Stockton K-9 team wins national explosives title with perfect score

Tracy Stuart and her 10-year-old golden retriever, Freya, hit the kind of run handlers chase for years: a perfect score and the explosives detection title at the United States Police Canine Association’s 2026 National Detector Dog Trials in Harrah’s Atlantic City. The win carried extra weight because it may have been the pair’s final national competition together, turning a hard-edged working-dog victory into something more personal.

Freya is not just any K-9. Stockton University’s profile lists her as born on February 1, 2016, standing 21 inches tall and weighing 48 pounds. She is certified in explosives detection by both the New Jersey State Police and the USPCA, and Stockton says she is trained to detect well over 20 different explosive compounds. The team also has to train almost daily and complete monthly trainings and evaluations with NJSP to keep that certification current.

That level of upkeep is what makes the title resonate beyond law enforcement circles. In scent work terms, a perfect score is not a fluke of athleticism. It shows a dog that can stay locked in through pressure, ignore distractions, and work methodically when the search picture changes. The trials tested odor recognition in parcels, vehicles, and rooms, which is exactly the kind of controlled chaos that exposes whether a dog has real drive control or just speed.

The competition drew more than 100 law enforcement agencies from across the country, including teams from Texas and Oregon, and it ran as both a championship and a working seminar. Trenton detective Rob Balestrieri said he was glad to return to Stockton and appreciated the space and setup, while Morris County Sheriff’s Office competitor Brian McCormack said it was valuable to compare training methods with peers. That combination of high-level competition and hands-on exchange is why these detector trials matter to handlers who care about precision under pressure.

Stockton also made a point of hosting the event. The USPCA listed the 2026 National Detector Dog Trials for May 3-6, and the university said it was hosting the certification trials in Atlantic City because classes were still in session, which pushed the venue from Stockton’s Galloway campus to Harrah’s. The setting gave the event a bigger stage and put Stockton’s K-9 program in front of a national field.

For Stuart, the title added to an already stacked résumé. Stockton says she became the university’s first K-9 officer in 2011, won national titles in 2018 and 2019 with her previous partner, Hemi, and won again with Freya in 2022. This latest perfect score may have been the cleanest statement yet: a veteran handler, a disciplined dog, and a competition that rewards exactly the kind of focus, obedience, and drive management that separate a good working dog from a great one.