Running from COVID: Miyamura, Tohatchi duke it out at Curtis Williams

REHOBOTH, N.M.

Other than one bend, the 5K-course at the 2021 Curtis Williams Spring Cross Country Invitational is similar to the one that Rehoboth usually hosts every fall.

Miyamura junior Tayan Benson pointed that out after winning the Curtis Williams meet, which was hosted by Gallup High, on Saturday with a time of 19 minutes, 2.76 seconds.

“I won this race (in 2019) but way faster,” Benson said. “There’s only one bend that’s different but other than that it’s the same course.”

As a sophomore, Benson won the Rehoboth meet with a time of 17:24 and during that fall there were 26 teams competing.

In Saturday’s race, the meet had only two full teams with the Patriots taking the team crown with 26 points ahead of Tohatchi, which finished with 29. Meanwhile, Crownpoint, Gallup, Thoreau and Ramah did not field enough runners.

With fewer teams competing, Benson said, it presented some challenges.

“There is no one there to really push you,” the Miyamura junior said. “I pretty much ran by myself.”

Due to the pandemic, the meet had to follow a few protocols set by the New Mexico Activities Association. All runners had to mask up and the races were broken down to staggered start times.

“It’s kind of weird with only a few runners at the starting line,” Benson said. “And the mask, you know, is brand new but it kind of affects your performance.”

Nevertheless, the Miyamura ace runner won his heat by nearly a minute with teammate George Piestewa clocking in at 20:01.76.

After the two Miyamura runners, Tohatchi garnered the next three spots with junior Melvin Scott Jr. (20:42.60) finishing ahead of Jimmie Chavez (20:43.75) and Nicholas Yazzie (21:28.43).

In the final tally, the Tohatchi runners placed fourth, fifth and sixth overall.

In the first heat, Gallup freshmen runners Theodore Roundface (20:05.03) and Kendon Augure-Deal (22:22.36) went 1-2 and based on their times they finished third and 10th, respectively.

“I didn’t go too fast but I had a lot of fun,” Roundface said. “I felt like I was pretty slow but running today helped me get the feeling of racing again. It helped me get away from all the things going on with COVID.”

Like his teammate, Augare-Deal said he was happy to be competing.

“When I first heard that we were going to have a season I was so happy,” he said. “I was ready to go. I even had all my running shoes packed.”

Augare-Deal said his time of 22:22.36 was a lot slower than he anticipated.

“It was kind of tough because in the summer I was running in the 18s,” he said. “For our first race, I guess I can accept it but I know I can do better.”

With it being the first meet, Gallup coach Kyle Benally said he told his athletes to run up to their abilities and not worry about where they finished.

“It’s good for them to get a race under their belts,” he said. “We’re not quite where we would like them to be but this is their first race of the season. They all did very good.”

Despite Gallup’s rich tradition, Benally said he’s not going to emphasize the Gallup dynasty of yesteryears. Since 1983, the Bengals have won 18 boys titles, including 12 straight. Of those titles, 14 were under the watch of Curtis Williams, the meet’s namesake.

Williams was present on Saturday and he gave a fiery speech to the young Bengal squad, which is predominantly freshmen and sophomores.

“I don’t want to put that pressure on them,” said Benally, a former Curtis Williams runner. “The page has turned with what happened in the past. I’ve told the kids we’re not going to relive anybody’s footprints.

“We’re going to make our own footprints going forward,” he added. “Whatever success we bring to the school is going to be coming from them. We’re gonna make our own history.”

The Bengals are scheduled to compete in Kirtland Central’s Spring Bronco Ridge Runner Invite on Saturday. The KC meet will feature seven teams: Aztec, Farmington, Gallup, Kirtland Central, Miyamura, Piedra Vista and Shiprock.

“We’re going to see all of our district competitors there so we’ll be able to judge where we stand,” Begay aid. “We’ll know where to go from there.”

Miyamura coach Kyle Benally concurred, adding that most teams will be at full strength during the second meet of the season.

“We’re going to find out who the front-runners are,” the first-year coach said. “I know we won the race (on Saturday) but it’s too early in the season. A lot of teams are still getting their runners together.”

Following the KC meet, most of the 4A schools are going to compete at the Shiprock Invitational, followed by the district meet at Aztec High. The state meet is tentatively scheduled for March 26-27.

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