Navajo Prep girls secure third-place finish, Tohatchi harrier earns first state medal

ALBUQUERQUE – It’s been a long time coming for the Navajo Prep girls cross country team.

The Lady Eagles have not made a podium appearance since the 2012 season. Last year, they came close as Navajo Prep missed it by 12 points with a fifth-place finish.

On Saturday, the Eagles cleared that hurdle with a third-place showing in the 3A girls division at the New Mexico State Cross Country Championships.

Navajo Prep scored five runners in the top 37 for a team score of 109 points. The Eagles finished behind state champ Santa Fe Prep (25) and state runner-up Santa Fe’s ATC (98).

“This is actually the first time in the four years that I’ve been here at the state meet that we made the top 3,” Navajo Prep senior McKenzie Ashley-Willie said. “It’s really been a goal for all of us to get on the podium. Our boys team got third the last two years ago, and we’ve been wanting to get in that top 3 for a state trophy.”

Ashley-Willie finished as Navajo Prep’s third runner with a 28th-place finish. The Eagles were led by juniors Kameron Dale (12th) and Lillian Petago (19th).

The rest of the scoring members included senior Hailey Thomas (32nd) and junior Carla Claunch (37th).

“At the beginning of the season we told ourselves that we were going to get a trophy this year,” Thomas said. “We’ve seen seniors come and go through the past three years and we told them one day we’ll be right up there on the podium.”

Navajo Prep’s finish was a bittersweet moment for Thomas as she returned her senior season after taking her entire junior year off due to an injury she sustained at the state meet her sophomore season.

“I ran the state meet, but I never crossed the finish line,” said Thomas, who tore her patella tendon two years ago on this same state meet course. “I’ve been through a roller coaster of emotions because I knew I let my team down back then. I wasn’t sure if I was able to run cross country ever again because I was scared to run, but my mom and my cheii were the one that pushed me.

“Over the summer I trained,” she added. “I ran marathons and 10Ks, and I pushed myself to be a stronger person.”

Navajo Prep coach Stephanie Coon is hoping that their top finish will encourage more girls to join the cross country team.

“The problem that we have is we don’t have enough girls to come out,” Coon said. “That’s been a struggle at Navajo Prep because a lot of the girls come out for volleyball and soccer.

“I’m hoping this give a good boost to get more girls out for cross country,” she added.

Tohatchi runner

After placing 14th at last year’s state meet, Tohatchi sophomore Catherine Denetclaw earned her first state medal.

Denetclaw was the area’s lone harrier to make the podium in the 3A girls race as she placed eighth overall, clocking in at 20:25.7.

“For me this is a big step, even though I was hoping for a higher place,” Denetclaw said. “But overall, I’m happy that I managed to get on the podium, especially after I fell at the beginning of the race, so that was a little challenging.”

The Tohatchi harrier started off strong as she passed some of her peers in the first two miles. But in the last mile she was feeling fatigued.

“I ran out of energy, so I had to slow down,” Denetclaw said. “This was a hard course and so a lot of my teammates were exhausted.”

As a team, Tohatchi placed eighth overall with 171 points with Denetclaw and sophomore Kaylee Mitchell (12th) leading the team.

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