Graduating seniors Riley McCullar, Bryce Dunagan-Stephens and Justice Martell Artiaga were the winners of Fernley High School’s top athletic awards for the 2025-26 school year.
In addition, Brody Jones was honored as this year’s winner of the Brian Beaty Award and was one of four winners of the school’s Tri-Athlete Award, along with Joey Machado, Andrew Peterson and Bodie Parsons. That award honors athletes who played three sports all four years of high school.
Fernley High School teacher John Grace was presented with the school’s Fan of the Year Award.
Martell Artiaga won the Iron Woman Award, while McCullar and Dunagan-Stephens were the co-winners of the Iron Man Award.
To qualify for the Iron Man and Iron Woman awards, student-athletes must letter in three sports for all four years of high school, be impact players for four years in three sports and have been recognized on postseason All-League and All-State teams multiple times. They also must maintain a 3.5 grade point average or better, be in good standing with school attendance and behavior, and display school spirit by supporting activities in which they are not directly involved.
Martell Artiaga played volleyball, basketball and track for four years each. In volleyball, she finished her career with 356 kills and 123 blocks. She also was named first-team All-League in basketball as both a junior and senior and was the team’s second-leading scorer as a senior. In track and field, she was an eight-time state qualifier in six different events and was named First Team All-State twice. She is the school record holder in the 100-meter hurdles and was a member of the school-record 4x100 relay team.
McCullar competed in football, wrestling and baseball. He was a three-year starter and captain in football and received All-League honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. He is a two-time state champion wrestler and ranks second in school history with 183 wins. In baseball, he was first-team All-State twice, including being named League MVP in 2025, and is the school’s career record holder for hits (155), stolen bases (89), RBI (106), runs scored (142), doubles (33), triples (15) and walks (54).
Dunagan-Stephens is the school’s all-time leading scorer in boys basketball with 1,562 points. He ranks second in assists (351) and rebounds (558) and was a team captain who helped lead the Vaqueros to three league championships and two state runner-up finishes as a four-year varsity player.
In football, he was a three-year starter at quarterback, earning second-team All-League honors in 2024 and honorable mention recognition in 2023 and 2025. In track and field, he qualified for the state meet in three events as a senior and eight events during his four-year career.
The Brian Beaty Award goes to the senior athlete who has achieved the most despite limitations or obstacles. It is named after former Fernley football player Brian Beaty, who overcame injuries throughout his career to become a starter and an All-League player as a senior before later being killed in a car crash. His name has become synonymous with hard work, dedication and perseverance, and the award honors current Fernley athletes who demonstrate those qualities.
In recognizing Jones as the winner of the Brian Beaty Award, Athletic Director Paul Sullivan said Jones was coachable and trusted by his teammates. He competed in football, wrestling and baseball. In football, he earned first-team All-League honors as a senior. In wrestling, he qualified for the state tournament as a junior and served as a team captain as a senior. He finished his baseball career by earning honorable mention All-League honors.
Parsons, Peterson and Machado received awards for participating in three sports during all four years of high school. Parsons played football for three years and cross country for one year, along with four years of basketball and four years of track and field. Peterson participated in football, basketball and track, while Machado competed in football, basketball and baseball.
Fernley High School teacher John Grace was honored as the 2025-26 Fan of the Year. He is a familiar presence at sporting events as both a spectator and game helper and created the wooden plaques that were presented to this year’s award winners.
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