History in the making
Navajo Times | Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi The Native American Community Academy won the boy’s 1600 sprint medley in Class 3A for their first state title. Team members are (L to R) Aaron Lee, Clinton Marmon, Josh Haynes and Kobe Kowena. Haynes won an individual title in the boy’s 400.
NACA earns school first-ever state titles
Navajo Times | Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
The Native American Community Academy won the boy’s 1600 sprint medley in Class 3A for their first state title. Team members are (L to R) Aaron Lee, Clinton Marmon, Josh Haynes and Kobe Kowena. Haynes won an individual title in the boy’s 400.
ALBUQUERQUE
While most teams were practicing on their own track field, the Native American Community Academy team had to practice on a dirt parking lot.
While other schools racked up the state titles, NACA had yet to earn one in any sport. And while most programs were cutting athletes from the track and field team, NACA was trying to get theirs to try out.
Despite all the deficiencies, the Eagles prevailed at the 3A 2016 NMAA State Track and Field Championships last weekend, as they earned the school’s first-ever state titles.
NACA senior Aaron Lee reflected on those achievements and said there is more to offer from the small Native school in Albuquerque.
“Sometimes I get emotional because from when we first started, we used to just practice on a dirt lot. I was the only one running, basically I was the track team,” he said. “Just to see that we’ve got all this potential and we don’t even have a track…we don’t have nothing like that and we still work our (tails) off. Just to see how we got first; this is truly out of hard work, determination and perseverance.”
Lee finished in second in both the 1600- and 800-meter run. He also helped the 1600 medley relay team to a first place finish of 3:43.94 with his teammates Kobe Kowena, Clinton Marmon and Josh Haynes who earned the school’s first individual title by winning the 400 in 50.90.
With Marmon, Lee and Haynes previously participating in individual events, the medley relay was the first time NACA entered a team event.
Lee, who is Navajo, Lakota and Cochiti Pueblo, is the one that organized the team. As a sophomore he got Marmon to come out for track, then he eventually convinced Haynes and Kowena to do the same.
Marmon, who is Laguna Acoma, said the senior leadership from Haynes and Lee motivated the team for their push for the state title.
“This is the first year we entered and committed ourselves to this event and I thought we could make something out of it,” Marmon said. “This was something that we all wanted to do, so all I did was put my mind into it and dedicate myself to this sport.”
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