For all but 12 Incline High School track athletes, Friday and Saturday’s divisional meet in Winnemucca was the last of the season.

They made the most of it.

Incline junior Bobby Feliciano started things off by delivering his fastest time in the 100 meter dash this season, racking a 12.42 second sprint, which was good for 11th place. Despite not qualifying for this weekend’s state championship meet (only the top five places made it) coach Bill Devine said Feliciano’s time illustrated a great improvement.

“At the beginning of the season, Bobby might not have finished in the top 25, and now look, he almost made it into the top 10,” Devine said.

Senior Nick Francis qualified for the state meet with an 18 feet, 9 inch long jump, good for third place. Devine said Francis was a dark horse going in to the event and was surprised Francis qualified in the long jump as compared to the triple jump and high jump, two events where he took a close sixth place.

“While he just missed the other two it was great to see he took third in long jump, that’s what he’ll be concentrating on all week to see if we can increase that distance even more,” Devine said.

He was also impressed with the running of freshman Keith Cuadros and sophomore Sterling Vinson, two runners who didn’t qualify for state but did put up their personal best times.

“Sterling and Keith ran great races,” Devine said. “They were so tough, Sterling probably ran the best race of his life in the mile (5:30) and Keith annihilated his personal best in the 800 (2:19),” Devine said. “I’m so excited about this core of distance runners in the next few seasons.”

That core includes sophomore Mike Sunseri, who qualified for state in the two-mile but missed qualifying for state in the 4x800 relay with Cuadros, Vinson and freshman Eric Baron. The team turned in a 9:33.21, which Devine said will improve next year.
In all, two Highlander boys qualified for state in Sunseri and Francis.

On the girl’s side, Devine said he was impressed with the performance of freshman Emily Hanna and sophomore Shanna Murray in the 100 meter dash. The pair came in 13th and 14th place, respectively, and Devine said they impressed him with their ability to get out of the starting blocks quickly.

The race also marked senior Shawnee Wood’s first action of the meet. The four-year letter winner in track pulled up in the race with a hamstring cramp after returning from a hip flexor injury.

“We ended up holding Shawnee out for the rest of the meet because there was no point in aggravating that injury,” Devine said. “We’ll get her running this week to see how she’ll respond and if she can be ready for state.”

Devine said the quick starting ability of Murray and sophomore Erin Canino will help to fill Wood’s spot if she is unable to compete at the state meet.

“You really don’t lose anything in terms of speed between those three,” Devine said. “With Shawnee you get the experience, which is huge. It’s important, but as far as speed they aren’t real different.”

Canino led off the first team Devine said should be a favorite going into the state meet, the girls 4x100 meter relay.

Made up of Canino, sophomore Katy Wright, senior Holly O’Connor and junior Charlene O’Connor, the squad turned in a 53.33 second time.

“That was almost a school record,” Devine said. “They are primed to break a school record at state and the girls are amped for it. Char, Holly and Katy all ran the best splits of the year, and we got a great start out of Erin.”

Charlene O’Connor also qualified for state in the 400 meter run (fourth place), 800 meter run (second place), and 4x400 meter relay (second place). The 4x400 team of Hanna, Wright, and both O’Connors set a new school record in the race with a 4:15.73.

Another relay which came within hundredths of a second of qualifying for state was the foursome of Murray, Canino, Hanna and sophomore Sarah Scott in the 4x200. They recorded a 1:57.66, missing fifth place by six one-hundredths of a second.
“They ran a great race,” Devine said. “Sarah killed her best split time, and I’m really excited about this team in the next few years — the oldest runners are sophomores.”
Devine said one relay which will be a dark horse this weekend at Reno’s Damonte Ranch High School for the state meet is the 4x800 meter relay. Composed of Scott, senior Katherine Mancuso, freshman Briana Drago and Wright, the team took fourth with an 11:03.10.

“I may play with the order they run in but this team all turned in times I was expecting them to, and I think Kat (Mancuso) ran the best she has all season,” Devine said.
Drago will also go to state in the two mile run, where she took home a fifth place finish in a time of 13:04.37.

Holly O’Connor qualified for state with a pair of outstanding hurdle times. She took first in the 300 hurdles and second in the 100 hurdles.