Navajo Pine girls pull a three-peat at state

By Nicole Baker
Special to the Times

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(Times photo - Paul Natonabah)

Navajo Pine's Chantel Hunt (552) finishes third with a time of 19:20.80 during the Class 1A-2A New Mexico cross-country championships at Rio Rancho High on Nov. 8.



RIO RANCHO, N.M., Nov. 13, 2008

Y ou couldn't ask for better conditions.

The New Mexico Activities Association 2008 state cross-country meet ran under clear skies and cool weather.

St. Michael's almost came up with a perfect sweep in Class 3A, winning both team titles and the girls' individual title and, in Class 5A, it was twins taking top honors.

Navajo Pine scored the three-peat on the girls' side, defending their state title for a second year.

Here is a breakdown of the meet by Class:

Class 5A

The state contest on both the boys' and girls' side had spectators seeing double.

On the boys' side, twins Bryce and Kevin Palmer of Eldorado High topped the competition going one-two as the state champ and state runner-up, respectively. Bryce Palmer ran a 15:07.25, while Kevin Palmer ran a 15:10.25.

"I set a somewhat fast pace," Bryce admitted. "My strategy was to push the downhills and keep a strong pace the whole time."

"It feels pretty good," Kevin added.  "I was just trying to keep up with (Bryce)."

The Palmer twins topped Cibola High twins Vincent Montoya, who finished third overall in 15:27.65, and Chris Montoya, who finished in sixth at 15:56.60.

Christian Meyer of Sandia High placed fourth overall with a time of 15:36.95.

Gallup's Donovan Jim rounded out the top five, taking fifth at 15:50.05.



"I felt strong the whole way," Jim said. "I tried to keep a strong pace. There was a lot of competition. I thought I did well. I got off to a good start and had good position."

Cibola won the team title with 51 points, followed by Sandia (73) and Eldorado (94).

On the girls' side, Brandy Castillo and her twin Brittany Castillo from Carlsbad High both took top-five honors. Brandy Castillo took the state title with a time of 18:37.65, while her twin, Brittany, placed fourth overall in 18:59.15.

"This was my senior year," Brandy said. "I wanted to finish with a bang. I was confident, and I knew how much I wanted it.

"My plan was to stay with the front of the pack, but the pace was slow," she said. "I knew I had to take off and get a good lead and hold my pace. I knew there were some strong runners that could out-kick me."

Rio Rancho won the team title scoring 67 points, with La Cueva in second at 91 and Gallup in third at 100.

Leading the Lady Bengals was Alexandra Gillson placing 11th with a time of 19:23.05, while teammate Jordan Brown was third at 19:29.55.

Also scoring for Gallup were Amberly Talaymptewa with a time of 20:06.70 to place 23rd, Cheyenne Marrowbone in 20:11.55 for 24th place and Farrah Hood pacing 29th with a time of 20:31.75.

Class 4A

On the boys' side, Los Alamos and Albuquerque Academy dominated taking all but one of the top 10 spots. Academy just beat out Los Alamos for the team title by two points, 31.5 to 33.5.

Los Alamos' Kyle Pittman won the individual title with a time of 15:19.75, with teammate Gareth Gilna in second at 15:31.40. Pat Zacharias of Academy led his team with a third place finish and a time of 15:49.95.

"It was kind of nice for me (to win state)," Pittman said. "I had to sit out our home meet, then at district I had to jog it to make sure I was OK.

"I just wanted to stay relaxed and push it on the second half (of the course). I took the lead at the start of the third mile and tried to push it. I had to push it the whole way and finish strong."

St. Pius' Douglas Torres broke up the Academy and Los Alamos sweep of the top 10, placing fourth in a time of 15:55.70.

District 1-4A champion Daniel Madera finished 13th overall in 16:34.50 and District 1-4A runner-up Whittaney Boyd from Kirtland placed 18th overall in 16:42.25. Piedra Vista was led by John Bindues who placed 21st overall in 17:05.30.

On the girls' side, Clara Milne of Albuquerque Academy led her team to a state title, as well as earning the individual title in a time of 17:55.10, with teammate Julie Foster placing fourth at 19:17.85 and Megan Dunlap placed eighth in 19:49.90.

Jaqueline Campos from Santa Teresa High was the girls' runner-up with a time of 18:25.55.

