By Kirk Kern
The Somerset Academy Skye Pointe cross country teams may have started out as the Davids, but they have transformed into the Goliaths in the last three years.
Coach Paul Sheppard’s boys and girls squads finished last among any school in the state four years ago. Then the won the 3A division three years ago and were moved up to 4A. The last two years, they’ve been the 4A state champions.
Now, they’re moving up to 5A and competing against the biggest schools in the state. But Sheppard doesn’t see his team as reverting back to Davids, even with a student body of less than 1,000 competing against schools with more than 3,000.
’It’s been a wild ride,” Sheppard said. “And they asked us, too. They’re like, hey, do you wanna go up to 5A? Because you don’t have to, because the school size is so small. But we’re like, heck, yeah.”
Right now, most of the cross country team is preparing for the spring track and field season. The team practices late in the afternoon at Centennial High as Skye Pointe doesn’t have its own track. While it would seem an inconvenience having a gap after school ends before practice at another school, Sheppard says it shows the dedication from both the athletes and the parents in the program.
“We have some amazing parents,” said Sheppard, who came to the school four years ago out of college and hadn’t even coached cross country or track before. “I am so lucky to have the parents that I do. They’ve been through a lot. We started at Palo Verde and now Centennial. They’ve been on board ever since.”
While having track at a different school may be an inconvenience, the school’s location is a big advantage for the cross country team. Sheppard says the team trains and competes at nearby Floyd Lamb State Park, which offers a great, challenging course most other schools don’t have daily access to.
“When I first started coaching, we ran around Skye Point and there’s street lights everywhere,” he said. “But Floyd Lamb, I can say, ‘Go run five miles.’ So designating Floyd Lamb as our home base has been enormous for program.”
Next season’s cross country teams, and this year’s track teams, will be led by Carter Prater and Aislin McMahon. Prater broke the state 5K when he ran a 14:59 only to have another competitor run the same time. Sheppard said McMahon, who is a sophomore this year, won every event she entered with the exception of the Nike Cross Country Southwest regional in Mesa, Arizona.
Also returning for the girls teams are Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada selections Makenzie Teal and Lacy Tippets.
Sheppard was honored as the 2024 Nevada Preps Southern Nevada boys cross country coach of the year.