Sports

Bud Davis Invitational

TC girls, boys win individual, team titles

By Anne Griffis
Special to the Times

TUBA CITY, Oct. 24, 2011

The Tuba City High cross-country team hosted the annual Bud Davis Invitational on Oct. 14 coinciding with the Western Navajo Fair.

Expecting top rivals such as Chinle, Page, Mingus, and Hopi, the Warriors were disappointed that their main competition wasn't there. A scheduling conflict with the Conley Invitational in Phoenix resulted in Chinle sending its B-team to Tuba City while others gave Bud Davis a pass this year.

"This is traditionally a tough race, a way to sort out the top 3A North teams, also known as the rez teams," said Dr. Bill Orman. "The conflict with the Conley meet was not of Tuba City's making."

Orman was on hand to support his son Billy's former teammates.

Billy Orman was a top cross-country and track runner for Tuba City who set Arizona state records in the 3,200- and 1,600-meter runs last season. He is now at Harvard.

"These are the kids that Billy ran with for years," Orman said. "He graduated from Tuba City High in the spring but his teammates are still finishing up."

Nine teams showed up to compete on the Warriors' demanding 3.07-mile course. The teams included Winslow, Greyhills, Monument Valley, Ganado, Red Mesa, Sanders Valley, Many Farms and Chinle's B team. Chino Valley, from the Camp Verde area, was new to the event.

"Times are going to be slow today," said Ganado assistant coach Pete Butler. "This is good terrain, with sand, rocks, and the famous TC Hill. The sand is deep, the second mile is all uphill, and TC Hill is a sharp ascent of approximately 200 meters."

The Warriors handily won first place in the boys' varsity race with a score of 19. Winslow took second (79), followed by Many Farms in third (89).

Shawn Tsinnijinnie, a junior at Tuba City, was the individual first-place winner with a time of 17:35.

"I was running at a smooth pace all the way. I didn't slow down going up TC Hill," said Tsinnijinnie.

"He put the mileage in this summer," said Warriors' coach Arvis Myron. "The summer running preparation shows in his placement and times compared to last year. He's in the top 10 of most of the races."

Myron noted that Tsinnijinnie attended Shawn Martin's running camp in Chinle this past summer. Martin usually holds the camp exclusively for the Wildcats but Tsinnijinnie managed to get in through family connections. He's a cousin of Chinle's legendary varsity girls runner Rolonda Jumbo.

Matthew Murray, a senior at Tuba City, led the varsity boys' race for the first two miles then slipped into second place with a time of 18:02.

"I was doing all right until I got a stomach ache starting up TC Hill," said Murray. "I told Myron, and he said, 'Just hold back and don't push it.'"

"I don't like cross country," he added. "It's too far."

Winner of last spring's 800-meter Arizona state championship, Murray makes cross-country part of his year-round training plan for track and field. The team anticipates Murray going after some records in 2012.

Eddie Loughran, a sophomore at Tuba City, finished third with a time of 18:04.

"We only ran TC Hill twice this year," he said, contradicting the suggestion that TC Hill is a breeze for the hometown team. "You can keep running it, but it still hurts!"

Coaches agree that TC Hill is a strength workout, requiring runners to use different muscles from the usual, and takes two days' recovery time.

Final results for the girls' varsity race were: Tuba City in first place (36); Chinle in second (81); and Ganado in third (132).

Kailee Birdinground, a senior at Tuba City, was individual winner with a time of 21:43.

"It was hard! I never ran in so much sand," declared Birdinground. "When you jog it, it's different from racing. I just told myself not to stop."

"I'm glad everyone came in," added Birdinground. "It takes a lot of strong people - both mentally and physically - to run. This is one of the hardest courses in Arizona."

Chelena Betoney, of Sanders Valley, took second, with a time of 22:08. Betoney, a two-time state champion for section 4, neglected running in favor of playing basketball all summer.

"I've started running again. I've had to push myself," said Betoney.

Shelby Jim, a junior at Monument Valley, finished third with a time of 22:44. Jim has only been running since her freshman year.

"I fell in love with the sport. I'm really competitive, and I want to get up there with the top girls," enthused Jim.

Tuba City runners Ryan Smiley (18:55), and Darshina Yazzie (24:15) won the boys' and girls' junior varsity races, respectively.

The Bud Davis Invitational is held in honor of a coach who started the running program in Tuba City in 1969. The team won its first state championship in 1970, and went on to win 30 combined state titles. Davis coached until the end of his life in 1984.

Much of the talk among spectators centered on Davis and on the topic of good coaching.

"The role of the coach is to slowly nurture and progress a runner over the long term," said Orman, a pediatrician at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation.

"Myron and former coach Perry were wise," he added. "They didn't push Billy when he was young, when it became clear he could potentially become a good runner. He didn't win any races in his freshman year. He was at the back of the pack behind the older kids, as planned.

"A lot of coaches would have pushed him to win," Orman added, "but the TC coaches were looking long-term, over four years.

"All the way through high school, he was healthy and happy," he said. "They gave him hard workouts here but nothing devastating that left him feeling drained, exhausted, and unsure of himself. Their training was well thought out and structured for each point in the season.

"It worked out exactly like they told him," he said. "The very best two races of his life were the last for Tuba City High School. He set the record for the 3,200-meter race at state and, a week later, he beat the 1,600-meter record at the Meet of Champions. It doesn't get much better than that!"

Anne Griffis is an English teacher at Tuba City High School and Diné College, as well as a freelance writer.

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