VVHS State Baseball Champs Put A Ring On It

State Championship rings are forever. And there will only be 23 Virgin Valley High School 2022 3A State Baseball Championship rings made. The young men and coaches who received those rings last week will remember that experience forever.

On Saturday evening, August 6, this elite group gathered for a pool party at the home of Coach Hoover in Mesquite.
“We brought the entire team back together to honor each one of them for their hard work and determination, and to present them with their Championship Rings,” said Assistant coach Nick Montoya.

The team even brought back graduated seniors who are now alumni to the program. This included Kyler Sudweeks who will be serving a church mission to Mexico in November; Joseph (Joey B) Kazak, who has enlisted into the military and leaves on Aug. 22; and Cameron (Chancellor) Perkins, who wil be attending Southern Utah University with his two older brothers while he awaits his mission call after the first of the year.
“These seniors will be missed,” Montoya said. “We are very excited and proud of these young men.”

In addition to the outgoing seniors, the returning players were also honored, showing the depth of the Bulldog dugout.

There were three freshman on the state championship team including Mason Montoya, Decker Lee and Manny Plancarte.
“These underclassmen stepped up and helped with some heavy lifting when asked,” Montoya said. “They will be an added weapon in next year’s team.”

The team also recognized the many returning sophomores and juniors from last year’s team. Montoya called this group “the heart of the Bulldogs’ offensive juggernaut.” They included Drake Wakefield, Chandon Jensen, Kurt Felix, Cameron Wright, Gavin Hughes, Bryce Intagliata, Braydenb Harris, Jared Jensen, aiden Litzenberger, Matt Hughes, Marty Jordan and Stratton Waite.

Finally, the team honored its five coaches for their vision and leadership. These included head coach Dan Wright, Nicholas Montoya, Nate Porter, Jon Felix and Jon Hoover.

Head coach Dan Wright was awarded with Coach of the Year for both the southern 3A league and for the State 3A.

Finally, the team was awarded with the 3A Academic State Championship as well, scoring a cumulative 3.5 GPA as a team.

“We want to give a special thanks to all the support, dedication of the local businesses and all the parents that helped with the Ring Ceremony and especially during the season,” said Montoya. “We were excited and proud to bring the Baseball State Championship back to Mesquite and VVHS.”