Ganado 4×800 girls in contention for state medal

Posted by Quentin Jodie | May 3, 2018 | Track & Field |

WINDOW ROCK

Navajo Times | Ravonelle Yazzie
Ganado’s Jayla McIntosh carries the baton in the 4×800 relay race on April 20 at Winslow High School. The Ganado girls are seeded No. 2 for this year’s Arizona Division III state meet.

Before the season started, the Ganado girls’ track team was looking to fill the holes within their 4×800 lineup.

The Lady Hornets lost two runners – one to graduation and another who transferred out of state – off last year’s team that placed fifth at the Arizona Division III state track meet.

Sisters Janaya and Jayla McIntosh were the only remnants of that team and for the first month of the season the Hornets experimented with a number of girls, running different legs. By trial and error they found that right combination by adding freshman Kayla Beck and senior Nizhoni Wortham to the rotation.

“We started out switching girls in and out,” said older sister Janaya McIntosh. “It took awhile but I think we figured out who bonds the most with this team.”

It didn’t take long for this team to get noticed as they have been consistently placing in the top three of each meet. On April 6, the four runners hit a personal best of 10 minutes, 17.11 seconds at the Blue Ridge Invitational, which is the second-fastest time turned in this season among girls’ teams in Division III.

“Wherever we go they have been the most consistent out of all our athletes,” Ganado first-year head coach Norman Hubbell said. “They’re constantly competing and, not to take away anything for our other athletes, they are setting the standard in terms of student athletes and track athletes.”