Saturday night was celebration time for Chandler’s Valley Christian track and field program. Dan Kuiper, head coach for both the boys and girls teams, watched the girls’ squad set a national record, while the boys surprised many — coach Kuiper included — with their own state title.

2A state track and field results

But the story of the night belonged to the Valley Christian girls, who as expected, dominated the rest of 2A, as they finished with 216 points, compared with just 33 for runner-up Phoenix Christian. More importantly, Saturday’s victory was the 14th consecutive state championship for Valley Christian, which set a new national record.

“What can I say,” Kuiper said of the record-setting state title. “We’ve got a lot of great kids out there, we’ve got dedicated coaches, and a very supportive administration. This is really a great feeling.”

For Kuiper — who began coaching girls track at the school 22 years ago — it was also the 17th time in 18 years he’s led the Valley Christian girls to a state championship.

“Coach Kuiper is amazing and he’s a great motivator,” said senior standout Breanna Leslie, who won three individual titles Saturday night, which included the 300- and 100-meter hurdles, as well as the 200-meter dash, in which she set a school record (26.03), narrowly missing the state record of 26.01.

The 100-meter hurdles exemplified Valley Christian’s dominance, as four of the top five finishers came from the record-setting girls’ program.

“It’s really exciting and such an honor to be a part of this record-setting team,” said Leslie. “Coach (Kuiper) deserves most of the credit because he allows us to strive for our best without putting too much pressure on anyone.”

Fellow senior Shanel Smith took first in the long jump for the second straight year, while Sarah Mehan took first in the pole vault.

“It just comes down to having great depth and dedicated student athletes,” said Kuiper, who added the boys’ victory was somewhat surprising. “Before the season started, I’d have been happy with third or fourth place for the boys, but we got healthier, and we saw more improvement over the course of the season.”

Valley Christian boys finished with 116 points, nearly 40 points ahead of runner-up Yuma Catholic (76.50). Senior Sam Andresen, who missed most of last year’s state meet with an injury, came through with victories in the 110-meter high hurdles and the 300 hurdles. Senior Davis Voss also won the shot-put (48-3.50) and was a runner-up in the discus.