A look back at 2008 in sports

ust call it the year of things that haven't happened around here in quite a while.

The Record-Courier takes the last issue of every year to look back upon the year that was, and in looking through the pages of 2008, a clear theme seemed to rise to the top.

It seemed every season had at least one player chasing a school or state record, someone trying to set the bar a little higher for those that will follow. And at least every season seemed to have a moment that left someone saying "When's the last time that happened, anyway?"

Whether it was Tyler Hoelzen's complete-game no-hitter against the North Valley's baseball team (It took him just 85 pitches to dispatch the Panthers with 10 strikeouts and two walks) or the Douglas boys' soccer team, not even a full year removed from winning the regional title and advancing to the state championship game, missing the regional playoffs for the first time in six years, there were plenty of jaw-droppers, heart-stoppers and head-scratchers along the way.

There was the unexpected, like Douglas grad Pat Carlson receiving a Division I basketball scholarship from Cal State Bakersfield in May after bouncing around between two junior colleges. He has since started seven games and played in 13 while averaging 5.7 points per game for the Roadrunners this season.

There was the ugly, like when the 2008 Sertoma All-Star Football Classic was cut short due to unsportsmanlike conduct from both teams in June.

And there was the pretty darn cool, like when 2008 Olympic discus gold medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton coming to town to speak at a Boys & Girls Club dinner in October.

As has become tradition here at The R-C, the following are our top 10 stories of the year.

Part of it was the history of the story " the Tigers hadn't been to state in 16 years " and part of it was where they had to come from to get there.

Douglas bounced back from an upset loss to Damonte Ranch to win five of its last six games in the regular season, gaining some momentum back for the playoffs. A first-round win against Reed set up a showdown against Galena and national blue-chip prospect Luke Babbitt in the semifinals.

Douglas built a 12-point fourth-quarter lead against the Grizzlies, but went without a field goal over the final six minutes of the game. The Tigers relied on their defense and some key free throw shooting down the stretch to clinch the state berth and advance to their second regional title game in as many years.

Eventual state champ Reno topped the Tigers for the third time of the season in the regional title game two nights later and a tough squad from Cheyenne eliminated Douglas in the state semifinals at Lawlor.

The Tigers' impressive 21-11 season, however, couple with that elusive state berth made them the top story of the year.

It had been 13 years since the Douglas High track and field team had been able to host a meet, but that all changed with the long-awaited completion of the $2 million renovation of the sports complex.

The team hosted its first meet since 1995 on March 8, and went on to host three high school meets including the inaugural Big George Invitational in late April, a number of middle school meets including the conference championships and was awarded the 2009 NIAA regional championship meet heading into the school year.

Work on the complex took nearly two years to complete fully, but planning and fundraising for the project had been in the works for much longer.

Runners said the track was among the faster surfaces in the area and the facility, with its digital timing system and large track-specific scoreboard drew rave reviews from visiting athletes and spectators alike.

As a final touch, the school's Block D club unveiled a pair of hall of fame walls on the northeast side of the complex in August, one for football and one for track.

To say 2004 Douglas grad Bryan Miller's summer was a whirlwind barely covers the whole of it.

Miller, an outfielder, had scarcely wrapped up his baseball career at Troy University in May when he received a call telling him he'd been named to the NCAA Division I All-American first team.

He'd led the nation in doubles and base hits at Troy, but he said the news came as a big surprise. Miller had gone unrecruited out of high school, but caught on with Mesa College in Arizona, where he also earned All-American honors before signing with Troy.

The mention stirred up some hope that he might be taken in the Major League Baseball amateur draft in June, but he went undrafted.

"That was confusing for me," he said. "There were guys getting drafted that I'd never heard of and teams were passing on their final picks. I was hoping with the All-American mention that someone would take a chance on me."

As it turned out, it worked out for the best. Miller signed a free agent contract with the Washington Nationals organization in July and after a little more than a week of rookie league ball, he was promoted to Single-A.

He is signed with the Nationals through the end of Spring Training 2009.

After winning the league and regional titles last year, and returning four starters, it was a given that the Lady Tigers' golf team was a favorite to repeat.

The team set the statewide standard for the four-player scoring format, which debuted this season, with a team 319 at Wolf Run in September.

A week later, sophomore standout Bethany Wurster tied the state individual record in relation to par with a 6-under 66 at Genoa Lakes.

Wurster ended up winning her second regional title and the team extended its Northern Nevada tournament win streak to 15 while clinching its second-consecutive regional and league titles.