From the Four Corners area, Amanda Kerr placed ninth overall with a time of 19:57.20 and teammate Myka Benally placed 10th overall in 20:01.65.

Piedra Vista was led by Brianna Ashley Willie, who placed 12th overall with a time of 20:05.05.

Shiprock was led by Collette Dayish who finished 25th overall in 20:48.

Class 3A

St. Michael's took home the top honors, winning the team title on both the boys' and girls' side.

Dustin Walthal of Thoreau won the boys' individual title with a time of 15:40.30, out-running Bloomfield's Evan Bekes for the state title. Bekes finished in 15:52.10.

"It feels good," said Walthal, who finished ninth overall last year. "I just wanted to push it the last mile and see if I could take the lead. My plan was just to stay with Dillon (Shije of Sandia Prep) and Evan.

"I've worked all summer for this one race," he said. "It was a tough race. There are a bunch of good runners. (Winning the state title) means a lot."

Shije place third overall with a time of 16:01.80.

Bekes, who gives up a foot in height to Walthal, was happy with his finish as well, noting that he jumped from 10th place last year to second this year.

"He's a foot taller," Bekes said. "His longer legs give him the advantage downhill because of his longer stride."

St. Michael's scored 53 points in the win, with Zuni in second with 85 and Santa Fe Indian in third with 100.

The girls contest ended up being essentially a race for second as sophomore Kate Norskog led St. Michael's to the state title, finishing more than a minute ahead of the competition in 18:08.65. Norskog won the individual state title as an eighth grader in 2006, before finishing in 10th as a freshman due to an injury

St. Michael's had all five scorers in the top 20, with Tess Amer finishing in 20:28.85 for 14th, Jamie Velasquez in 15th with a time of 20:37.25, Meaghan Martinez-Palmer at 20:55.00 for 17th and Danielle Rael in 20th at 21:16.45.

Sophia Torres of Pojoaque, the state champion in 2007, finished in second overall with a time of 19:12.35.

In other action, Gallup's new high school Miyamura took third place overall as a team behind a fifth place finish by Felicia James (19:39.85). Also for the Patriots, Brandi Garnenez placed sixth in 19:53.10 and Skylar Hubbard placed 13th with a time of 20:19.65.

Also scoring for Miyamura was Ernestine Armstrong in 21:52.95 (32nd) and April Chavez in 21:53.55 (33rd).

Zuni finished second overall as a team led by Leann Lee with a time of 19:56.30 placing seventh and Katie Hartwig in 20:12.10 to place ninth.

Class 1A/2A

East Mountain freshman Caroline Kaufman won the girls individual state title in a time of 18:59.00, with Emma Hamilton from Santa Fe Prep a close runner-up with a time of 19:18.95.

"I was proud of myself," Kaufman said of taking the title. "But more importantly, I took a couple of seconds off. I was just trying to build a good lead and make sure I was ahead of everybody after two miles."

Navajo Pine, with four in the top 10, won the girls' team title for the third year with a score of 27. Navajo Pine was led by Chantel Hunt with a time of 19:20.80, placing third, with teammate Tamara Hardy in fourth with 19:39.35, Angelique Small in seventh with 20:09.30 and Shelby Lee in ninth at 20:23.80.

"It was a really tough field," Hunt said. "I knew Emma and Caroline would take off fast. I just held my pace and picked off others."

Hunt was also proud of the three-peat for Navajo Pine.

"I'm just glad to be able to do it with my team again," she said.

Navajo Prep girls took third overall, scoring 93, while Santa Fe Prep took second with 60.

Marquia Begaye led the Lady Eagles with a time of 20 minutes flat to place sixth, while teammate Amber Reano was 14th with a 21:01.65 and Monique Ironshell was 22nd in 21:45.35.

"The girls really stepped up and gutted it out," Navajo Prep coach Lenny Esson said.

On the boys' side, Navajo Pine won the team title as well with a score of 36, with four runners taking top 10 honors. Navajo Pine was led by Timmy Chee, who placed third with a time of 16:27, with teammate Thomas Martinez in fourth at 16:31.35, Adrian Catron in sixth at 16:54.45 and Kevin Hardy in ninth at 17:11.50.

Troy Madalena of Jemez Valley won the boys' individual title in a time of 16:05.35, with Mario Armijo of Pecos taking second at 16:10.65.

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