The Pahrump Valley High School track and field team officially opened its 2026 season on Saturday, February 28, traveling to Faith Lutheran High School to compete in a large invitational meet featuring a mix of 5A and 4A programs, along with fellow 3A school Green Valley Christian. Despite facing larger schools early in the season, the Trojans turned in a strong showing highlighted by personal records, competitive finishes, and encouraging performances across both track and field events.
The meet began with the 4×800-meter relay, where the Pahrump girls set an early positive tone. Alexis Clouser, Aurora Bowers, Addi Nelsen and Kaitlyn Brown combined for a second-place finish, clocking a time of 11:54.69. The boys did not field a team in the event this week.
In hurdle competition, Pahrump had no entries in the boys 110-meter hurdles, but the girls competed well in the 100-meter hurdles. Diona Nixon led the Trojans with a ninth-place finish in 18.42, followed by Ella Odegard in 16th at 19.93 and Kyndra Cardwell in 20th with a time of 21.18.
The 100-meter dash saw several Trojans take to the track. On the boys side, Jace Wulfenstein finished 32nd in 12.33, Ulisses Alvarez placed 36th in 12.78, and Wesley Cruff came in 37th with a time of 12.97. For the girls, Rosie Miller paced Pahrump with a 15th-place finish in 13.65, while Ma’liyah Collins ran 13.78 for 20th. Cindal Monahan crossed in 14.81 and McKinsey Nottingham finished in 15.19. Pahrump did not field teams in the 4×200-meter relay.
Distance runners delivered one of the day’s highlights in the 1600-meter run. Joaquin Flores finished 11th overall with a personal-best time of 4:49.87. Josh Gent followed in 26th with a personal best of 5:09.94, Logan Tilley placed 28th with a personal best of 5:12.68, and Josh Flores finished 32nd with a personal best of 5:21.36. Notably, all four runners were members of this year’s Regional Championship cross country team, which captured the region title earlier in the school year.
In the girls 1600 meters, Juliana “Jules” Ondrisko placed 15th in 5:59.25. Addi Nelsen recorded a personal best of 6:16.53 for 23rd, while Sophie Romero finished in 7:04.87 and Alexis Clouser followed closely in 7:04.95. Pahrump did not compete in the 4×100-meter relay.
The 400-meter dash continued the momentum with several personal improvements. Jace Wulfenstein finished 21st in 55.11, while Josh Slusher posted a personal-best 59.44 and Joseph Scheer added a personal-best 1:00.24. For the girls, Ondrisko placed eighth overall with a strong 1:05.40, followed by Cindal Monahan in 1:09.98 and Avery Farruggia in 1:12.97.
In the 300-meter hurdles, Jayden Crisler earned a sixth-place finish with a time of 43.46, while Ulisses Alvarez ran 49.39. On the girls side, Diona Nixon also captured sixth place, recording a personal-best 51.48. Ella Odegard finished in 57.27 and Kyndra Cardwell completed the race in 1:01.70.
The 800-meter run featured Daniel Thompson finishing in 2:27.78 and Nathan Miller in 2:39.41. For the girls, Addi Nelsen ran 2:56.77 and Rosie Miller finished just behind in 2:56.84.
Sprint performances continued in the 200-meter dash, where Aydon Veloz clocked 24.36 and Wesley Cruff finished in 26.64. For the girls, Ma’liyah Collins ran 29.24, Cindal Monahan finished in 30.20, McKinsey Nottingham posted 30.90, and Avery Farruggia completed the race in 31.47.
The distance squad again delivered strong efforts in the 3200-meter run. Joaquin Flores placed 11th in 11:15.43, while Josh Gent finished 15th with a personal best of 11:28.96. Logan Tilley recorded another personal best at 11:32.95 for 16th, and Josh Flores added a personal best of 11:39.07 for 17th place. For the girls, Sophie Romero finished in 15:41.24 and Alexis Clouser ran 16:14.18.
The girls closed out the running events in the 4×400-meter relay, where Ma’liyah Collins, Aurora Bowers, Ava Bowers and Ella Odegard combined for a time of 5:03.90. The boys did not field a team in the event.
In field events, the Trojans also produced several notable performances. In boys shot put, Sonny Skinner finished ninth with a personal-best throw of 42 feet, 2 inches. Brenden Thorn recorded 30 feet, 6 inches, Taysom Christensen threw 30 feet, 1 inch, and Chasen Hamann reached 29 feet, 4 inches. For the girls, Julie Briggs threw 24 feet, followed by Cailyn Marsh at 22 feet, 11 inches and Nyomi Skinner at 22 feet, 10 inches.
In discus, Thorn led the boys with an eighth-place throw of 114 feet, 2 inches. Hamann threw 97 feet, 6 inches, Sonny Skinner reached 92 feet, 2 inches, and Christensen recorded 61 feet, 4 inches. For the girls, Briggs threw 71 feet, 4 inches, Nyomi Skinner reached 54 feet, 4 inches, and Marsh threw 50 feet, 11 inches.
High jump competition saw Aydon Veloz clear 5 feet, 8 inches to finish sixth, while Rosie Miller cleared 4 feet, 8 inches for the girls.
In the long jump, Jayden Crisler placed seventh with a personal-best leap of 20 feet, 4 inches. Daniel Thompson jumped 15 feet, 8.5 inches and Joseph Scheer recorded 14 feet, 4 inches. For the girls, Sedona Norton finished 14th with a jump of 13 feet, 5.5 inches, while Melanie Carson reached 11 feet, 9.5 inches.
Crisler capped off a strong day in the triple jump, finishing third overall with an impressive mark of 43 feet, 11.5 inches. Daniel Thompson added a personal-best jump of 34 feet, 10 inches, while Sedona Norton posted a mark of 30 feet, 5.75 inches for the girls.
Reflecting on the team’s first outing of the season, Head Coach Dan Nagle said he was pleased with the early performances against strong competition.
“We had a couple of female athletes and a couple of male athletes that placed,” Nagle said. “Jayden Crisler finished third in the triple jump and that was our best finisher. Sedona Norton made it to the finals for the triple jump as well. It was a good start to the season against really good competition.”
Competing against larger schools in their first meet of the season provided valuable early experience for the Trojans, with numerous personal bests and competitive finishes highlighting a promising start. With a full roster contributing across events and continued growth already evident, Pahrump Valley’s track and field team looks poised to build momentum as the season progresses.
