnificently and were rewarded for their efforts by claiming three team trophies -7th grade boy’s small school runner-up champions, and 8th grade boy’s small school runner-up champions, 7th grade girl’s small school 3rd place. Coach Kris Nugent was proud of his team’s efforts, “It’s been a fantastic year for our Bobcat team. On a brutally cold and wet day, our athletes persevered and showed true Bobcat spirit of never giving up and working hard. For our small school to bring home three team trophies and many individual medals is truly outstanding. I’m especially proud of our 8th grade seniors and their leadership. I will miss them next year. Also, a big thank you to team coaches Brad Bergstrom, Jon Cooper, and Rod Tayler, for always being there to help support the team and push them towards being great Bobcats.”

There were a number of outstanding individual results. As the Bobcat team set 4 school records. The 8th grade boys had a great day, finishing only 2 points behind small school champions Nth Tahoe in the team standings. Nicholas Patrick set a new school record of 5:26 in the 1600m on his way to a 1st place finish. Nicholas then followed this with a close 2nd in the 3200m, while Jack Ludviksen finished 3rd in the 3200m, too. Lukas Burton set a new school record of 57.91 in the 400m and finished 2nd. Trey Casini finished 3rd in the 800m with a time of 2:25. The 8th grade boys 4×400 team then finished the meet with a 3rd place finish and a time of 4:26.

For the 7th grade boys division, Harrison Fung was the standout performer with a gold in the 80m hurdles and 200m hurdles. Harrison also anchored the 4×100 and 4×400 teams. Sean Kirkland placed 3rd in the triple jump with a mark of 28’1″. Tommy Williams set a new PR of 6:06 with an amazing 1600m run to finish 5th. While the 4×100 team ran a season best 58.63 to finish 4th after qualifying 9th fastest.

For the 7th grade girls division, Maddie Patrick, 5th grader, ran against much older competition yet never let them stop her with a 2nd place finish in the 3200 and a time of 13:25 and a 4th in the 1600m. 6th grade student, Evee Propst, had a busy meet qualifying for five events. Evee finished 8th in the 80m hurdles and 10th in the 200m hurdles, while also running on the 4×100 and 4×400 teams, which finished 5th and 6th respectively.

A special mention must be made for our lone 8th grade girl on the team this year. Brenna Ritchie was a real leader throughout the season, and she was rewarded with a fantastic championship meet. Brenna took home gold in the 80m hurdles and then finished a close 2nd in the 200m hurdles. Coach Nugent shared, “Brenna is an amazing young lady. She broke her wrist last season after falling in a hurdle race, yet she returned this year, had a great season, and was a leader on my team.”

Many of the LTS Bobcats will now turn their focus to preparing for the upcoming USATF season, with the ultimate goal of qualifying for the National Jr. Olympics in North Carolina this July. They will be joined by a number of HIS and IMS athletes. Coach Kris Nugent knows there is still much to accomplish this summer, “It’s remarkable that our small town has so many amazing track stars that can now compete and shine on the national level. We have a number of meets starting in June in the Bay area before hopefully finishing with many of these athletes qualifying for National Jr. Olympics. I’m proud to coach these wonderful young athletes and represent our community.”