Náshdóítsoh Invite set for Friday

GALLUP – Rain or shine the Náshdóítsoh Invite will kick off the 2024 New Mexico prep cross country season on Friday afternoon.

The annual meet had a few registered already. Teams wanting to enter had to register by Wednesday morning’s deadline.

“We don’t know the numbers yet, but we’re looking to have about 14 teams for the high school and middle school races,” Tohatchi head coach Dion John said on Saturday at the Gallup High scrimmage.

“We’re telling everyone to be ready for the weather,” he said. “We might get some rain to where the course will get muddy. And if it’s not raining, just be ready for the heat. Either way, it’s going to be a tough race.

The meet will have five races, starting with the middle school races, with girls at 3 p.m. and boys at 3:30 p.m. The varsity girls will run at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity boys at 4:30 p.m. The JV boys and girls will run together at 5 p.m. All races will take place at Hamburger Hill, which is a few miles east of Tohatchi High School.

“It’s a grueling course,” John said. “I mean, we have that long incline at the end, and it’s pretty rock. But it’s a good course to challenge yourself.”

Last year, Durango swept the team competition for the varsity races. Durango harrier Sofia Voss and Kirtland Central’s Dathan Esson were the individual winners.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Durango has opted out of the Náshdóítsoh Invite as the Colorado school is hosting its home meet on Saturday.

The Cougars return a handful of lettermen who placed fifth at the New Mexico 3A state meet last year. Tohatchi, however, is looking to rebuild after losing the likes of all-state runners Briley Dauphinais and Jared Peterson.

“We’re trying to reset the culture,” John said. “We’re kind of like rebuilding because of the new leadership we have. With this new group, they’re starting to understand what they need to do as a team together whether it’s in the classroom or at practice.

“We’re just trying to make them accountable,” he added.

The Cougars will be headed by sophomores Brant Dauphinais (Briley’s younger brother) and Izylynvario Joe. Freshman Bruce Bennett is another returner for the John-coached team.

“We really don’t have a No. 1 runner yet,” John said. “Brant and Izylynvario have been running well. We’ll see how they do as the season goes.”

On the girls squad, John is quite impressed with the progress of sophomore Katherine Denetclaw, who placed 14th at last year’s state meet.

“She’s our top runner,” the Tohatchi coach said. “The mileage she put in during the summer has really helped. The workouts she did is showing right now.

“Our other girls are coming along,” he added. “They’re still trying to get back into shape. It’s great to see these girls work together. They really understand the team concepts, so I’m looking forward to rest of the season.”

Of the seven teams in District 1-3A, John says the Zuni Thunderbirds and the Navajo Prep Eagles are the teams to beat. Last year the district sent Navajo Prep, Tohatchi, and Zuni to the state meet with the Zuni boys winning its 23rd state crown while Navajo Prep placed third.

“It’s fun to compete with both schools and they’re going to be tough again,” John said. “But I think we have another contender in our district with Thoreau. They’re gonna look great because they have a great coach in Tim Host.”

“It’s going to fun to compete against them, and our kids are going to go after them,” he added.

And while the competition can get fierce, John says there is mutual respect among the coaches within the district.

“As coaches, we all talk with one another and the one thing we want to do is push all of our kids in our area,” he said. “We want to better them so that we can all be state contenders.”

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