CARSON CITY — Over a decade a go, the Lowry High School girls track and field team came to close to winning a state championship but fell just short a handful of times.
Entering the NIAA State Championships this past weekend in Carson City, the Lady Bucks had a quiet confidence that they could possibly pull off an upset.
The confidence turned into reality Saturday afternoon for the Lowry girls. The Lady Bucks held the team-point lead after the first day but lost it briefly to Sunrise Mountain. However, after the Southern 3A school was left with no competitors, Lowry was able to take advantage.
Becca Kuskie finished third in the 3,200 meters to give Lowry the lead back over Sunrise Mountain at 62-58.
All that was left on the girls side was the 4x400 relay, where Lowry was the defending state champion. With Sunrise Mountain out of the picture, Lowry had to only worry about Truckee, who was close in the standings as well. The only way the Lady Bucks could lose the state title was to get disqualified
That did not happen, as Lowry cruised in the race behind Adia Bengochea, Hailey Fernandez, Hailey Hinkle and Shelby Garrison. The foursome ran their quickest time of the year at 4 minutes, 3.64 seconds to win the race and give the Lady Bucks their first-sever state title in track and field.
“We knew we would be competitive and have a good shot,” said LHS coach Grant Beatty. “We didn’t want to overthink and took it one day at a time in practice. We didn’t want to put any added pressure on them. The girls preformed well.”
