KC boys, Miyamura girls, Navajo Prep boys, and Tohatchi girls capture district cross country titles

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

SHIPROCK

The road to the New Mexico Activities Association State Cross Country Championships narrowed Saturday as runners from Districts 1-3A and 1-4A competed for team and individual titles in separate meets held in Shiprock and Zuni.

At Shiprock High School, Kirtland Central boys and Miyamura girls claimed the District 1-4A team championships, while Shiprock’s Kaden Lapahie and Miyamura’s Shelby Haskie earned individual crowns.

In the boys’ race, Kirtland Central secured the team title with 36 points, placing four runners inside the top 10. Miyamura followed with 54, and Gallup took third with 65.

Shiprock junior Kaden Lapahie set the tone early, gradually pulling away from the field to win in 16:05.8, nearly half a minute ahead of Gallup senior Sage Livingston (16:37.78). Miyamura’s Izaiah Freeland finished third in 16:56.97.

“It felt pretty good — I wanted to win this one pretty bad,” Lapahie said. “The past two years I got fourth and third, and I always felt like I could’ve done better. In this race I wanted to prove to everybody and myself that I could do it. One of the coaches said there was no favorite — that stuck with me. I wanted to be the favorite.”

Lapahie said his performance gives him momentum heading into Saturday’s state meet. “The time we ran at Albuquerque Academy earlier this year wasn’t my best,” he said. “This race was a good confidence booster — I think I’m fully prepared for state.”

In the girls’ division, Miyamura senior Shelby Haskie surged ahead of Shiprock junior Jazelle Thompson in the final stretch, finishing in 19:46.97 to claim the individual title while Thompson finished nearly eight seconds back at 19:54.28. Gallup junior Mykeia Vicenti rounded out the top three in 20:26.89.

“It feels great accomplishing something really big like this,” Haskie said. “It makes me want to try my best next time and see if I can move up again and win the state championship.”

Behind Haskie’s finish, Miyamura captured the girls’ team title with 39 points, followed by Gallup with 43 and Shiprock with 65.

Meanwhile, down in Zuni, the District 1-3A Championships saw the Navajo Prep boys and Tohatchi girls emerge as team champions.

Navajo Prep dominated the boys’ field, placing four runners in the top five to win the title with 20 points and an average time of 17:19. Zuni finished second with 46, and Tohatchi came in third at 65. Navajo Prep junior Elijah England led the Eagles with a winning time of 16:32.97, followed by teammate junior Kenai Begay (17:09.64) and Zuni’s senior Deron Lastyano (17:24.21).

In the girls’ race, Tohatchi junior Catherine Denetclaw crossed first in 21:19.40, ahead of Navajo Prep senior Lillian Petago (21:57.02) and freshman Emily Jim (22:07.21). Despite Denetclaw’s win, Navajo Prep earned the girls’ team championship with 33 points, while Tohatchi finished second with 60 and Crownpoint placed third with 91.

All qualifying teams and individuals from both districts advance to the state meet on Nov. 8 at Albuquerque Academy, where the top runners from across New Mexico will compete for state titles.

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