Diné College

Warrior Cross-Country Show Speed and Strength in Tucson

Oct. 2, 2011

This past Sunday, October 2nd, Dine’ College Men’s cross country team lined up with over 500 runners for a fast 8k road race in Tucson, AZ. Alongside the 9 DC Warriors were a number of professional and semi-professional runners as well as one former NCAA National Champion. This 5-mile road race would test the legs, lungs and mental toughness of every athlete. And the men of Dine’ College represented us well, as we placed 5 men in the top 20, and 7 in the top 30 of this stacked race.

Leading the way for the Warriors was Andrew Honyaktewa who finished 6th place overall with the fastest time of his collegiate career—26:41. He was followed by teammate Brian Keesie (11th place, 28:07) and Rusty Eddie Jones (12th place, 28:13). This was a breakout race for Rusty as he ran a personal best time and was one of Dine’ College’s top 3 runners for the first time this season. Just over a minute later DC’s 4th and 5th runners came storming through the finish as Adrian Herder took 19th in 29:17 and Darrick Joey took 20th in 29:18. Rounding out the team was Darnell Phillips (28th, personal best—30:34), Reynold Draper (30th, personal best—30:46), Ambrose Chee (43rd, personal best—32:06), and Julieson Burbank (139th, personal best—38:30).

While the top runners came charging through the first mile in 4:35, the Warriors of Dine’ College were patient. A pack of 7 blue jerseys came through the mile between 5:36 and 5:56, looking relaxed and focused. While none of them were even in the top 20 at that point, they quickly began catching other runners and moving up through the crowded field. By the 3 mile mark they had picked off dozens of the top runners and were making a push toward the front. Many of our runners came through the 3 mile mark in times that were faster than they had ever run in high school cross country. But the speed didn’t intimidate them as they continued to press the pace. While the temperatures rose, so did the performances of our men. Spectators became aware of both the depth and strategic racing tactics of the team, and several opposing racers commented afterwards about the speed and strength of the Warriors.

Dine’ College Men’s and Women’s cross country team will be in action again this weekend as they race at Grand Canyon University’s meet in Goodyear, AZ. Several top Division 1 teams will be in attendance in this highly competitive event, including Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, and the University of Arizona. The women’s race begins at 8am with the men following at 8:45. October is the final month of the regular season as the team prepares for the USCAA National Championships on November 11th in New York. As last year’s runner-up, the Warriors will seek to dethrone defending champion Spalding University and bring back the National Title to Dine’ College.