Hayden Hartigan is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Desert Edge for AZPreps365.com

Desert Edge’s 2026 track and field season began this week with a statement from its girls’ program, which came close to breaking multiple school records Friday evening at the Thunder Invitational in Phoenix.

Every DEHS girl who competed in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter dashes placed in the top 15 of school history. Freshman high jumper Audrina Beal-Goines nearly broke a program record during Friday’s meet with a mark of 5 feet, 2 inches in the high jump. The distance comes in second all-time for the girls’ event in Desert Edge history.

The girls 4x100-meter relay – made up of three freshmen and one upperclassman – finished third place overall  and first in its heat at 50.76 seconds. Freshmen sprinters Kennedy Brown, Audrina Beal-Goines, and Harlem Paschel performed well despite missing their standout senior anchor, Grace Bryant, who was unable to compete on Friday.

Junior sprinter Syncere Trayanum stepped into the leadership position on short notice and helped the 4x100-meter relay post the seventh fastest time in Desert Edge program history. Trayanum gave high praise to her freshmen teammates.

“These girls are motivated,” Trayanum said. “They’re determined, and they know what to do.”

In the girls 100-meter dash, Brown placed third at 12.86 seconds, which is also seventh in school history. It marked the first time the freshman competed in the event, making her finish even more impressive against older competition.

Head coach Sharod Selph, a former Oklahoma State University sprinter, has placed an emphasis on the development of its girls’ program in his second season leading the Scorpions.

“People say that we don’t have a girls’ program, but I beg to differ," Selph said. "You can look at the stats.”

In response to non-believers of Desert Edge’s girls team, Beal-Goines showed her confidence in the program. “We are hoping to prove that [Desert Edge] has a good girls track team. We have a lot of people that you can say don’t believe in us, but we do have a good girls track team.”

The boys’ program – featuring multiple athletes who are signed to compete at the Division I level in 2027 – competed with toughness while being injury riddled. The 4x400-meter relay team was missing three of its four A-team runners on Friday yet still managed to place third in the event.

Selph said he was proud of the way his team battled on the track. 

“For us to do this without them, shows what our team is about,” Selph said. “They come in, they work hard every day, and they came out here and performed.”

The Scorpion track squad will add standout Vijay Carrier to the fold once he is eligible – he is sitting out the first half of the season due to AIA transfer rules. The senior is a transfer from Buena High School in Sierra Vista, and placed fourth in the 400-meter dash in the 2025 AIA State Championship at 48.34 seconds.

Carrier will compete alongside Southern Utah University signee and Desert Edge senior track star Antonio Para – who will play defensive back collegiately in 2027 after four impressive seasons for the Scorpions. Para looks to continue his success on the track in 2026: holding a personal best of 10.94 in the 100-meter dash and 22.63 in the 200-meter dash.