YOUR AD HERE »

Viking AD claims state travel funds were there

Matt O'Neill

The South Tahoe High track team’s trip to the Nevada 4A state track meet was not, in fact, a scene from “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”

Despite the fact the team arrived in Henderson on the day two runners had to compete, those two made the finals last Saturday and everything went smoothly.

“I did not make any arrangements without consulting with the coaches,” STHS Athletic Director Don Borges said. “The whole key was Karen Dalmacio and when she made the finals, all we needed to do was to make a phone call.



“I was very happy with the travel agent and the arrangements.”

The Vikings were slated to return home on Saturday around 8 p.m., but when Dalmacio made the finals of the 200 meters at 7:40 p.m., Borges made the change to leave Sunday night, allowing the athletes extra time to take advantage of the Las Vegas attractions.



“I asked the coaches when they wanted to come back, with their options being early Sunday or late Saturday night and they chose Sunday,” Borges said.

One state qualifier and coach Rick Brown told the Tribune on May 17 that the school wasn’t earmarking school funds for food and/or entertainment for the athletes, which was later refuted by Borges.

The athletic director said the school was aware of the financial situation of some of the athletes and prepared accordingly.

“We knew we had athletes who needed to eat,” he said. “And we had funds set aside for the meals.”

Planning for a trip to the state meet is not an easy task for a couple of reasons. Every school in the state is seeking accommodations in the same area and the amount of athletes heading to the meet is not known until about a week before the event.

“The coaches told me to plan for about 10 athletes,” Borges said. “Then all of a sudden we only had four, so I needed to tell the travel agent.

“We decided to stay in Henderson because that’s where the meet was. It wasn’t the Taj Mahal, but it was clean and every kid had his or her own bed.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around the Lake Tahoe Basin and beyond make the Tahoe Tribune's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.