by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
For the 32nd consecutive year, Wings of America will sponsor a team of the fastest Native American runners to compete at the US Cross Country Championships. Eight young men and eight young women will be competing on January 18, 2020 in the junior age division race in San Diego, CA.
Wings team members attended a multi-day training camp in Albuquerque, NM between Christmas and New Year’s Day to supplement their knowledge of elite conditioning techniques and foster unity before traveling for competition.
Runners were selected for their Wings team based on their performance at post-season races including Nike Cross Regionals and Footlocker Regionals.
One of the Wings runners is Michael Marshall. He is a Dine’, senior distance runner at Navajo Pine High School, Navajo, New Mexico. His mother’s name is Lena Begay, also Dine’.
“I just want to keep the tradition alive while it lasts because there’s not that many native runners,” said Michael. “I want to cherish it by running to show the world that we are still here.”
“I started running in seventh grade because of my teammate Galvin Curley influenced me to run because he needed other runners in his grade to be with him,” said Michael. “He didn’t want to be alone, so he asked me to join so I went for it and turns out we’re good at the sport.”
High school cross-country teammate and fellow Wings team runner Galvin Curley is positive influence for Michael. But it also goes both ways that they help each other in their friendship of running. Galvin said: “Michael is a very hard-working student-athlete. His mind set is unbelievable he could work all year with any breaks. He disciplines himself to do well in school and his athletic activities. When I was in seventh grade, I was the only athlete in cross country, until I started asking some of my friends if they wanted to join. And thankfully Michael was one of my friends to join.”
“I remember when I was doing high school workouts at seventh grade because we were both as fast as the high school athletes. I think my success helped Michael succeed more as an athlete and as a person. Michael was the only runner that wanted to put in the work over the summer and was willing to give up his time to run which not many people are willing to do. Michael has been a great best friend to me, and he has encouraged me and his teammates to do well. He has been a good co-captain for his teammates, he always does his best to encourage everyone around him, and to make them better. Michael is a selfless guy who wants to see other people succeed more than he wants to see himself succeed. Michael is a caring person and the most amazing friend I can ask for,” said Galvin.
“I’m trying to mentally and physically prepare myself for an 8k race because I never ran an 8k in my season,” said Michael. “I have to build myself to be stronger and stay consistent these next few weeks. My goal is to try and perform better than what I did last year at nationals in Florida.”
“Michael is a very talented runner,” said Kyleigh Thompson, Navajo Pine HS Cross Country Coach. “He drives himself to become an elite runner from the Navajo Nation. As a freshman, Michael finished in the top 10 at the State Meet in 2016. A year later, Michael became the 2017 2A NMAA individual state champion runner in cross country. Within the years I had Michael, he has always put in the necessary work to become the runner he is now. The year’s 2018 and 2019, Michael was runner up in the 2A State Cross Country championship following his teammate Galvin Curley. The two have been working with each other during the season giving each other confidence and encouragement they need to bring home three consecutive state titles to Navajo, NM.”
“Even though, he challenged himself to become back to back individual state champion, Michael has always put his team first. He made sure his team was always ready to go at the start line and practice. He led his team in daily stretching and dynamics, making sure the team does them effectively and together. Michael became a model when it comes to warming up and cooling down,” added Coach Kyleigh.
“Being a student-athlete is much more than the hours he puts into cross country,” said Coach Kyleigh. “The first thing that comes to mind about Michael is being a great athlete but always a student first. He applied himself more into his academics during his junior and senior year. He has always had accepted challenges, that is what gives him the drive to put in the work and effort. Micheal puts his school’s name on his back and represented it doing what he loves. Our team have worked hard to accomplish where we are and the pride of running.”
“During his senior season, our team had a young kid who looked up to them. Michael was always there to talk and encourage him to finish strong on any workout given. He knows he has the power to influence the community to empower themselves and to continue to reach their goals,” added Coach Kyleigh.
Dustin Martin (Dine’), Wings of America Executive Director, said: “Michael is a very talented runner and charismatic teammate. He helps everyone around him find the joy in running. But he also doesn’t let the fun get in the way of running hard. The trick for him over the next couple weeks will be getting in enough miles while fulfilling his duties as a starting point guard on his high school’s basketball team. As long as he commits to those cold and lonely early morning runs, he’s sure to make his last cross-country race as a high school student one to remember.”
Photo Credit: Michael Marshall
