Shiprock harrier moving up the ranks

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Sep 26, 2024 | Track & Field |

SHIPROCK – The upward trajectory of Kaden Lapahie does not surprise Shiprock boys cross-country coach Herbert Beyale III.

Last week, Lapahie captured his second individual title of the young season when he finished first at his home meet, the Shiprock Chieftain Invitational.

The Shiprock sophomore won the 5K race in 16:48.49 as runners battled wind gusts that reached 25 mph during Saturday’s race.

Lapahie beat second-place finisher Elijah England of Navajo Prep by nearly 14 seconds. England, a sophomore, clocked in at 17:02.09 while KC senior Dathan Esson finished third at 17:22.65.

Early in the race, Esson challenged Lapahie for nearly two miles before the Shiprock harrier pulled away.

“When we hit that wind, I felt like I could go faster,” Lapahie said. “That is when I got further away from him (Esson).”

As a freshman last season, Lapahie placed 10th at the Shiprock meet, improving his time by 52.41 seconds.

“Last year he had a really good season,” Beyale said. “It was his intro to high school running, so we were excited about him entering his sophomore season. He’s someone that committed himself all year round so it’s not surprising that he’s doing well.

“I’m just happy for him,” the Shiprock coach added. “He’s having fun with it. He’s racing hard; we just got to find ways to keep him improving.”

Earlier this year, Lapahie won his first meet at the Durango Cross Country Invitational on Aug. 31 with a winning time of 18:13.32.

“To lead that race the whole time really helped boost my confidence,” Lapahie said. “My goal in that race was not to lose and have (the other runners) beat me at the end.”

Before the Shiprock meet, the Chieftains took part in the UNM Lobo XC Invite with Lapahie placing 11th among some of the state’s best runners from the 4A and 5A levels. He was clocked in at 16:10.35.

At that race, Lapahie competed against some of his 4A peers with Albuquerque Academy runner Nicholas Ponte finishing third overall at 15:18.68 while the Taos tandem of Judah Duffron (15:48.71) and Billy Romero (16:03.18) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

“I raced against the two Taos runners for almost the whole race,” Lapahie said. “I stayed with their second runner, Billy Romero, for most of the race and that was a good confidence booster coming into this meet.”

And while Lapahie is showing no signs of slowing down, the Shiprock coach says it’s too early to prophesize what’s to come for his pupil, especially when it comes to the 4A state meet in early November.

“I think he’s a great athlete,” Beyale said. “He’s on top of everything that he needs to do as far as being a student-athlete. He’s definitely grown, and he’s taken his running up another level, but I think it’s too early to say how he’ll do at state.

“Like I said, we’re trying to find ways for him to improve week to week,” he added.

As for the Chieftain boys team, Beyale is hoping to get his entire team qualified for state, which will end a three-year drought.

“We’re in a tough district,” Beyale said. “We have Kirtland, Miyamura, and Gallup and they’re tough year in and year out.

“I’m hoping that we can match up with them,” he added. “We have strong leadership from Kaden and Zeshawn (Dick). Those two runners are showing the boys what needs to be done.”