Columnist Spencer Patterson: Durango stalks leader in golf

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 11:26 a.m.

Spencer Patterson's prep sports column appears Thursday. Reach him at 259-4084 or spencer@lasvegassun.com

This week's state playoff extravaganza officially kicked off Wednesday, as the two-day 4A State Golf Tournament reached its halfway point at Reno's Hidden Valley Country Club.

After 18 holes at the par-72 course, Reno's Galena High School leads the eight-team field with a score of 373.

Southern Zone champion Durango, which went undefeated during the regular season, is just two strokes back, while Green Valley sits 15 strokes behind the leaders with a 388.

Individually, defending state champion Travis Whisman finished the day with a three-under 69, one stroke better than Durango's Justin Anderson. They are the only players under par despite 76-degree temperatures and relatively light winds.

Here is a look at the rest of the upcoming state events:

* SOFTBALL: The eight-team, double-elimination 4A tournament gets under way today at Carson High School as the Las Vegas area's four representatives try for Southern Nevada's first state title since 1993.

South top seed Silverado (29-10) comes into the event on a hot streak, fresh off its four-game sweep at the 4A Southern Zone Tournament. After a sub-par regular season, the Skyhawks have turned things around behind the clutch hitting of Kristen Toner and April Arata and steady pitching from ace Tiffany Finateri.

Bonanza (29-5) also appears ready to challenge for the crown. The Bengals know what it takes to defeat the top northern clubs after reaching the 1998 state title contest, and have a superb sophomore class led by pitcher Chirsty Carrasco, catcher Katie Kaempfer and shortstop Sara Bausher.

Leading a strong contingent of northern clubs will be Wooster (30-5), this year's Northern Zone champs. In four zone contests last week, Colts pitchers Chelsea Crosby and Jenne Baton limited the opposition to a total of three runs.

Also expected to make a strong showing is defending 4A state champion Reed (28-8), which spent the entire season ranked No. 1 in the Sun's top 10 state poll. The Raiders stumbled a bit in zones, losing to Wooster twice, but have critical playoff experience and power-hitting center-fielder Laura Edmonds (.469, seven homers) on their side.

Rounding out the field will be northern schools Galena (27-6) and Carson (26-9) and southern entries Durango (28-10) and Cimarron-Memorial (24-10) in what promises to be one of the most competitive softball tournaments in recent years.

* TRACK & FIELD: Athletes from Class 1A-4A will congregate at Durango on Friday and Saturday, and while the 4A girls title may be out of reach for the south, Durango appears to have a legitimate shot at the 4A boys crown.

Led by Ransom Minyard, Troy Bosley and Cladio Salazar -- all three of whom qualified in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdling events -- the Trailblazers bested the field at last week's Southern Zone meet by a whopping 40 points.

"There's an opportunity for us there," Durango coach Mike O'Dea said. "I think a South team could win this year."

On the girls side, Reed has won eight of the past nine state titles (including the last three), and there's no reason to believe the Raiders will be dethroned this year.

"They do a heck of a job up there," said Silverado coach Bill Walker, whose club won last week's Southern Zone girls championship. "They have a lot of points almost guaranteed."

* SWIMMING & DIVING: Southern Nevada's squads will attempt to topple two of the sport's recent dynasties when the two-day event begins Friday at UNLV's Buchanan Natatorium.

Carson arrives in town as a three-time defending girls champion and winners of six of the last seven large school state titles, while Reno enters the meet with three of the past four boys championships under its belt.

And Green Valley coach Joe Sill, who won state boys crowns in 1989 (at Bishop Gorman) and in 1996 (with the Gators), isn't putting his money on the South this year.

"I don't think any of the teams down south have a chance," Sill said. "Reno's boys should run away with it, and the girls should come down to Carson and Reno."

Several local swimmers will have a shot at individual event titles, however, including Durango's Scott Weaver (200 free, 500 free), Silverado's Kurt Cady (200 IM, 100 breast), Green Valley's Aubrie Cropper (diving), Silverado's Jacque Hoover (50 free, 100 fly) and Durango's Lindsey Whipple (100 back).

* SMALL SCHOOLS: In addition to the above-mentioned 4A events, all of Nevada's 1A-3A schools will complete their spring season this week as well. Boulder City High will represent Southern Nevada in the 3A baseball and softball tournaments, both of which begin today at Yerington High School

In baseball, the Eagles are the No. 2 seed out of Division III in the eight-team tourney. Their first opponent, Incline, is the No. 2 seed from Division II.

Likewise, in softball the Eagles are the No. 2 seed from Division III and will match up with another No. 2 seed, Dayton out of Division II.

* ANNOUNCEMENTS: Southern Nevada's top seniors will play in the 1999 High School All-Star Baseball Game Monday, June 7 at 6 p.m. at Burkholder Field in Henderson. ... The area's top volleyball players will square off in a pair of all-star games on Friday, May 28 at Chaparral High School. The girls match will begin at 5 p.m., followed by the boys contest. ... Bishop Gorman is accepting applications for its head baseball coaching position. For more information, call 732-1945, Ext. 310. The deadline for applications is June 4. ... Durango High School will host its sixth annual Blazer (volleyball) Setting Clinic from July 6-9 for boys and girls in grades 5-12. The clinic costs $125 and runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Durango will also host its seventh annual Blazer Volleyball Clinic for girls in grades 5-12 from Aug.10-13. The clinic costs $100 and also runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. For more information, call Bob Kelly at 248-9455. ... Centennial High coach Greg Bohls will host a basketball camp at Molasky Middle School from June 7-11. The camp, which runs from 6-9 p.m. nightly, costs $50 in advance or $60 at the door. For more information, call 869-5994.