Mojave High School’s track and field program has a new star. Sophomore Jayden Patton, who entered the season with little fanfare, now owns the fastest times in Nevada’s 4A classification in the 100 meters (10.53 seconds), 200 meters (21.34), and 300-meter hurdles (39.85) through the first month of competition.

Patton’s ascent has been swift. Last year as a freshman, he qualified for the state meet but made little postseason impact. This year, a renewed commitment to training has yielded dramatic results.

“I decided to put in more dedication and hard work,” Patton said. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot. It comes down to not messing around, doing everything right and avoiding mess-ups.”

Mojave coach Donnie Davis works directly with Patton and acknowledged the uncertainty heading into the season.

“Last year as a freshman, Jayden was just trying to figure everything out,” Davis said. “This year he’s more committed and he’s gotten stronger. We knew he’d be better. We just didn’t know how good he would be.”

At the Las Vegas Track Classic on March 28 at Mojave, Patton won the 200m with a time of 21.53 seconds, the fourth-fastest in the event’s 13-year history. He was disqualified on a false start in the 100m. Patton said the 200m is his favorite event because “there’s enough time to fix (a slow start) on the curve.”

Davis praised Patton’s finishing ability: “He has a very strong finish. He can get (opponents) back at the end.”

Patton aims to continue improving and eventually break records. “I want to go very far in this sport,” he said. “I want to go to the Olympics and win.”

Davis is keeping the focus short-term. “We try to keep him locked into one race at a time,” he said. “Once we get to regionals, hopefully he is peaking and we can talk about going for records.”

Class 4A regionals are scheduled for May 1 at Cimarron-Memorial, with the state meet the following week at Shadow Ridge and Arbor View.