Usual suspects crowned sectional champs

HOLBROOK

Due to inclement weather, the AIA North Section state qualifying meet got pushed back one day.

That didn’t stop the Chinle girls, Page boys, and Ganado harrier Micah Slivers from repeating as champions.

The usual suspects stood atop the podium Friday at the Hidden Cove Golf Course in Holbrook.

Slivers toured the 5K course in 16 minutes, 13.0 seconds in the Division III, North Section race.

“I ran a really good race today,” Slivers said. “This was my first time running this course this year, but I won the section meet last year here.”

For the first couple of miles, Slivers ran with a pack of runners as he finished the race ahead of Blue Ridge senior Steven Halls (16:26.5), Page’s Quentin Davis (16:36.2), Mingus Union’s Cesar Diaz (16:54.6) and Window Rock’s Ryan Kee (16:56.8).

“I decided to pace myself for the first mile, second mile,” the Ganado runner said. “I knew there’s a downhill coming around in the back, near the finish line, so that’s when I started to pick up my pace.”

In the girls race, Page junior Jade Reid trailed Chinle senior Temyra Bia for a good part of the race. But she hit another gear in the final 200 meters to claim her first sectional title.

“In the last stretch, I turned to my coach, and he was like, ‘Come on, Jade,’” Reid said. “I also heard my family and teammates yelling for me, so I knew in my head that I had to go.

“I took off swinging my arms, and I sprinted it in,” she added.

Reid was clocked in at 19:41.4 while Bia crossed the finish line in 19:46.7, earning the Page runner her first win over Bia this season.

“It was a good race, and I want to congratulate Jade,” Bia said. “She really pushed it. I think she showed what she can do.”

Bia led a quartet of Chinle runners as they won the team title with 48 points. Ganado was a distant second with 67 points, followed by Snowflake (71), Page (109), and Winslow (153).

“We’ve improved a lot, and I feel like we pushed each other team-wise,” Bia said.

Page finished with 45 points in the boys race, outpacing second-place Holbrook as the host team tallied 83.

“We just told the guys to go out there and run hard,” Page coach Tim Martin said. “We knew we were going to qualify for state, and I thought some of our frontrunners could possibly win, and, you know, Quentin went after it.”

In the Division IV race, St. Michaels Amber Wood was the area’s top finisher as the senior placed third with a time of 21:22.5

“I felt like I could have done better, especially on my last mile,” Woody said. “I felt like I could have speeded it up.”

With a top finish, Woody said she’s looking forward to the state meet as she is hoping to place in the top 10.

Northland Prep took first in the team standings with 33 points, followed by Basis Flagstaff (44) and Many Farms (73).

“I expect that,” Many Farms coach Elroy Chee said of his team’s finish. “I noticed at the second mile we were sitting second, and everybody was where they’re supposed to be, but somewhere down the line, some runners got in front of them.”

In the boys race, the Hopi Bruins placed three runners in the top 8, placing second in the team standings behind Northland Prep.

The private Flagstaff school finished with 40 points, while Hopi scored 62.

“We just keep getting beat by those Flagstaff schools,” longtime Hopi coach Rick Baker said. “It’s hard to be the bridesmaid, but I think we can still do well at state.”

Senior Shereef McKinney paced Hopi as he placed third, ahead of teammate Duwron Tawvaya.

“I feel pretty amazing, but I know that I could have done better,” said McKinney, who was clocked in at 17:40.2.

With his results, McKinney said he’s motivated to do better at next week’s state meet, which is scheduled for Nov. 12 in north Phoenix at the Cave Creek Golf Course.

“We have to beat our times and placements,” McKinney said of the team’s expectations. “But since we’re Hopi, we want to get that state title back again.”

Hopi’s last state title came in 2016 when its string of 27 state championships was broken.

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