SEQUOYAH TAHLEQUAH TRACK
Defending two state championships and gaining valuable experience for a youthful team will be two of the main goals of the Sequoyah Tahlequah track program as they head into the home stretch of the season.
The Indians return most of the quartet that won the Class 3A state championship in the 4X800 meter relay last year led by senior Rylan Nofire who was also a state champ in the 800 open in 2024, is three-time All-State cross-country runner and recently set a new school record in the 800. He, along with senior Corey Kingfisher, form a great leadership duo for this squad, says head coach Sam Horsechief.
“These guys came into our program right after Covid when we shut down the school and many of our upperclassmen transferred so they really didn’t have any senior leadership to show them the way. Now that they’re seniors, they’re really demonstrating to our young team what leadership looks like. Rylan is a quiet guy but a great leader by example while Corey, who runs a lot of the relays for us, is kind of the opposite so together they form a great team that the youngsters respect and listen to when they speak,” said Horsechief.
Other distance runners that Horsechief coaches include Thomas Yahola, Josiah Robbins, Chujah Flute and Rylan’s little brother Evan.
“Evan has really improved since his freshman year last season and is now running even a little faster than Rylan did when he was a sophomore,” said Horsechief.
Athletic director Chad Hendricks also takes part in the track program, coaching sprinters and throwers.
“We’re very young in these areas but we do have a couple of throwers that are coming along in Dylan Parris, a sophomore who threw the discus 137 feet in his last meet and has won a couple of meets this season. Also making progress is Casen Leep who throws the shotput and has a 41-8 to his credit so far. On the girls’ side, Lexi Samples is a junior who has thrown 31-5 in the shot so far and freshman Julianna Davenport, known as Juju, who is recovering from a basketball injury, but has thrown 33-7 so far. Freshman Shaystin Duncan is a long jumper for us who is at 19-9 so far and I think if we can get him up over 20 feet he’ll qualify for state.”
