It was spring 2020, and Daralyn Moura had a decision to make. In a few weeks, she’d graduate from Pershing County High School and head to the College of Idaho to study exercise science and, hopefully, play softball for the Coyotes.
But first, she had to decide who she’d honor with a silvery treasure.
It all started 15 Christmases ago when a high school freshman unwrapped a gift from her parents, Walter and Coni Brinkerhoff.
It held a necklace. Its charm glistened in the light, the number 23 – Kayla Brinkerhoff’s jersey number on the Lady Mustangs basketball team.
“I wore it every single day. It was my good luck charm,” says Kayla Brinkerhoff-Coleman, now married and living in Las Vegas with five years of teaching experience under her belt. “After the last game of my senior year, in 2009, I passed the necklace to Sarita Condie. I knew she was someone who would represent our school and game with pride.”
Condie wore the necklace her freshman through senior years. In 2013, Kayla Brinkerhoff got a phone call. She recognized her friend Sarita’s voice right away.
“Sarita contacted me and asked if she could give the necklace to her cousin, Mikayla Renfroe, as a Christmas present,” she said.
“I thought it would be a cool gift as Mikayla started her athletic career at PCHS right after I graduated,” says Condie. Permission granted, the necklace changed hands, not for the last time. Over the years, a tradition grew. When each girl graduated, she gave the necklace to a rising star.
“I’m glad to hear it’s still being passed on,” says Kayla. “I honestly never thought it would turn into something like this when I gave it to Sarita.”
In 2017, on the last day of school, Renfroe gave the necklace to sophomore Daralyn Moura.
“Dara is such a responsible and wonderful girl,” said Renfroe. “I knew she’d be perfect for the necklace.”
Moura wore the necklace as she breezed through basketball, volleyball and softball games by the dozens.
Last spring, the coronavirus mangled her senior year, cutting softball short after only two weeks.
Undaunted, Moura’s thoughts turned to a junior who excelled on the basketball, volleyball and track teams, a triple threat. Before long, she drove to her house with a purpose in mind.
“I gave the necklace to Presley Burrows because she is such a hard worker and always goes 100 percent. She is motivated and will be a great leader in her upperclassman years. Her positive attitude will lead her teams to victory,” said Moura. “She’ll work hard to uphold the legacy that the necklace represents.”
Where are they now?
Mikayla Renfroe attended the Metropolitan State University of Denver for two years as a collegiate track athlete. She and her fiancée, Nate Nelson, are raising their nine-month-old son, JayDean.
Renfroe is completing her elementary education studies through Great Basin College in Winnemucca, her home for the past few years.
Kayla Brinkerhoff Coleman teaches English for the Clark County School District.
The district’s roughly 310,000 students have been operating under remote learning since mid-March. Her son, Kairo, turns two next month.
She’s teaching a publications class and putting together a yearbook for a year like no other.
After graduation from PCHS, Condie signed up with the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She recently moved to Hawaii for a tour of duty as a surface warfare officer on the USS Chung Hoon in Pearl Harbor.
Sarita’s dad, Lance Condie, used to run the youth summer basketball camp for elementary school athletes.
She remembers helping to coach Burrows. “I can’t believe she’s in high school,” she said. “She was always really fast.”
