By DON McDERMOTT
Pahrump Valley High School Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held at halftime of tonight’s football game at home against Las Vegas Mountain View Christian.
To be recognized:
* Tim Hafen, a long-time valley resident whose work in 1971 with the Nevada State Assembly led to Pahrump getting the funding to build a high school, will be inducted, an honor long overdue. Before the high school was constructed, Pahrump-area boys and girls were bused to Shoshone to attend Death Valley, Calif., High.
* Hans Batchelder, class of 2003; he was a state-record 12-time all-state academic selection in Nevada; he competed in soccer, basketball and golf.
* Rachel Pallan-Owens, Class of 1980; she was among the great female athletes in the early history of PVHS, playing volleyball and basketball, as well as competing in track. In those days, the PVHS track was a not-quite quarter-mile dirt oval around a grass football field.
* Lacie Ward-Pearson, class of 1976. Perhaps one of the finest girl athletes in PVHS history, she played on the first basktball team and was the leader of a new girls’ track team and won events at the state 1-A meet.
* Kyle Floyd, class of 2005. He was a standout football player, setting a school record for rushing in the 2005 season, when the Trojans won the Southern Nevada Class 3-A League championship. Floyd also played baseball before switching to track, where he was a solid 400-meter competitor. In wrestling, he was a standout 160-pounder for teams that began the Trojans’ long domination in the sport in Class 3-A.
* Sara Coleman, class of 2005. A right-handed pitcher, Coleman won 72 games in 2003, 2005 and 2005, when the Lady Trojans won consecutive state 3-A championships. Coleman was also on the 2004 and 2005 basketball teams that claimed Nevada championships.
* Veronica Villa, class of 2005. In four years as a varsity basketball player, PVHS won 104 of 120 games, with Villa scoring 2,022 career points. The Trojans were 61-6 in her final two seasons, when they earned last-minute victories to earn the state championship trophy 2004, 2005 . Villa also played on all three state softball championship teams, starring as a shortstop and as a hard-throwing relief pitcher.
* Darla Hopkins, class of 2005. Hopkins probably established a record that will be hard-pressed to be duplicated. Not only was she on those basketball and softball title teams, Hopkins was also on the 2002 girls golf team that survived a tough field to win the state tournament title. Achieved at Mountain Falls, that was the only title of the six recorded in Pahrump. Hopkins was a second baseman in softball and as a point guard, she had the assists on the game-winning baskets a close-in layup by Jessica Beatty, against Winnemuca Lowry at Reno in 2004 and a 3-point bomb at the buzzer by Melanie Maeder, against Boulder City at The Orleans Arena in 2005 .
The fun for me was witnessing those six state championship wins in those three sports, as well as other state girls golf titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007, girls track in 2007 and wrestling in 2008.
It would be great to see members of all of those teams in the stands tonight, when another milestone in the history of the high school is reached: the first football game played on an artificially-turfed field.
And in that regard, we’ve got to pass along kudos to CB&G Enterprises of Henderson, which built the field during a summer-long heat wave in the valley. The project was supervised by Jeff McComb, who was more than willing to explain what was happening throughout the construction process. Thanks, Jeff, for your help.
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The campus will be crowded throughout the day today. Not only is school back in session, there is a volleyball tournament to be played in the PVHS gym, with the Lady Trojans varsity and JVs co-hosts. Rosemary Clarke Middle School’s gym will also be put into play for the two-day volleyball marathon.
Have fun, y’all!
