Kirtland Central boys win Miyamura Invite

FARMINGTON — The Kirtland Central boys cross-country team had a great day Saturday, winning the Miyamura Invite in Gallup. They scored 67 points as a team.

Paced by second-overall finisher Kashon Harrison, the entire KC team played a role in Saturday's win, according to coach Lenny Esson. Still, he's keeping his eyes on the future.

"We're pretty excited about the boys, but we still have to give a lot of the teams respect because it's so early," Esson said. "Another positive that came out of today was some of our (junior varsity) kids earning spots on the varsity roster for how well they ran."

The Broncos also placed Aaron Bunny (sixth) and Koby Blackwater (10th) in the top 10.

For Esson's girls, LaKyla Yazzie enjoyed her second excellent week in a row when she won the girls varsity race with a time of 21 minutes and 38 seconds.

KC only brought seven girls to Gallup. Much of the roster also plays volleyball or soccer, and both of those sports were active for Kirtland Central on Saturday.

According to Esson, once the meet concluded, there was a problem pulling up the results aside from the top three teams of both races. The results were still unavailable online as of Sunday.

Also at the Miyamura Invite, the Bloomfield teams had a rough outing.

"We were way back in the pack," Bobcats coach Julian Garcia said. "We struggled all day today, both boys and girls. We took a step backwards today."

Clayton White finished 40th individually for the Bobcats as their top runner.

In 36th and 37th for the girls were Kaitlyn Charley and Katelin Kosea, respectively.

Farmington girls and boys perform well in Durango

One week after placing first at the Aztec Invite, the Farmington girls again ran well Friday night in Durango, Colo., placing third out of 11 teams at the Southwest Sunset XC Classic.

Three Lady Scorpions finished in the top 10 individually: McKinzey Allee took fourth with a time of 21:50, Anastasia Wilkinson was fifth at 21:52 and Melina McDermott landed in eighth at 22:01.

Junior Kassidy Nez finished 33rd, but normally runs much better. Farmington coach Kevin Deswood said she was a little under the weather Friday.

"I think we could have won the meet had she felt better," Deswood said of Nez. "Her time is usually right there with our girls that finished in the top 10."

The Farmington boys placed fourth out of the 11 boys teams that competed in Durango.

Danny Hickman (12th overall) and Tanin McDermott (13th overall) paced the Scorpions, just like last week in Aztec. Hickman's time was 18:03 and McDermott finished in 18:07.

"I believe this was the fastest our boys have run so far as a team," Deswood said. "My top boys were only four seconds apart, so they're running really well."

The Aztec Lady Tigers wound up in fifth place as a team in Durango.

Naomi Teasyatwho took 12th with a time of 22:35 and Ashlynn Atwood was 15th at 22:48.

Quincy Diswood was the top Aztec boys runner, finishing 30th with a time of 19:16. Dwight Barton, who took first at the Aztec Invite last weekend, ended up in 34th and was clocked at 19:48.

Aztec's boys placed eighth and Tigers coach Steve Lanier was unavailable for comment over the weekend.

Shiprock girls and boys place in top five in Sante Fe

At the Academy for Technology and the Classics cross-country meet in Santa Fe on Saturday, Shiprock's girls placed third - just two points behind Taos.

"It was a very promising run for the girls; (Taos) had a wider gap in pack time than us, so that was at least to our advantage," Lady Chieftains coach Alice Kinlichee said. "I think we'll do better against Taos later in the year when there are less teams around us."

Shiprock was anchored by a trio of top-notch performances. Lacey Howe got third place with a time of 19:13, Khadija Lapahie finished in 13th at 19:45 and Destiny Rockwell took 15th at 19:49.

Coached by Brian Paniagua, the Shiprock boys team was also in Santa Fe this weekend. The Chieftains took fifth.

Paniagua had three boys finish in under 18 minutes: Aaron Lee placed 25th with a time of 17:18, while Aaron Gould grabbed 34th at 17:28 and Arvin Begay took 40th at 17:54.

"I think we're progressing pretty well," Paniagua said. "We reduced our pack time again and we got some sophomores that are really getting used to the 5k. I think we have a good shot at getting a good place at district and possibly even at state."

Lady Eagles earn fourth-place finish at Kayenta Invite

Navajo Prep was out in Kayenta Ariz., Saturday, where the school's boys and girls teams both participated.

Coach Stephanie McDonald's girls team performed well, placing fourth out of the 16 teams that ran. Her top runners were Sarah Chacon, who finished 11th overall, and freshman Justina Slim, who finished 14th.

The Eagles boys team placed seventh out of 17 teams. They were led by Mathis Quintana, who took 16th and Cameron Becenti, who snagged 25th. Out of Navajo Prep's top seven individuals, four were freshmen.

"With both teams right now, we're just trying to find our identity," McDonald said. "They're both off to a pretty good start, but we have a lot to figure out. We have to find out where we fit in."

Jake Newby covers sports for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4577 and jnewby@daily-times.com. Follow him @JakeNewby07 on Twitter.