Window Rock senior wins 1600-meters in track debut

REHOBOTH, N.M.

In his track debut, Window Rock senior Shaun Hadley surprised himself at the Rehoboth Invitational on Saturday.

Without a time trial, Hadley ran in the slower heat but after the completion of the 1600-meter race he was crowned champion among 36 competitors.

Hadley turned in a time of 5 minutes, 8.05 seconds as he outkicked Thoreau junior Dallen Plummer in the final lap.

“I felt like I could take him on the last turn,” Hadley said of Plummer, who trailed four seconds back.

The Window Rock long distance runner said he’s excited about the rest of the track season as he hopes to qualify for state at the end of the year.

“For my first race of the year I’m feeling pretty good,” he said.

In the girls’ 1600, Gallup senior Jessica Ramirez blazed through the competition in her heat as she won the event in 5:51.97 despite having some knee issues.

“I was trying to stay consistent and not push myself because of my knee,” she said. “I really don’t know what happened to my knee but at the same time I didn’t want to go too soft on it.”

In the boys’ shot put, Zuni junior Lorenzo Fontenelle set a new PR by throwing the 12-pound shot 40-feet, 2.50 inches. His previous best was 37-04.

“I have to give credit to my coaches,” Fontenelle said. “They helped me improve.”

Fontenelle said his best throw last season was 35-07 during the District 1-3A meet. With each district taking the top two finishers, Fontenelle said he missed qualifying for state by finishing third overall.

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