Chinle 4×400 team edges Scouts for region title

KAYENTA
The 3A North Track and Field Championships may not be state, but the competing athletes treated it like it was.

Many schools in the region competed with athletes giving each event their best, but none was as surprising or as tense as the boys 4×400 race.

Spectators were expecting Chinle or Page to take the lead. No one was prepared when Window Rock’s Ryan Kee shot out of the gate and took a startling lead.

The other teams raced to catch up. The teams were neck-to-neck in the first hand off.
Window Rock stayed in front with Chinle and Page chasing close behind.

Eventually, Chinle pulled ahead in the final 100 meters with the Wildcats taking the win at 3:45.46 while Window Rock took second with 3:46.50.

In a photo finish Page finished ahead of Monument Valley for third in a rather tight race.

The Sand Devils were clocked in at 3:52.21 and Monument Valley at 3:52.22.
Tuba City finished the race with a time of 4:05.14.

Derice Honyumptewa, who ran the third leg for the Wildcats, has been competing on the track team for three years. He says he loves track, and he loves running.

“Every time we race a 4×400, it’s always a prayer,” Honyumptewa said. “It has to be done and a prayer has to be done afterword’s, no matter what place we take.”

He commends his teammates and coaches for winning the region title, particularly assistant boys coach Norman Hubbell.

Honyumptewa gave everything he had during his leg and when he handed off the baton he almost fell over.

He couldn’t feel his legs as he spent much of his energy closing the gap between him and Window Rock.

He forced himself to stand as he watched Sincere Tso, Chinle’s anchor runner, overtaking Window Rock in the final meters, making the last moments of the race “really intense.”

He was happy with the win and gives respect to the Scouts for the good race, saying both teams really worked for it and showed how far they had come since the start of the season.

He thanks his family for the support, his team and coaches for always pushing and gave glory to God for his life and for giving his team a good season.

“Its like a dream come true,” Honyumptewa. “For the Chinle team, we worked on our dreams until they come true.”

Kee, Window Rock’s lead runner, also commended his team for their efforts.

“It was a pretty close race,” Kee said. “Maybe we could have gone a little faster, but its alright, second is alright.”

Since the start of the season, the Scout’s 4×400 team has been improving their speed, with them mostly focusing on their times and working out the small things.

Kee wasn’t sure if him starting off first was the best decision, but then again he’s not certain how things would have gone if he played the role of anchorman.

Kee was honestly surprised it was Chinle who caught them, as they were expecting the Page team to give them a challenge down the stretch.

“We did pretty good,” he said. “Everyone has been doing pretty good this year.”
Kee said he’s looking forward to state where he’ll be running in the 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter races.

On the girls side, Chinle team won the 4×400 despite having two newcomers, as the original team for this season was either sick or injured.

The Lady Wildcats won the race at 4:39.21, while Page came in close second at 4:42.69 followed by Tuba City (5:02.48) and Monument Valley (5:09.89).

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