Page dominate in first track meet of spring

PAGE

Page hosted its first track meet on Friday at the Cyclone Stadium.

However, schools canceled at the last minute, leaving only seven of the original 11 teams appearing.

Page boys won their competition, coming in first with 188.5 points while Chinle came in second with 76.5 and Piñon in third 57.5. Monument Valley came in fourth, Joseph City fifth, Red Mesa sixth, and Fredonia 7th place.

For the girls, Chinle took first 144, Page second with 143, and Monument Valley third with 84. Piñon was in fourth, Joseph City in fifth, and Red Mesa in the sixth, respectively.

The meet was set to begin at 10 a.m., but because of frost on the track and on the field, the meet was delayed until 11 a.m., when the sun slowly warmed up the field and student-athletes.

Despite the delay, the limited number of teams caught up to the original schedule, finishing the games by evening.

Of the 15 events, the Sand Devils won 10 events headed by junior Isaiah Aguilia-Curley, who placed first in the long jump (17-feet, 11.7 inches) as well as the open 200-meter (25.50 seconds) and 400-meter (56.94) races.

Page’s runners dominated many of its events, with Quentin Davis, a double winner in the 800 and 1,600. His teammate Cody Slim also had a pair of first-place finishes in the 3,200 and the 4×800 relay team.

Page Senior Colton Yazzie earned two second-place finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Other first-place winners include Daniel Blackewell (100), Elijah Reed (high jump), and Austin Wilson (shot put).

Davis is one of Page’s best runners, and coach Brandon Dugi predicts he will only get better. This is his first year back after taking a break for a season because of an injury.

Dugi felt the whole team did great, especially being back on their home turf.

“It went pretty good,” he said. “It’s our first meet in about a year because of everything that has been going on, but everyone ran really good. This is our first meet as a team, so it’s nice to get one going for Page.”

He feels like the top-mile runners like Tanner Dugi, Cody Slim, and Colton Yazzie can make it depending on their performance in the coming season. He is confident, though, that Davis will be heading to state.

“Just excited to start the season off, this is our first meet as a track team, so we’re excited to get things rolling and get some kids to state,” Dugi said.

Girls

On the strength of six first-place wins, Chinle edged host Page for the team title. The Wildcats tallied 144 to Page’s 143.

Chinle took first in the 4×400 and 4×800 relays.

They also got an individual crown from Temyria Bia (800), Janessa Segay (1600), Mariah Bahe (3200), and Shanelle Smiley (shot put).

Page sophomore Sophia Cambridge aced the Sand Devils by winning the high jump and the open 400. The Sand Devils also had Sequoia Dickson take first in the 100-meter hurdles while Kaydance Tsinigine took the long jump.

Chinle coach Bryan Begay felt like his team was off to a good start, saying it felt good to be back on the field with the teams again. He predicts athletes like Bia, Segay, Nevaeh Scott, and Reshil Curley have potential and will grow this season.

He believes the boys’ team is strong with runners like junior Timothy Clark, Tristan James, and Mich Williams. Clark was in the top three for the 200-meters and the 100 meters while helping the team place first in the 4×400-meters relay. James and Williams also helped the team place high in the 4×400 and 4×800 relays.

He thanks Page for hosting them and congratulates the other teams that made it and saying it was fun having a real meet again and working with kids to get them at the next level.

“Today really showed the direction the kids are heading. It is really good, and I have a lot of confidence that they will do good in the season,” Begay said. “I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season is going to look likes, especially in our 3A.”

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