Hopi Invitational
Young Tuba City Warriors win Hopi Invite
By Candace Begody
Navajo Times
KEAMS CANYON, Ariz., Sept. 1, 2011
(Time photo - Candace Begody)
Chinle's Jonathan Yazzie leads the varsity boys' race during the Hopi Invitational Tuesday afternoon in Keams Canyon, Ariz. Yazzie placed first with a time of 17:08.
During the meet that opened Arizona's Division III Section II season, the Warriors clocked in all five scoring runners in the top 21 positions to secure the trophy with a total of 45 points.
Leading the Warriors were Shawn Tsinnijinnie and Matthew Murray, who placed second and third with times of 17:40 and 17:49, respectively.
Taking the overall fifth-place medal was Eddie Loughran, who finished with a time of 18:13. Kyle Nutumya placed 14th with a time of 18:56, followed by Kyle Sumatzkuku, who finished in 21st with a time of 19:28.
"The boys looked very, very good today," said second-year head coach Arvis Myron. "And, like the girls' team, we have a very young team but there is a big expectation for the boys' team."
Myron said with the loss of standout Billy Orman, who broke Arizona's longstanding 1,600- and 3,200-meter records for track in the spring, the team feels under pressure to continue a tradition started by him.
"Individually, we have some that might be able to do that in a couple of years," Myron said. "Just not right now. We are just trying to work as a team."
The Warriors, who took 9th overall at last year's state meet, welcome back the lone senior and veteran from last year's varsity team, Matthew Murray.
"The rest are all sophomores and we still need more experience as far as races," Myron added.
The Hopi Bruins placed second overall with a team score of 52 points, followed closely by the Chinle Wildcats with a score of 56.
"Our major goal has always been to continue to progress," said Chinle's eight-year head coach Shaun Martin. "Now that we have had the first race, we know where we're at and we aren't setting our sights on anything major like titles. We purely just want to get better."
Jonathan Yazzie led the Wildcats and the rest of the runners in the varsity boys' race claiming overall first-place honors with a time of 17:08.
"He's been my number one for the last three years and he is just like Rolonda (Jumbo) but on the guys side," Martin said. "Because he's not massively out there, he's not getting a lot of the attention that Rolonda is, but he is solid and my number one boys runner - he has been for a while."
Now that Orman has graduated and gone on to attend Harvard, Martin said Yazzie may now get the recognition he deserves.
"Because Billy Orman got all the attention last year, Johnny was the guy in Billy's footsteps," Martin said. "This is Johnny's year.
"He is very positive and he understands our mission and our goals," Martin added. "We want to progress and that's all he wants to do. He is a great leader and it's great to have him running as good he is and leading the way he is."
Following Yazzie was Searle Tracey, who finished in fourth with a time of 18:04. Justin Yazzie placed 13th with an 18:51, Michael Shirley finished 18th with a 19:19, and Charles Manymules crossed the finish line in 20th with 19:25.
Asked about the rest of the year, Martin said, "We don't focus on winning, we just focus on doing things correctly as a team and as individuals. If we continually get better, at some point we will start winning even though that's not our goal or our focus. Our focus has always been and always will be, just wanting to get better."
Overall boys team results for the fourth to seventh place were not available as of press time.