A look back at 2015

WINDOW ROCK

As we get ready to turn the page into the New Year the Navajo Times sports department would like to share with you some the highlights of the sports scene across our area.

After researching our database these stories are the ones that stood out the most for the 2015 calendar year.

1. Tsinigine wins world title

With the payouts at an all-time high at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Tuba City cowboy Aaron Tsinigine earned his first gold buckle as he emerged as the year-end winner in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association ranks.

Tsingine won four rounds during the 10-day event and accumulated $133,903 in winnings to push his season total to $227,671. Those two totals became the highest in both categories in the all-time team-roping list.

“This is an awesome feeling and the payouts really helped,” said Tsinigine as the NFR host anted up an additional $4 million this past year.

With that, each go round paid out $84,615 while the average race offered a whopping $253,846 for a total payout of $1.1 million.

“You can make all of your money at the NFR,” Tsinigine said.

Of course some things had to take place in that final performance of the Wrangler NFR. He placed first with partner Ryan Motes in the final round while some of the other veteran ropers faltered.

“Two of three things needed to go our way for me to be here,” Tsinigine said. “We needed to win the round, for starters. If I could have picked anyone to be here with me it’d be Ryan Motes, my partner and best friend.”

Tsinigine beat out world runner-up Luke Brown by a mere $2,685.

“This has been a dream since I was a kid,” Tsinigine said. “When I was growing up on the reservation, I would never have dreamed of winning a world championship.”

2. NAU hosts Embry-Riddle at WR Events Center

In a historic event, the Window Rock High School Events Center housed its first collegiate basketball game.

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks defeated the Embry-Riddle Eagles, 90-57, in a game that was televised nationally on the sports network FOX Sports Arizona.

To help commemorate the event, the NAU men’s basketball team wore a special jersey that had the words “Tsin Yitseelí” printed on them.

“It was special symbolic gesture they did for tonight’s game,” NAU men’s basketball coach Jack Murphy, who asked if that was the exact translation of the teams’ mascot after the game.

Murphy said they are going to retire the jerseys, and he wasn’t sure what they were going to do with them. There were talks of either donating or auctioning them off.

As for coming to the capital of the Navajo Nation, Murphy said it was a great opportunity for his team to get an understanding of the heritage and tradition of the Diné people. Moreover, it was chance for them to experience the love of basketball in this region.

“It was great opportunity for us to come out here and see what type of environment you guys live in,” NAU guard Kris Yanku said. “We saw a lot of the culture, and I was real impressed with this facility. It’s a top-notch facility for a high school level.”

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