Ganado girls, Page boys take team titles

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Oct 12, 2017 | Track & Field |

Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Four runners begin making their way up “TC Hill” in a 5K race during the annual Bud Davis Cross-country Invitational on Oct. 7 in Tuba City. Page won the meet with 27 points.

WINDOW ROCK

Ganado cross-country coach Anna James likes strong competition.

With that in mind, it helps her team become better runners. At last Saturday’s Bud Davis Invitational, hosted by Tuba City High School, there were a handful of teams within their section that provided that challenge.

Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Ganado senior Janaya McIntosh makes her way around Tuba City High’s Blue Canyon stadium in a 5K race during the annual Bud Davis Cross-country Invitational on Oct. 7. McIntosh finished with a winning time of 22:03.69.

But with a veteran squad the Lady Hornets packed four runners in the top 10 as Ganado won in dominant fashion with 26 points beating out second place finisher Window Rock by 19 points.

“The girls did pretty good,” James said. “I looked at their times and they had a pretty good race.”

James said her assistant, Yvonne Yazzie, coached the team last weekend since she was unable to make the trip to Tuba City due to a family emergency.

The Lady Hornets were led by the 1-2 finish by sisters Janya and Jayla McIntosh. Janaya, the older sister, won the 5K race with a time of 22:03 while Jayla trailed 34 seconds back for second place.

“They have been very consistent at practice,” James said of the McIntosh sisters. “They have been running competitively at every race. They have been consistently running in the top five and top 10 so I like what I see in them.”

James also had some high marks for the rest of the squad, which includes freshman Kayla Beck, sophomore Shaunda Yazzie, junior Shada Golden and seniors Camille Uentillie and Jefawn Eskeets.

“I like where the girls are sitting at right now,” James said. “We’re progressing slowly and we’re about to peak at the right time. Right now we’re still putting things together and as a team we are working together.”

With a split time of 1:14, the Page Sand Devil nearly placed all scoring members in the top 10 with their fifth runner, Kaipo Uejo, finishing 11th overall for a team score of 27 points.

Junior Bowen Martin (17:44) led Page with a first-place finish as he beat out teammate Morgan Fowler (17:51) for the individual crown.

Page also got a fifth-place effort from senior Dorian Daw (18:05) and an eighth-place finish from Cullen Nockideneh (18:42). Uejo, meanwhile, was clocked in at 18:42.

With 50 points, the Tuba City boys’ team had three runners medal with senior Tristan Antonio (18:23) taking sixth place. Sophomore Demetrius Daw (18:39) took seventh place and junior Johnson Farrell (18:56) earned 10th-place honors.

Many Farms, which got a third-place finish from senior Jarren Teller (17:52) and a ninth-place effort from senior Trevor Wilson (18:47), took third place in the team standings with 73 points. The Lobos finished ahead of Ganado (86), Window Rock (144), Monument Valley (178), Winslow (182), St. Michael (225) and Rock Point (237).

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