State Qualifying Action Comes Friday in Nevada

By John Dixon for DyeStat

The 2024 Southern Nevada XC Regionals will be held Friday at Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City.

The Divisions will be 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A. The difficult course brings a variety terrain, including loose sand and long uphills.

The boys course record is 16:00 and the girls record is 17:53, which was set by Reno’s Mel Lawrence in 2004. No girl has come within 30 seconds since.

The boys record, set in 2023 by Shadow Ridge’s Carson Wetzel, may go down, but the girls record is safe for at least another year.

Boys 5A – Five teams qualify for state and the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams. 

It’s Shadow Ridge and a race for second place. Shadow averages sub 16 minutes for its five scorers on typical courses. Led by Veterans Park record holder Carson Wetzel (15:13), Justin Rawe (15:21) and Landon Larsen (15:34), the Mustangs just have to not miss the bus.

Centennial, Desert Oasis and Green Valley will be in a battle for second.

Kenan Dagge from Desert Oasis ran 14:58.1 at the Las Vegas Invitational on Sept. 7, the fastest recorded 5,000-meter cross country time in state history. He was also 13th at the Desert Twilight in Arizona. 

Boys 4A – This Division is Southern Nevada only. Four teams from the Desert Region and four teams from the Mountain Region will qualify for State plus the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams.

Somerset Sky Pointe should have an easy time of it, with a predicted score under 20 points. Not only is Sky Pointe the best 4A team in the state, the Eagles are one of the top Nevada teams in all divisions. They have over a 100 point “hypothetical” cushion over the second best Southern 4A team.

The top runner for Sky Point is junior Carter Prater (14:58.7 at the Las Vegas Invitational). Carter was also 21st in the Sweeps Race at Woodbridge (14:06.8  3 miles).

Boys 3A – Four teams qualify for state and the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams.

Moapa Valley will be hard to beat having dominated the 3A all season. Their top runner is Mordechai Yadegar II, one of the few athletes that has broken 16 minutes season (15:22). Other teams eyeing State should be Virgin Valley, Pahrump and Sandy Ridge.

Boys 2A - Three teams qualify for state and the top seven Individuals from non-qualifying teams.

It’s Lincoln County all the way. They have a 37-point “hypothetical” cushion over West Wendover. Lincoln County also has one of the best runners in Nevada with senior Ben Finlinson (15:32)

Girls 5A – Five teams qualify for state and the top seven Individuals from non-qualifying teams. 

Just like the boys, it’s Shadow Ridge and a race for second. Coronado, Faith Lutheran and Arbor View will battle it out for second. Shadow is lead by Ryen Hughes (18:46), the top 5A Southern female. Elynn Okuda is also a sub-19 runner having run 18:54.

Girls 4A – This Division is Southern Nevada only. Four teams from the Desert Region and four teams from the Mountain Region will qualify for state plus the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams. 

Somerset Sky Pointe may be the best girls team in Nevada…all divisions. Their 1-5 “team time” is tops in the state. Coach Paul Shepard’s goal for the team is a perfect 15 point score. That will be difficult to accomplish. The Eagles won’t have to run all out to win, having loftier goals of a State Championship and a bid to the NXR Southwest Championship Race. 

Girls 3A – Four teams qualify for state and the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams.

Pahrump Valley is the dominant Southern 3A team. Aurora Whitney is the team's top runner. Individually Sandy Ridge’s Teegan LeBroke has the top time in the Southern 3A (20:17). Other teams contending for a state birth should be Somerset Losee, Moapa Valley and Virgin Valley.

Girls 2A – Three teams qualify for state and the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams.

Only three Southern teams have full squads. Lincoln County leads the way followed by West Wendover and Green Valley Christian. The top individual is Lincoln County junior Camille Lamb.