Area athletes make podium appearance at AIA division state meet

WINDOW ROCK

The Arizona Interscholastic Association Division III and IV Championships were held at Shadow Mountain High School with several local athletes making a podium appearance.

In Division III girls, Flagstaff senior Taylor Biggambler captured gold in the 3200-meter run as she completed the eight-lap race in 11:08.15. She won the state crown comfortably with second-place finisher Tally Call of ALA-Queen Creek clocking in at 11:20.43.

Flagstaff sophomore Kylyn Taylor missed the podium by one spot with a fifth-place effort of 11:31.94.

In the 1600, Biggambler settled for second by complete the four-lap race in 5:06.62 . Glendale Cactus High freshman Isabella Jordan won the state title with a time of 5:03.24.

The Flagstaff boys went 1-2 in the 1600- and 3200-meter races with junior Yohanes vanMeerten finishing ahead of teammate Alex Bland for the state titles.

In the 1600, van Meerten crossed the finish line in 4:25.29 with Bland trailing six seconds back at 4:21.79. In the 3200, vanMeerten won the race in 9:02.92 with Bland finishing a distant second at 9:35.64.

The Flagstaff boys added a first-place finish in the 4×800 relay race with a time of 7:51.85.

In the open 400, Flagstaff senior Elijah Talkalai placed third at 1:54.99 while Bland placed sixth at 1:57.44.

The Division IV state meet had a plethora of athletes make the finals in the long-distance races headed by Page senior Symond Martin, who claimed the 1600 and 3200 races in 4:14.60 and 9:16.59, respectively.

Other runners that earned top 10 finishes include Holbrook’s Ian Masayesva, who placed fourth in the 1600 (4:22.20), seventh in the 3200 (9:39.74) and ninth in the 800 (2:00.71).

Alchesay junior Yonah Beatty added an eight-place finish in the 1600 (4:29.37) and 10th in the 3200 (9:48.00)

In the Division IV girls meet, Ganado senior Damira Allen placed fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:23.48. In the 1600, she added a fifth-place finish of 5:30.10.

Chinle freshman Isabell Martin placed sixth in the 1600 (5:31.33) and ninth in the 800 (2:28.35) while Monument Valley’s To’zhool Tate earned 11th place honors in both the 800 (2:28.56) and 1600 (5:37.92).

In the 300-meter hurdles, Tuba City junior Robert Blackhat III made the finals and placed seventh with a time of 15.86 seconds. In the field events, Chinle junior Raidanna Sutton placed eighth in the discus with her best throw coming at 92-02 while Winslow senior Kaelynn Herder placed 10th at 87-05.

At Red Mountain High School, Valley Lutheran senior Benjamin Benally captured the Division V state crown in the 3200 with a time of 9:34.13. The Diné runner, who has roots in the Shiprock area, finishes as the state runner-up in the 1600 at 4:25.10.

Piñon junior Antwan Clement placed fifth in the 1600 (4:36.30) and seventh in the 3200 (10:07.91) while St. Michael senior Evans Tracy took seventh in the 1600 (4:41.18).

Hopi had a few runners compete at the division state meet headed by Hunter Bahnimptewa, who placed 10th in the 1600 (4:41.41) and 3200 (10:19.46).

The Bruins earned a fourth-place finish in the 4×800 race by clocking in at 8:36.86 while St. Michael placed ninth at 8:55.45.

In the Division V girls meet, Hopi junior Mylia Secakuku took 10th in the 1600 at 5:39.41. She added an eight-place finish in the 3200 at 12:04.68 while teammate Brook Huma placed 10th at 12:10.92.

In the high jump, Valley sophomore Madison Francis finished in a two-way tie for third by clearing 5-00.

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