For the past two years, the Lynx have been knocking on the door at the Nevada state championship meets. 

Despite their hard work and continued success, they have come up short of a state title. The rivals of their story arc have consistently been played by the North Tahoe Lakers, who have dominated the sport for a very long time. But this year, at least for the boys, things looked good.

That is, until the last race.

It was the 4×400-meter relay. The competition was fierce, and as usual, the Lynx found themselves punching above their weight class, pushing themselves against larger, more well-funded programs. But where some would see that as a disadvantage, Coach Lacie Pearson sees the potential.

“I tell them all the time,” she said in an interview, “that they’re always going to be the underdogs. We don’t even have an indoor track; we run in the dirt.”

She went on to explain that this makes the kids stronger in a unique way. No matter the quality of the equipment at any event, they rise to the occasion.

During the weekend of May 16 and 17 in Logandale, they showed just how scrappy they can be. Thanks to a unique niche they worked on throughout the year, the Lynx have become expert long-distance runners, and through their dedication to building their endurance, they earned point after point, placing them in first place before the beginning of the 4×400.

But how could they not be expert long-distance runners? Their coach (future head coach, at the time of the race) was once quite the distance runner himself. When Cameron Frehner was a fresh-faced teenager, he trained under a running master: Lacie Pearson. This tutelage gave him a deep love of the sport, and when he was approached to help with the program once he moved back to Lincoln County, he was more than happy to hit the ground running.

And run he has, literally. Frehner’s energetic approach to the sport sees him race across the meets to make sure he is there to support his athletes, reportedly averaging 15 miles of walking/running during the various meets he’s attended. This boundless excitement is infectious, energizing his program to a noticeable degree.

As the boys lined up to finish their final race, they were cheered on by the female side of the team. The Lady Lynx had, for the first time in 35 years, finished in first place at the meet only a few minutes earlier, so the glow of their victory was still on full display. This is especially impressive considering that, up until a few years ago, the girls’ side of the team was fairly lacking. But with all-stars like Sadie Ivins, Kelsea Markarian, Kensley Bleak, Keziah Smith and Camille Lamb, the girls created an unrivaled team. While the scores were close (LCHS won with a total of 126.5 points, while second-place Coral Academy had 122), the girls were a force to be reckoned with.

As the boys began their race, the crowd cheered, hoping for sixth place or higher. Anything below sixth place, and the North Tahoe team would end up with the title again. As she watched the race, Pearson recalled her own past as a runner, not as a Lynx, but as one of their opponents. While she did not grow up in Lincoln County, she did have plenty of opportunities to race against the Lynx, and she recalls thinking of them in a positive light.

“They wanted to be friends and be helpful,” she remembers. “The people of Lincoln County are just different…They’re just great people and great athletes. And they have the biggest hearts of anyone I know.”

This positive experience meant that, when she moved to Panaca, Pearson was more than happy to join the cross-country coaching staff at LCHS in 2012. She expanded into track in 2014, where she stayed until early 2025. In her stead, she selected one of her favorite pupils to continue coaching: Frehner.

While Pearson’s time in high school sports may be coming to an end, it’s only the start of her new program at the MVMS track team. Switching to middle school had been something in Pearson’s mind since Dr. Michael Roth, the principal at MVMS, brought it up, but at the time, the high school team was too much of a draw on her time for her to consider a middle school team. But now, she’s excited to hop in and start the love of the game in the hearts of young men and women around the same age she was when she got into running.

And as the final race of the state meet came to a close, it seemed that her time with the Lynx had paid off big time. While the Lakers placed second, the Lynx accomplished their goal of placing sixth. The final score? Lincoln County 98, North Tahoe 97.

When asked about how the Lynx will maintain this level of success, Coach Frehner said he’s looking forward to the middle schoolers that Pearson’s program is already turning out. He says that continuing to practice and hone the sport is the real key to keeping his athletes’ skills sharp.

“You can’t get better in track in a month,” Frehner stated. “You can’t just flip a switch…you have to put in the time.”

To this end, he is putting on a track program June 9 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the LCHS track. It’s open to track athletes, but Frehner says it’s a great way for any athlete to keep in shape, as speed and coordination are key to any athletic endeavor.