Darrell Moody: Titles, WNC troubles, loss of 2 CHS greats marked 2015

The calendar year of 2015 was a big one for area sports.

There was a state championship, a couple of league championships, the discontinuation of sports programs at Western Nevada College, a world kayak championship effort, a football team that struggled to score points, and the deaths of two well-known Carson High coaches.

Here’s my top-10. Enjoy.

1. Carson High boys soccer. The Senators, who finished second to Wooster during the regular season, knocked off the Colts twice in the span of six days to claim both the regional and state soccer titles. Carson was outshot in both games, but still managed to win. It was the Senators’ third state soccer title and the first since 1998.

2. Western Nevada College opts to drop both its baseball and softball programs following the 2016 season because of funding issues. Funding has always been an issue at the local college, and it became an even bigger issue when funding was cut by the state. The baseball squad, coached by D.J. Whittemore, reached the JC World Series three times,

3. Carson High basketball. The Senators compiled a 13-3 regular-season record, sharing the Sierra League crown with the Galena Grizzlies. Carson, on the strength of a buzzer-beating shot against Manogue by Kyle Steele, reached the regional finals only to be knocked off by Galena, 61-46. It was the second regional final appearance in three years by CHS.

4. Carson High football. The Senators, led by the Carter boys on offense and Ikela Lewis and Justin Tschetter on defense, went undefeated in Sierra League play for the school’s sixth league/conference title since Blair Roman became head coach. Carson compiled a 10-2 record, both losses to Reed, one to start the season and one to end the season. It was the third time CHS has won 10 games in a season, and the second time it has won 10 straight games.

5. Corey Reid, the king of Carson High track and one of the top performers in the state, wins the prestigious decathlon event at the Arcadia Invitational over Easter break. Reid, who’s now at Azusa Pacific, won three individual events. Reid went on to grab a second-place finish at state track in the 200 and 400.

6. Sage Donnelly, a Carson City resident won a world kayaking championship. She was named Canoe and Kayak Magazine’s 2014 Female Paddler of the Year and is currently the World Freestyle Jr. Women’s Champion, the U.S. 2014 C1 Women’s National Slalom Champion and 3rd in Women’s K1 Slalom. At 15, Donnelly is a rising star in the world of whitewater kayaking, mastering the diverse skills necessary for both freestyle and slalom kayaking. But it hasn’t always been easy. She’s competing for a spot at the Summer Olympics in Brazil.

7. Dayton High football. The Dust Devils were slow to pick a replacement for Rob Turner and it translated to the worst season in school history. Dayton went winless, and didn’t score a touchdown until its final drive in the final game of the season against Fernley.

8. Carson lost two of its best coaches, Tom Andreasen and Ed Jesse. Andreasen coached the Senators to the 1975 state basketball title. He recently passed away after a short battle with cancer. Jesse, who coached the CHS football team to its last state title in 1964, passed away last week. He’s a member of the school’s football Hall of Fame.

9. Dayton athletes Zach Hawley and Kylee Turner brought home individual titles at last year’s state meet. Hawley won the shot with a throw of 54-11 3/4 while finishing second in the discus. Turner won the discus with a throw of 132-11.

10. Former Sierra Lutheran runner Nathaneal Williams helps Colorado School of the Mines to the Division II national cross-country title.