Seniors Michele Nikkels and Shelby Louie and junior Heather Henderson all ended up with all-region honors while coach Steve Gustafson was the region's coach of the year and Wurster was the region's player of the year.

The team took its second-consecutive state runner-up finish as well.

Another sophomore sensation, Amelia Ritger, continued her regional dominance in tennis, winning her second-consecutive regional title and establishing herself as one of the top players in school history.

She ran her impressive career record to 67-0 against Northern Nevada opponents. A loss in the first round of state dropped her overall record to 67-2. Her regional win streak is considered to be the longest in school history.

Another win at regionals would give Ritger the school record for individual regional titles.

Sierra Lutheran junior Wade Meddles, who had just transferred to the school heading into the year, certainly made some waves during his first year in town.

He'd already won the state 1A track & field championship in the 3,200 last spring, but his arrival at Sierra Lutheran bolstered and already strong cross country team.

Meddles won the 3.1-mile Stanford Invitational in September with an impressive time of 15:28, which instantly pushed him on to the national radar.

He went on to post the fastest time (16:13.19) at any level at the state championships in Boulder City, beating even perennial 4A power Bryan Tibaduiza of Galena, who finished in 16:22.82.

With the 2A state and regional titles already under his belt, Meddles took third at the Nike Nationals Southwest Championships in Arizona. He later ran a 15:53 at the Foot Locker West Regional Championships in Walnut, Calif., to take 11th.

That's to say nothing of the rest of the Falcon squad, which posted strong enough times in winning the 2A state and team titles to have competed for the same titles at the 4A level. Senior Michael Kubel, junior Preston Lyons, Nathanael Williams and Levi Grabow were among the Falcons top runners on the year.

From the moment camp opened for the Douglas football team, everyone was saying this would be the year of the pass.

After senior quarterback Tim Rudnick threw for 373 yards in the season-opener against Las Vegas High's hyper-talented defensive backfield, that was all confirmed.

Rudnick finished the year with 2,550 yards and 23 touchdowns on 157 completions, all single-season school marks, and 3,237 yards, 31 touchdowns and 199 completions for his career, which were good enough for second on the school lists.

His single-season yardage was good enough for fourth all-time in the state, according to the NIAA record book, and third among 4A quarterbacks. His 23 touchdown passer were 10th in the NIAA books and fourth among 4A players.

Wide receiver was among the biggest benefactors of the passing game, hauling in nine touchdown catches and 963 receiving yards, both of which were school single-season marks.

The aerial theme extended across The R-C's coverage area as Coleville's third-year starting quarterback Jason Peters continued to torch both the school and state 8-man record books.

Peters, a junior, threw for 3,477 yards and 59 touchdown passes, breaking his own school single-season marks. He already owned the school career records coming into the season.

His top target, Emmi Sandoval, had 31 touchdown catches and 1,686 yards receiving, which were both good for school records as well.

Not that it ever really went anywhere, but the 2008 edition of the Douglas High girls' soccer team made a return to its once trademark dominance.

With a starting lineup that included five freshmen, the Tigers rolled out a 10-game win streak to open the year and wound up breaking the school record for wins in a season at 19. Along the way, they won clinched the Sierra League title and advanced to the state championship before a heartbreaking loss to three-time champ Reed.

Douglas was led by senior Ally Freitas, who gave honest chase to the school season and career marks for goals, scoring 29 goals on the year (including playoffs) and 55 for her career.

The Tigers were characterized by a staunch defense and a speedy offensive attack. With 11 key players and seven starters expected back, this season could very well have been the beginning of a dynasty for Douglas.

With nearly its entire starting core returning and a strong crop of newcomers, the Douglas volleyball team wasted little time getting down to business, winning its first 20 matches.

Along the way, the Tigers knocked off the defending Northern 4A, 3A and 2A champs.

After a loss in the championship game at an out-of-state tournament, the Tigers went on another long streak, this time 14 matches and vaulted into the regional semifinals before a surprise loss to Manogue ended their season.

Douglas clinched its second league title in as many years and setter Megan Mitchell was named the league's player of the year for her efforts.

Douglas sophomore Thomas Wicker took steady strides on the boys' golf circuit as a freshman, but came into his own in his second year, winning the Sierra League individual title and clinching his second-consecutive state berth.

He made a name for himself as an unflinchingly consistent player and shot a two-under par 70 at the California Junior Tour Spring Championships in April.

He was also selected for the Boys Junior Americas Cup in July.

What did we forget? Surely there are some stories we missed that you are thinking of right now. Log on to this story online at www.recordcourier.com and leave a comment stating your top stories of the year for Douglas County sports.