Nevada Athletics celebrated the single-largest donor gift in department history. This $4 million gift from Eric ’82 (mechanical engineering) and Linda Lannes, alongside two $2 million gifts from anonymous donors, will be key to continuing the growth of the Wolf Pack basketball programs. Thanks to this generous support, the north end of campus will soon be home to another state-of-the-art facility. Currently in the design phase and set to open by early 2024, the new Men’s & Women’s Basketball Locker Room Building will continue to build on the growth of the Wolf Pack basketball programs — housing brand new team locker rooms and player lounges for both the men’s and women’s teams.
It’s been a long, cold lonely winter but it’s about to get better. Spring sports return to Lovelock this weekend. PCHS hosts its annual baseball and softball tournaments on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The weather report predicts partly cloudy skies with winds at five to 10 mph. You’ll need a jacket or your Mustang swag. The temperature should hover around 50 degrees at the highest.
In May, 2019, at Desert Oasis High School in Las Vegas, Presley Burrows won a state track and field championship for PCHS. She placed first in the triple jump and second in the high jump and 200-meters. She was a freshman at the time. Now she’s a senior. The pandemic erased her chance to compete at state her sophomore and junior years. For now, she’s recovering from injuries and looking forward to the prom, graduation and life after high school.
Coach Jordan McKinney returns for her fourth year as head coach of the Lady Mustangs softball team. Actually, it’s her third since Covid shut down spring sports in March 2020. At last season’s awards night she said, “In baseball and softball you are challenged every pitch, every game. The real success is learning from your mistakes.”
The Nevada football program and the Mountain West announced the 2022 football schedule. Nevada opens the season at New Mexico State on Aug. 27.
The Pershing County boys basketball team realized its goal of making it to the playoffs last Thursday in Winnemucca. It was the first time in three years. They lost to the West Wendover Wolverines 67-30 in the quarterfinal round. Lovelock ended the year at 8-20 overall, and 3-11 in the 2A. Kaden Chambers played on a bad ankle. Diego Gonzalez was back despite injuring his nose in a previous game. The graduating senior played all but three minutes and wore a face guard throughout.
The Pershing County High School basketball team wrapped up its season this past weekend at the Northern 2A Regional Tournament in Winnemucca. The girls beat West Wendover 58-27 on Thursday but lost to Incline 59-24 in the semifinal round on Friday night at Lowry High School. Pershing County missed Presley Burrows, sidelined by an injury. JV players Anna Happy, Yasmine McKinney and Ayren Sam pitched in. They’re part of what coach Lee Houston refers to as a “young nucleus.”
Over 100 top-ranked wrestlers competed in the NIAA 2A State Championship in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Meadows School filled up with coaches and regional champs from 16 schools. Wyatt Hughes at 145 pounds and Devin Moura (132) represented Pershing County High School. Hughes, a freshman, battled hard but came up just short of medaling. He won the quarterfinal match by fall over Benjamin Rhoades of Ely at 3:10. However, he lost the next two matches.
Four Pershing County wrestlers competed in the NIAA Northern 2A Regional Tournament at PCHS on Saturday. Devin Moura (132), Wyatt Hughes (145), Justin Carruth (126) and Lucian Gonzalez (170) all hoped to qualify for the state tournament at the Meadows School in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The scoreboard tells only part of the story. Just ask Jesse Canchola, Rich Campbell, Charlie Safford and the Pershing County Mustangs boys basketball team. The Mustangs traveled to West Wendover last Thursday. Pershing lost a league match against the Wolverines 59-30. Lovelock is 0-2 against Wendover having lost to them at home in mid-January 53-24. Pershing County was minus a starter. Unfortunately, Diego Gonzalez fractured his nose during the Incline game. Underclassmen Izayuh McGlihin and Luis Sanchez figured prominently against Wendover.
Consistency is the name of their game. The Pershing County High School girls basketball team went 2-0 against West Wendover for the season. They beat the Wolverines at PCHS last month 43-30. This past Friday, they traveled to Wendover and did it again 55-31. It was Pershing County’s last regular game of the year.
NASCAR was the big winner at its glossy Los Angeles gala held inside Memorial Coliseum. In need of an energy boost ahead of its upcoming season, NASCAR broke its dated mold and staged an experimental exhibition race inside one of the most iconic venues in sports. The race itself on a temporary quarter-mile asphalt oval was a sideshow in Sunday’s made-for-Fox Sports spectacular. Just how successful was the Busch Light Clash? Two losing drivers high-fived a pair of NASCAR senior executives as they passed in the USC locker room.
The Pershing County’s JV boys and girls basketball teams have one more game left before the end of basketball season. They travel to West Wendover on Friday. It’s been quite a ride. This past week they played Battle Mountain, North Tahoe and Incline.
Any boys basketball week that starts out with a win over Battle Mountain can’t be all bad. Last Tuesday the Pershing County Mustangs traveled to their rival school and beat the Longhorns 72-68. The Longhorns stomped the Mustangs by two points 52-50 a couple of weeks ago, making Tuesday’s win especially sweet. Ashton Nolf led the scoring with 22 points. Travis Donaldson had 18. Diego Gonzalez added nine more.
There’s not a senior among them. But the PCHS spirit squad was loud and proud on senior night at PCHS. They said farewell to eight senior athletes and a couple of managers.