MVHS Athletes Get In On Post Season Action

By GABRIELLE SHIOZAWA

Moapa Valley Progress

The Moapa Valley High School Cross Country teams already ended their 2018 season with a standout performance at the State level. Two Pirate runners; however, extended their finish line when they qualified for this year’s Nike Cross Regionals.

Jerrick Stastny and Bryton Dorsey, both seniors at MVHS, competed in the Nike Regionals race on Saturday, November 17. The event took place at the Grande Sports Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona. It included athletes from Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada.

The event began on the night of Friday, November 16. Athletes had the opportunity to check out the course they would run the following day. They also had a pre-meet review/discussion, a school T-shirt exchange, and a pasta dinner.

On Saturday morning, nearly 3,000 high school runners met at the starting lines to compete. Stastny and Dorsey both ran in the boys’ small school race. Stastny finished the race in 18 minutes and 1.5 seconds. Dorsey completed the course in 18 minutes and 13.3 seconds.
“I enjoyed running against kids from different states,” remarked Stastny. “It was fun and a great way to finish my high school Cross Country career.”

“It was one of the fastest courses I’ve ever run,” commented Dorsey. “I feel like the Southwest Regional Championship was a great finish to the end of a great season. It was fun, and it certainly won’t be my last Cross Country race.”

Coach Gary Watkins explained that his goal is always to send as many racers as possible to post-season competitions. In future years, he hopes the entire Pirate team will qualify to run at the Nike Cross Regionals.
“Our intent is to have our elite runners see the wider world of Cross Country, motivate them to be better, and to bring valuable insight back to share with our team,” said Watkins.

Both Dorsey and Stastny plan to continue running Cross Country in college.