Kirtland girls duo, Shiprock boys duo lead the way

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The District 1-4A cross country meet turned into a partner event Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Riverview Golf Course.

The Kirtland Central girls' and Shiprock boys' squads continued to lead the district, showing their strength once again as they prepared for the state cross country meet on Saturday, Nov. 7, by earning the district team titles.

Kirtland Central duo Myka Benally and Amanda Kerr paired up to lead the Lady Broncos to the district title, with the team scoring 34 points to take the title.

Aztec took second with 50 points, with Shiprock earning third and qualifying for state with 58. Piedra Vista was fourth at 75 and Farmington was fifth with 146.

"It feels good that all my hard work is paying off," Benally said. "We were trying to stay together as a team and push each other. I'm excited to see how we all do as team at state."

"I was seeing how fast I could run," Kerr said. "I was pushing myself harder. I want to see how fast I can push myself the last state meet."

Benally took the individual girls district title with a time of 20:00 with Kerr a close second at 20:24.

Shiprock duo Chad Tso and Herbert Beyale III partnered up to lead Shiprock to a decisive boys district title.

"The terrible two strike again," Tso joked.

For the second week in a row, Tso and Beyale once again raced shoulder to shoulder down the stretch to the finish line with Tso just a step ahead of Beyale to claim the district title, with both runners crossing in 17:33.

"It felt great," Beyale said. "We were helping each other out to be the top finishers.

"I kept thinking, this is it, you have to push to the finish. You have to give it your all. Our goal was keeping with each other and trying to score the best we could for the team," he added.

Tso agreed.

"I was just trying to finish strong," he said. "The first mile I was trying to stay behind (Kirtland's Whittaney Boyd), but close to him and let him set the pace. I made my move on the hills again, like I did last week."

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Shiprock showed their strength, earning the team title with 27 points and four top 10 finishers, including Harry Nakai in fourth at 17:48 and Jaron Shorty in eighth at 18:13. Assisting the Chieftains were Deion Benally finishing in 18:24 (12th), Eric Williams in 18:30 (14th) and Robert Lapahie in 18:39 (15th).

Piedra Vista took second with 56 points, followed by Kirtland Central qualifying for state with 78 points, Aztec in fourth at 80 points and Farmington in fifth at 150 points.

Boyd led the way for Kirtland, finishing in 17:46 for third place. Also helping Kirtland qualify were Malcolm Toledo in 18:54 (17th), Channing Jim in 19:12 (18th), Alvin White in 19:13 (19th) and Timberlin Henderson in 19:16 (21st).

For Piedra Vista, Kevin Mike led the pack with a time of 18:02 for sixth with Colby Gibson in seventh at 18:07 and Coby Bossley in 10th at 18:20. Also helping out were Jordan Keeley at 18:30 (13th), Matthew Detmer at 19:13 (20th), Cole Dennis at 19:25 (22) and Glen Hoerner in 19:36 (23).

For Aztec, Austin Brookshier ran an 18:00 for fifth and teammate Wally Delwiche ran an 18:17 for ninth.

Travis Dockter led Farmington with a time of 18:23 for 11th.

On the girls' side for Kirtland, helping out in the district title were Kashley Badoni placing ninth in 21:47, Natalie Adair in 10th at 21:47 and Genea Baca in 12th at 22:27 along with Raychelle Smiley in 22:57 and Taylor Billey in 24:35.

Rachel Kresl placed third overall in 20:55 to lead Aztec, with teammate and sibling Jessica Kresl in fifth at 21:13 and Morgan Smith in eighth at 21:42 for the Lady Tigers. Also for Aztec, Laura Lane ran a 22:48 and Jessica Burbridge ran a 23:14 to score.

Autumnrain Chee led Shiprock with a time of 20:56 to place fourth overall with teammate Kolette Dayish in sixth at 21:15. Also scoring to help Shiprock qualify were Alisa Gould at 22:36, Nanette Beyale at 23:02 and Shandiin Yesslith at 23:07.

For Piedra Vista Kerstin Ortiz place fourth overall at 21:38 and Tayla Harmon was 11th in 22:14.

Marina Alvarado led Farmington with a time of 25:00

District 3-2A

In Farmington, Navajo Pine siblings Kaitlin Chee and Timothy Chee took top honors Friday, Oct. 30, at the District 3-2A cross country meet at Berg Park.

Senior Timothy Chee ran a 14:59 to lead the pack, with teammate Jermaine Chee in third at 15:47 to lead Navajo Pine to a boys' district title.

"From the beginning we told the team to focus on the race," Timothy Chee said. "At the beginning I started out slow, then I picked up the pace and finished hard."

Navajo Prep was second in district, led by Dominick Bitsui who finished second overall with a time of 15:45 and teammate Roy Thompson who finished fourth overall in 15:56.

"It was fun," Bitsui said, adding that it was also cold. "I wanted to go out faster. It was a lot of work because I was pushing the pace."

It was worth it though as Bitsui ran a personal best.

Rehoboth's Malcolm Skeet was fifth overall with a time of 16:17.

Freshman Kaitlin Chee won the girls' title in a time of 18:02 with teammate Shelby Lee in second at 18:27 and Angelique Small in fifth at 19:20.

"It was a good course," Kaitlin Chee said. "The race was fast. I thought I could do a good job. I paced myself and at the two-mile mark I started picking up my pace."

Navajo Prep, though, edged out Navajo Pine for the girls' district title.

Shelby Tracey led the Lady Eagles with a time of 18:54 for third place, with teammate Amber Reano in fourth at 19:20.

"I was really surprised I was one of the top three spots," Tracey admitted. "It feels amazing to be district champs. I am so happy. I didn't think we'd pull it off. I knew if I could get out front I could stay there."

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