MVHS Grad Signs To Compete At Oregon College

By NICK YAMASHITA

The Progress

Moapa Valley High School is sending another of its athletes of into the realm of collegiate sports competition. On Wednesday, August 11, MVHS graduate Skotlyn Hill signed a commitment to joining the track and field team of Southwestern Oregon Community College (SOCC) in Coos Bay, Oregon. Hill graduated in May with the MVHS class of 2021.

In attendance with Hill for the signing was her mother, Star Hill-Widdison, and two of her coaches: MVHS Track Coach Brandon Jones and Flag Football Coach Dave Belcher.

“I am excited and enthusiastic at this opportunity,” Hill said. “It will be fun to continue this sport. I was offered scholarships to four other schools for track and field and this college I fell in love with.”

The other colleges that were courting Hill included Southern Virginia University, Park University, and smaller colleges in California and Montana.

At the end of May, colleges started emailing Coach Jones to get more information about Hill and to offer trips to the campuses. After spending four days up in Oregon, Hill said that she knew that is where she wanted to go.

“I loved the area!” she said. “It is so green and beautiful. Oregon has so many national and state forests and parks. It is just so beautiful there! A lot different than here.”

SOCC has nine other Women’s Sports in addition to Track and Field. The school is in the Northwest Athletic Conference which includes thirty-six colleges, the largest community college conference in the nation.

While at MVHS, Hill competed in the 100m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, High Jump, 4×200 Relay, and 4×400 Relay. In the 100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdles, Hill placed 1st in every meet for the 2020-21 season. She even broke a school record and recorded her best personal records with times of 15.75 in the 100m Hurdles and 47.79 in the 300m Hurdles. She was named the Southern Nevada Regional Champion in both events. Unfortunately there was no State Championship due to the pandemic.

“I know I have to get better and continue to improve,” said Hill. “It’s going to be more competitive in college.”

Her Flag Football Coach and Assistant Track Coach Dave Belcher had nothing but praise to say about Hill. “Skotlyn has been an inspiration in the flag football team for four years,” he said. “She dominated the line of scrimmage on defense forcing QBs to make quick decisions forcing many miscues. She led the team on flag pulls and was a leader on both sides of the ball. She helped us win the State Championship as a Junior and then go undefeated her Senior year. She will be missed. It was a pleasure to be her coach!”

MVHS Track and Field Coach Brandon Jones also added praise. “I’ve had the pleasure of being Skotlyn’s coach for the past four years,” he said. “She has improved dramatically during that time.”

“Skotlyn is one of the most competitive athletes I have ever coached,” Jones added. “She hates to lose and works hard to be the best. I am proud of her for breaking our hurdle school record last spring, and I know she will succeed at the college level.”

Hill expressed appreciation to her mother for her support and attending all of her games and meets. She also wanted to thank all of her coaches during high school including Jones, Belcher, Lisa Cornwall, Mitchell Ozaki, Robin Ozaki and MVHS Athletic Director Dallas Larsen.

Skotlyn is the daughter of Star Hill-Widdison of Logandale, NV and Bryant Hill of Murrieta, CA. The track season for SOCC doesn’t start until February of 2022, but training is year-round.