It was a big weekend for cross country in Page last weekend. Page hosted both the 3A North Region Meet (high school) and the NAIC (middle school) championships.

The boys varsity team finished in the runner-up position, 8 points behind the Chinle champions. The Runnin’ Devils were missing their top runner, Symond Martin, who sat out the event to take care of a minor knee injury. He is expected to return to competition this weekend at the sectional championships. Despite not running, Martin was awarded Division III North Runner of the Year for his accomplishments over a very impressive season that included first place finishes at the Peaks Invitational, the Chinle Invitational and the Casteel Invitational. 

“I’m pretty sure all our runners PR’d [set personal records],” said Page High School Cross Country Head Coach Tim Martin. “They were going after the win even though Symond wasn’t there. They came up a little short, but the effort and the results were impressive.” 

The effort was led by a standout performance from Maximus Reed, who placed second overall just behind Ganado runner Jaiden Smith.

The girls team had several of its runners absent from the meet due to illnesses and injuries, including its top runner Jade Reid. The team finished fifth out of five teams. 

The Runnin’ Devils compete in the Sectional Meet this Saturday in Holbrook.

“The boys are looking for a good qualifier,” Martin said. “It would be nice to win, but the focus is on the championships, and we have different race strategies to prepare us for that. For the girls, a good meet this weekend is critical. They have to be top seven [out of 14 teams] to do that.”

NAIC Championship

The Runnin’ Dust Devils boys teams were the runners-up at this year’s NAIC meet. They tied with Tuba City Boarding School on points, with both teams scoring 48. When that happens, officials then look at which team’s fifth runner came in highest. Page’s fifth place runner came in 28th, Tuba City Boarding School’s runner came in 19th. That little edge gave them the NAIC championship. 

Losing the title by a razor’s edge was a little hard to take, said Page Middle School Cross Country Head Coach Anne Cambridge. 

Page Middle School’s boys cross country team were the NAIC runners-up last year too, finishing just behind Chinle. 

“The boys worked so hard last year and lost by a narrow margin, which made them very determined to win it this year; they knew they could do it. They wanted to take first place and beat Chinle this year,” Cambridge said. 

They beat Chinle but still came in second. 

“They worked so hard this year,” Cambridge said. “They wanted to win. It was disappointing that they came up barely short.”

Page Middle School runners finished:

Noah Reid: 2nd place. 

Justin Rivers: 3rd place.

Max Martin: 5th place.

Kyan Scott: 15th place.

Peyton Seimy: 28th place.

The girls come up in the middle of the pack, finishing eight out of 16 teams.

For Cambridge, the season’s biggest victory was the large number of runners who joined the middle school’s cross country team, which was more than 50 kids. 

“I just love seeing the kids running and being outside,” she said. “It’s a great environment for them to grow in.”

With more than 50 runners training and running every day, Cambridge needed some help. And she got it. 

“I got great help from my assistant coaches Marguerite Reid and Gjermundson Stoney the whole season,” she said. “And Rochelle Curley needs a shout out, too. She helped us out with anything we needed help with.”