The Virgin Valley High School track and field girl and boys teams welcomed great weather to begin the 2026 season. Coach Gary Hartman has high hopes for his squad. “We have more depth this year and hope it gives us more placing ability at state,” he said.

On the boys’ side, Keegan Stahl leads a strong sprint group for the Dawgs. Stahl owns the school record in the 100-meter dash and should easily break the 200 meter this year. He will lead the relay teams along with Gauge Draney, who brings experience to the relay teams. Senior Cyril Cominski and Christopher Gaytan lead the middle-distance runners, and Tysin Broderick dominates his Bulldog teammates in the long-distance races. Riley Gossett and Braylen Dickason are strong competitors in the weight throws. Kyle Dalton hopes to improve on his pole vaults this season, and Ethan Ofori returns in the long and triple jumps.

On the girls’ side, Wynn Kelley returns as the only Bulldog girl to place at the 3A State Championship meet. Kelley took third place in the long jump and second place in the high jump. Hartman will be counting on youngsters to help this season. Freshman McKayla Jordan is a promising middle-distance runner, and sophomore Raia Davis has shown she is a promising sprinter in the dashes. Senior Julia Walters brings experience to the hurdle events.

Virgin Valley hosted 12 1A, 2A and 3A teams in its annual Ken Jensen Invitational meet on March 13. Moapa Valley easily won the boys division, outdistancing second-place Pahrump Valley 212.5 to 134 points. Virgin Valley placed fourth with 65 points. Sprinter Keegan Stahl was the standout for the Bulldogs, winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes plus running a leg on the third place 4 x 400-meter relay along with Cyril Cominski, Ramirez and Belnap. His 4 x 100-meter relay run was marred by a disqualification on a pass from the third runner and Stahl. Despite a huge deficit after the pass, Stahl amazed the crowd by catching Moapa Valley at the finish line, but the disqualification stood.

Other point-getters for the Dawgs were Joaquin Ramirez in the 400 meters, Tyzin Broderick with a second in the 1600 meters and a fourth-place finish in the 3,200 meter. Broderick ran a leg in the 4 x 800-meter relay, along with Cris Pantelakis, Stone Thorton and Gage Draney, who placed fifth in the relay. The Bulldogs’ 4 x 200-meter relay team, consisting of Jacob Belnap, Jack Kelley, Draney and Caiden Pierce, placed third.

The Bulldogs continued a strong showing in the relays with a fifth place showing in the 4 x 800 relay. Running for the Dawgs were Broderick, Pantelakis, Thorton and Draney. In the field events, Riley Gossett placed third in the shot and seventh in the discus throw. Fellow shot putter Braylen Dickason placed fourth.

On the girls’ side, Pahrump Valley won the team score with 148.34 points to 107.67 for Moapa Valley. Virgin Valley placed fifth with 66.67 points. The Dawgs were led by Wynn Kelley, who won the high jump, placed second in the triple jump, fourth in the long jump and ran a leg for the Dawgs in the 4 x 100 relay along with Mia Bancalari, Raia Davis and Mayzie Tobler, who finished fourth in the race.

Raia Davis placed sixth in the 200-meter dash and ran legs on the third-place finisher alongside Sparrow Wagner, Patricia Slukan and Victoria Lloyd in the 4 x 400 relay. Bulldog Mia Bancalari showed diversity with a first-place finish in the triple jump alongside her relay races. Mayzie Tobler scored points in the shot with a fifth-place finish. Senior Kelley Ellis finished the pole vault with fourth-place points. Julia Walters placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles. The Bulldog track team will host their weekday meet on March 24.