Tuesday, April 5, 2005 | 9:11 a.m.
Palo Verde is hosting this year's regional and state track championships, and so far this year, the Panthers look to be well represented at those May meets.
Palo Verde's boys have run the second-best four-man 100-meter relay this year, their 43.6 seconds less than a second off the pace set by Eldorado. And senior Marc Evans, the Panthers' star running back on this year's undefeated state champion football team, has the best 200-meter dash this year with a 21.94 run, according to nvtrackstats.com.
It's by and large the football team that's been guiding Palo Verde through the 4x100 this year, Panthers track coach Mike O'Dea said.
"We've put together some fairly good relay teams," he said, citing Evans, Henry Batton, Chad Vanyo and Martez Smith. "They're all football players, and a nice group for us."
Others among nvtrackstats.com's top 10 in the 100-meter dash include Cheyenne's Torrie Coleman, Eldorado's Andy Bacchetta and Rancho's Ariece Perkins, all key parts of their respective football teams last fall.
With so many athletes participating in track, there's bound to be some carryover. O'Dea said the key is training all-around.
"You're compartmentalizing your training, but it's a team effort," he said. "Not any one group can win it. You need people in every area if you can get it."
But the double-takes, like all other good things, must end. Jim and his wife Diane -- who established a strong dance program at Desert Pines -- are retiring from teaching, opting to sub and travel after next year.
In four years, Jim Richmond helped build Desert Pines into a Sunrise Region contender in girls' basketball. The team made it to the 2003 state tournament, and lost in this year's Sunrise Region title game in overtime.
"We didn't win any championships but we were right there the whole time," Richmond said. "We were always kind of one game out of the money. I was real proud of the girls, the way they played, the dedication they put into it."
The Jaguars were 9-7 in Richmond's first year, 18-8 his second and 23-10 the year they advanced to the tournament in Reno.
Oddly enough, Richmond had very little coaching experience when he took over the Desert Pines program. Working in electronics in Seattle, he'd volunteered as a basketball coach in the area. When he first moved to Las Vegas in 1998, he was an assistant football coach at Clark and spent a year at Las Vegas before going to Desert Pines.
He was skeptical when he joined the girls' basketball team at Desert Pines as an assistant. He says basketball is "sacred" to him.
"I'd never done anything with the girls," he said. "I thought girls' basketball, that's not really basketball, it's just a bunch of emotions running around out there. I was pleasantly surprised by how competitive it is, how dedicated the girls are."
Richmond had a clear pick of his favorite memory at "D.P."
"The highlight would be these last couple of years, where winning is hopefully becoming a natural thing," he said. "Nobody's in there to solely have fun. Winning comes along and that's what makes it worthwhile."
Overall, Desert Pines was 72-35 under Richmond. A replacement has not been named.
Monday, Ludwick began his fourth major league season, this year as the fourth outfielder on the Cleveland Indians' roster. In spring training, he hit .246 with three home runs.
Interested large-school teams can contact Chuck Hildebrand at the above mentioned Web site.
Rancho claimed the Big Six title in 1958. According to published reports, the Rams' regular-season game against Basic was postponed from its original October date into late November. Rancho needed the win to clinch the best regular-season record and the Big Six title, the school's first state title in anything.
The state track and field championships will be May 10-12 at Palo Verde High School in Summerlin. Boys' volleyball will be played at its customary digs at Henderson's Coronado High on May 17-18.
Baseball's state tournament will be May 19-21 at CCSN's Morse Stadium in Henderson. A few miles up US 95, the softball tournament will be held at Stephanie Lynn Craig Fields near Russell and Galleria.
Regional tournament sites have also been announced. Sunrise Region tournaments will be held at Coronado (volleyball), Rhodes Ranch (golf), Stephanie Lynn Craig (softball), Palo Verde (track) and Durango and Centennial (baseball). Sunset regionals will be held at Coronado (volleyball), Legacy (golf), Stephanie Lynn Craig (softball), Palo Verde (track) and Basic and Eldorado (baseball).
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