Moapa Valley High School sophomore Anna Winward won both hurdle events, and senior Hal Thompson won both the mile and two-mile races to lead the Pirate track and field teams to regional championships at Pahrump Valley High School, May 8-9. In both cases, the Pirates bested the hosts from Pahrump Valley, but it wasn’t very close.

Joining Thompson on the podium in the mile were Pirates Grant Conger and BJ Robison, who both set personal records in the race. Robison was also fifth in the mile and the 800, while Conger was sixth in the mile and seventh in the 800.

“Our boys broke four school records yesterday!” exclaimed MVHS head coach Shane Hickman.

One of those record-breakers was junior Brenden Van Vliet, who set a personal record in the 100-meter dash to take first and in the 400-meter dash to take second. His 49-second finish in the 400 was a new school record, and he was also fourth in the 200.

Sophomore Ashton Hickman won the 300-meter hurdles in a personal best and school record 38.93 seconds, with junior Ryker Katich finishing second in 39.14 seconds.

“Ryker Katich also broke our school record in the 300 hurdles with his second-place finish. It’s hard to believe that we have the two fastest 300-meter hurdlers in the history of our school at the same time,” Coach Hickman commented.

The final school record that fell was in the 4×100-meter relay, as Austin Thornton, Kamden Drosos, Trig Overson and Jeremiah Dominguez finished first in 43.63 seconds. The Pirates also won the 4×400-meter relay.

Moapa Valley swept the podium in both the high jump and pole vault. Juniors Briggs Hickman, Marcus Anderson and Jack Wheeler finished 1-2-3 in the high jump, and seniors Eric Lee, Dakota Bush and Caleb Anderson were 1-2-3 in the pole vault. Briggs was also fourth in the long jump, and Wheeler was fourth in the triple jump.

MVHS senior Tony Carillo won the shot put with a personal best throw of 52 feet, 3.5 inches. He was third in the discus behind classmate Steele Meeks. 

“Our girls performed awesome as well, and yes, there are simply too many names to mention from a coach’s perspective. I know I would miss someone,” Coach Hickman said.

Sophomore Ana Freeman joined her classmate, Winward, as a regional champion with a personal best pole vault of 8.75 feet. Junior Abby Palmer won the shot put with her best throw of the season. She was fifth in the discus, and senior Janet Werner was third.

MVHS sophomore Irelynn Lewis took second in the 800 and third in the 1,600 meters. Classmates Charlotte Kynaston and Madilyn Thompson were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the mile. Thompson was also second in the 3,200-meter race. Fellow sophomore Phoebe Leavitt set personal records in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, taking second and fourth, respectively. She was also fourth in the long jump, followed by classmate Gabriela Perkins in fifth.

Perkins was also second in the triple jump, followed by Kelsie Wagasky in third and Jenna Dixon in fifth. The Lady Pirates also won two relay races: the 4×400-meter relay, with Phoebe Leavitt, Emma Kuipers, Addison Leavitt and Winward, and 4×800-meter relay, with Madilyn Thompson, Kynaston, McKayla Western and Lewis.

The Pirate track and field teams head to Hug High School in Sparks for the 3A State Championships, Friday and Saturday, May 15-16.