Chinle's Jumbo lets her running to the talking

(Times photo - Paul Natonabah)

Chinle's Rolonda Jumbo begins to pull away from the field at the start of the girls' 3A North Region cross-country championships Nov. 1 at Tuba City High. 1. Jumbo went on to the win the race with a time of 20:54.

advertisement

TUBA CITY, Nov. 6, 2008

R olonda Jumbo doesn't say much.

But that's because she doesn't have to. Her running speaks for her.

The 14-year-old Chinle freshman's performance did the talking once again at the 3A North Regional Cross Country meet in Tuba City Saturday.

With a time of 20:54.82, nearly three minutes ahead of the second runner, Jumbo crossed the finish line first and qualified her for her first cross-country state meet in Phoenix on Saturday.

"I just wanted to have fun," Jumbo said, adding that the race was far from hard. "I just wanted to win."

And she did.

But to her parents, Caroline and Jerrison Jumbo, that was no surprise, considering they discovered her talent at an early age.

"She started walking at nine months," Caroline Jumbo said.

And she hasn't stopped since.

Jerrison Jumbo said his daughter runs about three times a day, five days a week, all because she wants to.

"She does it on her own, she loves running," he said. "She fell in love with it."

But she's not the only one. Her teammates also showed their admiration for the sport, which is what got them the first place win as a team.

"I'm happy about it," Chinle runner Charnelle Curley said. "It's just about running, just to fight through the whole thing."

Curley finished behind Jumbo for second place in a time of 23:01.00. In third was Winslow's April Belone with a time of 23:39.38. Fourth was Chinle's Angelica Bedonie with a time of 23:47. 40 and fifth was Tuba City's April Tracy.

As a team the Lady Wildcats finished first with 26 points, Tuba City took second with 43 points, followed by Winslow (81) and Window Rock (109).

Chinle head coach Shaun Martin said the effort his girls put into the meet was most important.

"We worked hard, that's all that matters," Martin said. "What I care about is the work we do in the preparation. (And) they walk away from a race happy with what they did."

While Martin and his team utilized their admiration for running to compete, Winslow's April Belone had a different motive: her mother.

With the recent passing of her mother Belone said she found her life getting back on track through running, but what she didn't expect was the possibility to compete at a higher level.

"It feels pretty good. I'm glad that all of us made it," Belone said. "I wanted to get top five. I wanted to try to stay up with Rolonda. I was running for my mom and my little brother."

Winslow head coach Sal Hernandez said Belone and the rest of his team did exactly what he hoped they'd do.

"They did what they were expected to do," Hernandez said. "The team wasn't that strong in the beginning. We talked about some experience we have as a team and they worked hard, really hard."

Both Martin and Hernandez share pride in their team's accomplishments and are aware of their strengths individually and as a team.

But Martin said he makes sure his team and those that follow them remember the importance of teamwork especially at the state level.

"(I tell them) race with your heart. They do that everyday, they definitely did that today," Martin said. "Rolonda is absolutely dominating. But you can come here the fastest runner in the country but that runner really needs a team."

Back to top ^