Douglas to host track regionals

When the administration at Douglas High School broke ground on an all-weather track on campus more than two years ago, the plan was to one day host championship-level events at the Big George Athletic Complex.

It appears that plan has come to fruition a little earlier than expected.

Douglas High will host the 2009 Northern 4A Regional Track & Field Championships, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association announced last week at the athletic administrator/director meeting in Elko.

"We're very excited for the opportunity," Douglas High athletic director Jeff Evans said. "We put in for this at the final meeting of the school year and they announced it last week.

"We've had a good record in the past several years of hosting regional playoff events like basketball and baseball. Hopefully we can carry that over for track."

The regionals have mainly been in the Reno/Sparks area that past several years, with Damonte Ranch, Reno and Reed hosting the most recent championships.

The NIAA makes the selection for the host site.

With the new track, Douglas also brought in hurdles, standards and mats, not to mention a state-of-the-art digital timing system and scoreboard.

The Tigers hosted a number of large meets this past season, including the 21-team Big George Invitational and the Tah-Neva Conference middle school

championships.

"The regional meet is about half the amount of teams we've been able to accomodate in the past, so that shouldn't be a problem," Evans said. "They are hoping for a quality meet from us and we will do our best to provide that."