by CHARLOTTE, N.C. – (Individual / Team Results) 326 runners took on the challenge of McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C. for the 2015 NAIA National Cross Country Championships and Bacone College, which features Native American runners for the majority of the team, raced and exceeded all expectations, and not just with their final performance, but for the whole season.
Former Wings of America runner and current head coach Clayton Mayes, III, said, “With 80% of our roster/team being freshman, it’s simply a tough transition for their first collegiate cross country season. I think if you would have told any coach in the NAIA that we were going to finish 15th at Nationals by the end of the season, it would have been borderline humorous for them to hear.”
Since becoming the head cross country coach at Bacone, Clayton has spent a good amount of time recruiting some of the best up and coming runners through out Indian Country.
Coach spoke about some of his runners:
“Kyle Sumatzkuku (Hopi) became a critical stepping stone to closing out our scoring for the last half of the season. With cross country, you’re as strong as your weakest link. This guy won’t stop until he becomes one of the best.”
“Pure resilience! Jackson Thomas (Navajo) definitely took the next step in his running career this season. Every single performance of his season was significantly better than all his previous cross country races before this season. Talk about consistency at a top level! Jackson has shown he will have a long career in the sport, including professional running once he obtains his degree.”
“Zech VanFleet (Cherokee and Navajo) has always been reliable from the get-go. I don’t think people understand how talented he is and what he will accomplish for the seasons to come. It won’t be long before he’s a premier college runner.”
“Carlos Roa is our team captain. He has a relentless desire to take our team to the next level and he understands how to motivate the other runners. Eduardo Roa has come a long ways since taking a break from the sport between Mesa Community College graduation to Bacone College admission. He has been a consistent 2+ minutes faster each race than his previous best xc performance last year.”
“Closing out our final two sports for 6th and 7th man is Tyron Yazzie (Navajo) and Ryan Lang (Choctaw and Pawnee). Ryan is an extremely untouched talent. It appears even he is surprised with his vast improvement over this season! To put it into perspective how far Tyron Yazzie has come, he started out with a 4 miler tempo in 26.29. To be honest, I was almost hesitant to race him at the start of the season. I almost wanted to redshirt him at that point and phase him slowly and gradually into collegiate running. A coach should never rush the process with the runners. But, my doubts were erased when he was cruising his 4 mile tempos in 21.15 by the season’s end.”
“A runner to note: Justin Littleman’s (Navajo) performances earlier in the season brought is enough attention to get the team ranked. Running 26.30 as a true freshman for the 8k is a solid stepping stone for ANY runner.”
“Next year, we plan to really set the tone for the season to come. We have big plans. However, the guys deserve to kick back for a bit and really enjoy their performance. Not often does a program pull a complete 180 within just one year. Simply Cool! 7 of our top 9 runners are with a Native American tribe.
Based on their performance this season, I know they will continue to prove just how talented they are! As a coach, the more you know about the sport, the more you realize how critical the runners are in creating an ideal training environment. It became our mission to show just how blessed these guys are with talent.
I’ve come to realize after watching this season unfold, I’m not doing anything special in terms of innovating training as a coach. With how talented these Natives are, all I have done is simply wake the sleeping giant that we all know existed.”
