Whitehorse, Monument Valley XC teams finish strong at state meet

by Jessica Walker
Contributing Writer
Despite an unexpected cold front and storms that left the grass course at the Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park damp, weather conditions for the 1A Utah State Cross Country Championships October 25 were surprisingly pleasant.
The temperature was ideal for racing – not too cold or too hot – which gave Whitehorse and Monument Valley teams the perfect opportunity for the best race of their seasons.
The Raiders and Cougars traveled farther than any other team to get to the state meet. Despite the travel fatigue they felt, they represented well.
Whitehorse
With a massive personal record of almost two minutes, Heidi Clark led the Whitehorse girls team to an 11th-place finish with her individual placing of 16th. Clark’s time of 23:12 gives her the fifth-fastest 5K time in Raider history.
Lamiya Benally and Hannah Clark finished next in 46th and 50th. Benally finished with a time of 25:58 and Clark finished in 26:16.
Shantel Begay crossed the line in 56th with a time of 26:51. She fought to an outstanding finish and bested Milford’s Tayleah Spaulding by three-tenths of a second.
Harmony Thomas, Meagan Morgan, and Hope Palmer rounded out the WHS girls runners in 68th, 74th, and 89th. Their times were 27:43, 28:52, and 32:54 respectively.
Ethan Begay led the Raider boys with a 29th-place finish. Begay crossed the finish line with a time of 18:57, a personal record in the 5K distance for the freshman. Fellow freshman Elam Etsitty finished 83rd in 21:39.
Begay and Etsitty are two of the fastest freshman boys in Whitehorse High history. In the all-time recorded records, Begay currently holds the fastest 5K time ever run by a freshman, while Etsitty holds the second-fastest.
Robryan Tapaha came home 103rd in the state meet with a time of 23:25. He was followed by Riley Benallie in 108th and Lyrell Primeaux in 109th with times of 25:18 and 25:24 respectively.
Brayden John and Phoenix Chee completed the team’s performance with 113th- and 121st-place finishes and times of 26:25 and 31:27. The team combined to earn 15th place and the future looks bright as nobody will graduate from the Raiders’ 2022 state team.
Monument Valley
The only freshmen on the Monument Valley boys team, Josiah Gipe and Isaiah Singer, led the way for the Cougars at the state meet on October 25. Gipe cruised to a 59th-place finish in 20:25 and Singer finished 79th in 21:27.
Five seniors followed. Keshawn Atene and Doreon Chee crossed the line within seconds of each other. Atene finished in 96th with a time of 22:40 and Chee finished in 98th with a time of 22:58.
Tramon Jake (105th), Tyden Teeasyatoh (120th), and Tyrik Benally (126th) completed the team with their times of 24:02, 30:13, and 46:09. The Monument Valley boys finished 16th as a team.
Senior Lillianna Fatt led the Cougar girls to a 15th-place team finish when she crossed in 60th place in 27:02.
Caitlyn Yazzie, also a senior, finished next with a time of 28:44, earning her a 72nd-place finish. Cassandra Deswood (81st), Yanabah Smith (83rd), and Earlynda Bedonie (85th) followed with times of 30:25, 30:45, and 31:54.
Deswood and Bedonie were both seniors making their last appearance in high school cross country races. With nine graduating seniors this year, the 2023 season will be a rebuilding year for the Cougars.