Hopi Invitational
Jumbo, Chinle Lady Wildcats dominate
By Candace Begody
Navajo Times
KEAMS CANYON, Ariz., Sept. 1, 2011
(Time photo - Candace Begody)
Chinle's Deriann Yazzie contributes to the Lady Wildcat's first-place finish at the Hopi Invitational Tuesday afternoon in Keams Canyon, Ariz. Yazzie finished with a time of 22:12 and placed second behind teammate Rolonda Jumbo.
It wasn't their goal but the Chinle Lady Wildcats dominated the Hopi Invitational Tuesday afternoon in the first meet of the season in Arizona's Division III Section II. The Wildcats took home the first-place trophy with a total of 45 points.
The Hopi Lady Bruins followed in second place with a score of 89, followed by Tuba City with 95 points. In fourth was Window Rock with 188 points, followed by Valley Sanders in fifth with 215 points.
It was no surprise that Chinle's Rolonda Jumbo finished far ahead in the girls' varsity race as the senior and three-time state champion, who was welcomed to the finish line by an ovation from the fans, finished first with a time of 19:37.
"She is a great leader, a perfect leader," said eight-year head coach Shaun Martin. "She is a very well-rounded runner and has matured a lot. She is doing everything she is supposed to be doing."
Following almost two minutes behind Jumbo in second and third place, respectively, were teammates Dariann Yazzie, who finished with a time of 22:12, and Angelica Bedonie, who finished with a time of 22:21.
Also scoring for the Wildcats were Brittany Curley, who placed 9th with a time of 23:20:57, and Shiniya Smith in 11th with a time of 23:34. Annette Brown was last to score placing 12th with a 23:38.
"Winning today, it's icing on the cake and it makes it more enjoyable," Martin said. "To take hardware home from a meet, it makes it more fun. It's something material that you can show somebody the amount of work that you've done."
The Wildcats, last year's Division III state champs, only lost one runner from last year's scoring five and by executing their plan, Martin said the girls finished with flying colors.
"We had a very precise plan today," said Martin. "We wanted to focus on one element and that was doing the process correctly - doing the warm-up as a team, being together as a team, and then cooling down as a team."
Despite being "young and inexperienced," the Tuba City Lady Warriors finished in the top three and are looking to be in contention for top honors this year, according to Tuba City's second-year head coach Arvis Myron.
Scoring for the Lady Warriors were Kailee Birdinground, who placed 5th with a time of 22:45, followed by Natalie Franklin in 17th with a time of 23:57. Finishing in 19th was Brianna Loughran with a time of 24:16 and Alissa Dallas, who crossed the finish line in 24th place with a time of 24:33.
"We have a young team and we just need more experiences as far as races," said Myron. "We have a lot that are talented and natural runners. We just have to work on that and build off that."
The Warriors welcome back three from last year's scoring five.
"They are stepping up and even though we have a young team, I think they are all eager to go out and run with the top teams," he added.
Last year, the Warriors took 7th in the Division III state meet.
Area teams will travel to the Peaks Invitational this weekend at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff.
