Whitehorse, Monument Valley compete at state track and field meet

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Whitehorse and Monument Valley track and field teams took several athletes to Provo May 16-18 to compete in the 1A Utah State Championships at the Clarence F. Robison Stadium at BYU.
There were eight Raiders competing in six different events and one Cougar competing in two events. Both teams put forth a strong effort and they collected a number of top-15 finishes.
WHITEHORSE
The Whitehorse boys scored three points in the meet when their 4x400 relay team of Elam Etsitty, Ethan Begay, Landin Clark, and Robryan Tapaha crossed the line in 3:59.02 to finish sixth.
The Raider sprint medley relay team of Landin Clark, Elam Etsitty, Riley Benallie, and Robryan Tapaha just missed finishing in the points, taking tenth place with a nice 4:23.22.
Rayauna Lee jumped 12 feet, 11 inches to finish 12th in the girls long jump. Hope Palmer was 16th in the shot put with her effort of 23-0.75.
Ethan Begay took 17th in the boys 1600 meter for Whitehorse with a 5:15.11. It was a new personal record for the sophomore. Lucas Collins earned 18th in the discus with a nice throw of 75 feet, three inches.
All 21 of the athletes on the Raider roster scored new personal records this season in most of the events in which they competed, and many of them set new PRs in all of their events.
MONUMENT VALLEY
Monument Valley distance runner Josiah Gipe has had an excellent sophomore season. He was the lone athlete representing the Cougars at the State Championships this past weekend.
Gipe finished 12th in the 3200-meter run with a solid 11:56.85 and came home 16th in the 1600 with a time of 5:14.47. Both of those performances were new personal records.
Monument Valley only had six athletes on their roster for the 2024 season. Every one of them was a sophomore this year, and every one of them set new personal records in every event in which they competed.
Every one except Gipe that is. He set his PR in the 800 meter in the 2023 State Championships and didn’t compete in that event this season at BYU.
Some individual performances of note this season include both of Gipe’s runs at the state meet. His 3200 is the second-fastest in Cougar school history and his 1600 is third.
Taylor Stanley’s 3:13.89 in the 800 meter at the Lake Powell Invitational in Page, AZ on March 30 is the third-fastest girls 800 in school history.
Her 7:11.34 in the 1600 at the 1A/2A/3A Super Regional in Kayenta, AZ April 10 is fourth-fastest in Cougar history.