Look for more details on SVHS sports in the September 16, 2026 edition of the Star Valley Independent – 

REGIONAL GOLF

Both Star Valley teams are headed back to the 4A State Golf tournament next week in Evanston after both squads qualified in Riverton at the 4A West Regionals. 

The Lady Braves won the team title with a score of 571 behind a second-place finish from Kate Ricks who finished with a score of 178. Cody’s Eliana Hopkin won the individual title with a 160. Cody also had the third-place finisher as Ashlyn Wiener placed third. The Fillies did not have a third scorer. 

Star Valley’s Paylan Merritt finished fifth with a 193 and Presley Frome shot a 205 to round out the varsity score. 

The Braves placed second as a team with a 627. Riverton took the team race on their home course with a 606. Brody Taylor shot a 146 to win the individual title as well for the Wolverines. There was a three-way tie for second place between Riverton’s Cade Kisling and Star Valley’s Deegan Hill and Braxton Johnson who all shot a 151. Daltyn DeCora shot a 162 and Wyatt Pack carded a 163. 

The 4A State Tournament will be played at Purple Sage Golf Course in Evanston next weekend on September 18-19. 

4A West Regionals (Girls Team)
Star Valley 571
Natrona 590
Evanston 597
Rock Springs 600
Jackson 609

4A West Regionals (Boys Team)
Riverton 606
Star Valley 627
Natrona 643
Jackson 661
Evanston 662
Cody 705
Green River 707
Rock Springs 714

FOOTBALL

Braves: 14  Diggers: 27

In a game that always matches the rivalry hype, the Star Valley Braves and Sugar-Salem Diggers clashed in Idaho on Friday night with the home team winning 27-14. The loss ended a 35-game winning streak for the Braves dating back to 2023 as they moved to (2-1) on the season. 

The Diggers led the entire game as Latrell Markle returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a score and a 7-0 lead right out of the gate. Frank Fillmore added a rushing touchdown to stake Sugar-Salem to a 14-0 lead before the Braves found the end zone with a rushing touchdown by Crew Lancaster. 

Fillmore finished with three rushing touchdowns including a 21-yard scamper on the last play of the game as the Diggers were attempting to run out the clock. As a team they finished with 228 yards on 42 rushes. 

Overall Star Valley was hampered by three turnovers with a pair of interceptions and a lost fumble as well as a pair of missed field goals. Ross Hilton finished the game with 229 yards passing. Weston Crogg finished with eight catches for 115 yards. Roman Erickson added seven receptions for 84 yards. Lancaster led the rushing effort with 63 yards on 17 carries. 

The Braves will play their first home game of the season next Friday, September 18, as they host the Lander Tigers with a 6 p.m. kickoff time. 

VOLLEYBALL

The Lady Braves Volleyball team hosted their annual invitational with four teams in attendance on Saturday including perennial powers Laramie and Cody. Star Valley went 3-1 on the day including a victory over the Plainsmen to open the day.  

The team then picked up another victory over the Malad Dragons in three sets before falling to the Fillies in a tough three set outing. They wrapped the day with a 2-0 sweep over the Jackson Lady Broncs.  

The match against the Fillies was a match up that will set up a cross-quad meeting in the regular season in Afton next Friday with a 3 p.m. start time. The Lady Braves will then host Riverton on Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m  varsity start. 

Win Vs Laramie (2-1) (25-18, 23-25, 15-9)

Win Vs Malad (ID) (2-1) (25-13, 15-25, 15-11)

Loss Vs Cody (1-2) (20-25, 25-18, 11-15)

Win Vs Jackson (2-0) (25-17, 25-12)

CROSS-COUNTRY

The Star Valley Cross-Country teams ran in the Bozeman Invite for the first time on Saturday and both teams placed fifth in the varsity runs. 

In all, a total of 53 schools had runners in the event which included 37 complete teams. Eight of those schools came from Wyoming with Star Valley finishing as the second fastest from the Cowboy State in each division. 

It was a successful outing for the junior varsity as well with the JV girls placing third and JV boys placing 12th. The top four JV boys runners ran in the varsity race as rules allowed up to ten for the category. 

The Lady Braves placed fifth with 213 points, edging both Powell and Cody. Kelly Walsh was third overall with 137. Helena had the top score of 84. 

Tylita Bond led the effort with a time of 19:47 which was good for 25th overall. Kellsie Dunne also went under 20 minutes with a final of 19:57. Carlee Angell, Adrie Kennington and Evelyn Scharmann rounded out the scoring five. 

The Braves finished with a total of 173, tied with Hellgate but was fifth on criteria. Sheridan, led by Eli Balkenbush, the overall winner, won the team scores with a 58. Bozeman was second with an 82. 

Luke Harris led the way for Star Valley with a ninth place finish and a time of 16:13. Caleb Crowther was 15th with a 16:21. Ben Hirschi, Maven Oliversen and Carter King rounded out the scoring five. 

The SVXC teams will be in Utah next week for the Wasatch Rendezvous on Saturday September 19. 

Bozeman Invite (Girls Team Scores)
Helena 84
Gallatin 136
Kelly Walsh 137
Bozeman 164
Star Valley 213
Powell 219
Cody 235
Billings West 239
Sheridan 273
Hellgate 278
(24 Teams)

SVHS Varsity Girls
Tylita Bond 19:47 (25th)
Kellsie Dunne 19:57 (28th)
Carlee Angell 20:06 (34th)
Adrie Kennington 20:48 (66th)
Evelyn Scharmann 20:52 (73rd)
Liddy Cranney 21:31
Kayvri Dockstader 21:48
McKayla Baker 22:26

Bozeman Invite (Boys Team Scores)
Sheridan 58
Bozeman 82
Helena 113
Hellgate 173
Star Valley 173
Hardin 195
Flathead 243
CM Russell 264
Thunder Basin 272
Kelly Walsh 274
(28 Teams)

Bozeman Invite (SVHS Boys)
Luke Harris 16:13 (9th)
Caleb Crowther 16:21 (15th)
Ben Hirschi 17:09 (53rd)
Maven Oliversen 17:10 (54th)
Carter King 17:16 (60th)
Jace Mitchell 18:07
Kade Linford 18:17
Derek Crowther 18:54
Eric Hunting 19:12
Marc Harris 19:34