Ganado, MV harriers nab 800, 1600 crowns

FORT DEFIANCE

Monument Valley senior Dylan Johnson and Ganado senior Damira Allen earned two individual titles at Saturday’s Window Rock Twilight meet.

Both runners were crowned champions in the 800 and 1600 races.

Of his two races, Johnson won the 1600 in dramatic fashion as he edged Window Rock’s Bearren Kee in a photo finish as the two runners were clocked in at 4:33.77 and 4:33.81, respectively.

“It felt really good to win that race,” Johnson said. “I want to thank Bearren Kee for pacing me the whole time because I was just trying to stay with him and that is what I did.”

The MV runner improved his PR by nearly eight-tenths of a seconds as he is seeded No. 14 in the latest Arizona Interscholastic Association Division IV standings. The top 24 individual athletes and the top 16 relay teams will earn spots to next month’s AIA Division IV Championships, which is slated for May 8-9 at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix.

Kee is seeded No. 10 in the 1600 with a time of 4:31.54 that he ran during the Chandler Rotary Invite in March.

“I feel like Bearren is still faster than me,” Johnson said. “This wasn’t his best meet, but it was cool running with him.”

In the 800, Johnson won in 2:04.57 with Tohatchi’s Kaden Skeet coming in second at 2:05.04.

“The race was competitive because the guy behind me wanted to PR and he stayed behind me,” Johnson said of Skeet. “I just ran my own race, but it was just a little slow, like two second off my PR.”

In the 400, he placed ninth overall at 56.54 with Grand Canyon’s Ryder Lyle winning the event in 52.67.

In addition to the 1600, Johnson is also expected to make the divisional meet in the 800. He is currently seeded No. 17 at 2:03.91.

“I feel like this is my best season yet,” Johnson said. “I’m just very grateful to make state because last year I almost qualified my junior year. I was just a few seconds off from qualifying and it would mean a lot for me to make state this year.”

Ganado runner 

Like Johnson, Allen was a double winner in the 800 and 1600. She was timed at 2:28.61 in the 800 with Gallup eighth grader Harlow Manuelito coming in a distant second at 2:37.22.

In the 1600, Allen cruised to the win with a time of 5:46.99. Tohatchi’s Chase Allison came in second at 5:50.96.

“I’m using this meet for practice,” said Allen, who scaled back her running on Saturday. “I’m getting ready for the next two weeks.”

Heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, the Ganado harrier is seeded No. 3 in the 800 and No. 17 in the 1600 in the Division IV standings.

Her best performance in the 800 came during the Chandler Rotary Invitational on March 21 when she ran a 2:22.80.

“We ran in the evening, which was good,” Allen said of the Phoenix meet.

For the 1600, she ran a 5:45.87 during the Lake Powell Invitational on March 28. And while she’s a lock to make the divisional meet, Allen admitted that her focus is the 800 race.

“I’m not really focused on the mile,” she said. “I just do it for fun, but I like to run the 800.”

As part of the of the 4×800 relay team, Ganado posted a new PR with a time of 10:37.96 during the Window Rock meet as the Hornets moved to No. 4 in the AIA Division IV standings.

The team consists of freshman Cheyenne Denetso and seniors Jasah McIntosh, Tomeka King, and Allen.

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