by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
“My name is Addison Red Fox. I am from New Town, North Dakota and my tribe is the MHA Nation. My mother is Red Fox Sanchez and her tribe is the MHA Nation as well. My dad is Herbert Sanchez Jr. and his tribe is Oglala from the Pine Ridge Reservation,” said Addison Red Fox.
Addison is ranked seventh in the latest NDHSAA Class B Boys Individual Cross Country polls. New Town HS will be competing in the regional meet on October 19, 2019 with the ultimate prize being the state meet on October 26 in Minot. The team will be vying for its eighth consecutive state cross country championship.
The strengths of an athletic team are not always easy to put into words. Oftentimes the strengths are known as the end result of execution or maximum performance whereas the bits and pieces are also evident in the process and progress toward higher goals. “New Town is a dominant running program, so it’s pretty difficult to judge what an individual brings to the team in terms of strengths,” said Addison. “As a senior, I believe I bring leadership to the team, as expected. But I’ve always had heart throughout my years, and I believe I bring that to the team.”
“I’ve always been taught that your talents aren’t just handed to you. You have to pray Tunkasila (I’m aware this is a Lakota word, but I’ve been raised around Oglala beliefs rather than MHA Nation) as a way to give back of what talents you have,” added Addison.
“I am not decided on what college/university I am going to attend,” said Addison. “Now my options are open. I’m planning on running at the collegiate level and this is going to help out a lot. I am planning on majoring in Pre Med, and it connects with athletics as I always wanted to be an athletic trainer.”
Addison talks about his teammates influence: “Throughout my high school career, I had looked up to five of my teammates. These guys taught me to have mutual respect of not only other runners, but of other classmates and teachers in the school. The biggest thing they taught me is that the things that are happening outside of races and practice shouldn’t mean anything or affect you, just look forward and run.”
“I always wanted to talk about a concept of “next man up” in our team,” said Addison. “Part of the reason why we’re so dominant as a program is that upperclassmen instill responsibilities to our lowerclassmen runners that when they’re gone, they need to step up as leaders in order to keep on winning these championships. This leads to our runners competing with each other at practice. You hold each other at a high standard at practice. It’s a way to better each other as runners, and it really shows in meets. Now we have three senior runners, Robert White Jr., Brady Bratvold, and me. We hold younger runners to a high standard in order to better themselves and in order for them to carry on the legacy that is the New Town dynasty.”
“I’ve made All State honors 4 times so far in my high school running career, and they are all from track and field: 10th grade: 8th 3200M; 11th grade: 7th 1600M, 1st 4×800 (Robert White Jr., Ricardo Chase, Addison Red Fox, Jaiven Hale), 4th 4×400 (Rodrick McIntosh, Francis Short Bull, Brady Bratvold, Addison Red Fox). I’ve been apart of the 2018 state winning XC team, being the 5th man, placing 23rd overall in the state meet,” added Addison.
“Addison is a hard worker, I remember when he moved to New Town and tried out for the running teams,” said former teammate Jalen Chase who is a sophomore cross country runner at Northern State University. “He stayed humble and positive about getting better at running. He worked every year and he’s only continuing to get better. He is also in basketball, so he’s a multiple sport athlete. He is a really hard worker, and very respectful. He wishes the best for all his teammates as they would for him.”
Photographs provided by Addison Red Fox.
Awesome Red Fox, staying focused with consistent hard/smarter work ethic pays off. Keep it up!! 🏃🏽♂️