Desert Twilight XC Festival: Navajo Prep boys sweep individual, team titles
Special to the Times | Reginald Chee
Navajo Prep Eagle Elijah England leads the 5K Championship race during the Desert Twilight XC Festival at Toka Stick Golf Course in Mesa on Friday, Sept. 25. England won first and clocked in at 15:08.9.
WINDOW ROCK
Navajo Prep senior Elijah England found another gear to outkick Chandler Basha runner Brady Summers for the individual title in the 5K Championship boys race at the Desert Twilight XC Festival on Friday night.
After the first two miles, Summers led the race, but England traded spots with the Basha runner as England crossed the finish line in first place, clocking in at 15:08.9. Summers, meanwhile, faded down the stretch and placed second at 15:20.0.
“I think I raced pretty solid, but it wasn’t a PR,” England said. “I was like four, five seconds off my PR. I kind of got held up in my mind from the first mile to the second, so I was off pace.”
The two-mile split had Summers clocking in a 9:36.2 while England trailed four seconds back at 9:40.9.
“I should have paced the guy from Basha, and I should have been at 9:30, but like I said I was off my pace,” England said. “Honestly, I wasn’t that tired, so I took off about 100, 200 meters after the two-mile make. You know, my two-mile split was slow, so I had to really pick things up from there. I just used me arms and I finished through.”
To read the full article, please see the Oct. 1, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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