FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Coconino Community College Head Cross Country Coach Craig Hunt is pleased to announce the program’s incoming recruiting class, a group of eighteen student-athletes, twelve men and six women, representing some of the top distance running talent from across Arizona and New Mexico
The class includes state champions, individual state qualifiers, multi-sport athletes, and two collegiate transfers. What stands out across the board is the trajectory: athlete after athlete arrives having made dramatic improvements in their final prep season, signaling a group still very much on the rise.
“We are really excited about this group,” said Hunt. “These athletes come from programs with a tradition of success, and they understand what it takes to compete at a high level. I believe this class is going to make an immediate impact on both sides.”
Men’s Recruiting Class
Brandon Joe (Deming High School – Navajo) joins the Comets not through the traditional prep-to-college pipeline, but with years of elite road racing experience behind him. He has run 16:04 for 5K and 32:07 for 10K on the roads, including a win at the Garmin Marathon 10K, and clocked 4:43 at the Downtown Mile in Flagstaff. His competitive background on the roads gives him a foundation of fitness and racing experience that translates directly to cross country. Joe joins Coconino after transferring from Western New Mexico University.
Elijah Talkalai (Flagstaff High School – Navajo) was a member of the Flagstaff High School’s Division II State Championship cross country team and earned an individual state qualifying berth on the track in the 800m, where he improved from 1:56.26 to 1:53.32 year over year. As one of the top half-mile runners in the state, he also holds personal records of 4:22 over 1600m, 9:39 for 3200m, and a cross country 5K of 16:22.
Cedric Johnson (Flagstaff High School – Navajo) capped his senior year by setting personal bests in all four events, 800m, 1600m, 3200m, and cross country 5K, arriving with marks of 2:09, 4:45, 10:46, and 17:09, respectively.
Destry Benally (Tucson Magnet School – Navajo) qualified individually for the Division I Cross Country State Championships, the highest classification in Arizona, and had one of the most transformative senior seasons in the class, dropping from 5:06 to 4:44 in the 1600m, 2:44 to 2:13 in the 800m, 11:02 to 10:06 in the 3200m, and improving over a minute in the 5K to finish at 16:47.
Ian Masayesva (Holbrook High School – Navajo & Hopi) earned dual state qualifying honors in both cross country and over 1600m on the track. He dropped 19 seconds in the 800m, went from 4:39 to 4:20 in the 1600m, 9:59 to 9:39 in the 3200m, and posted a personal best in the 5K all in his senior year. He arrives with marks of 2:00 (800m), 4:20 (1600m), 9:39 (3200m), and a cross country 5K of 16:10.
Will Nez (Holbrook High School – Navajo) made one of the bigger individual leaps in the class between his junior and senior years, dropping his 800m from 2:29 to 2:07 and improving by 64 seconds in the 5K. He holds a 5:07 1600m and is the brother of CCC cross country alumnus Kenneth Nez, continuing a family tradition with the program.
Devin Kinlicheenie (Holbrook High School – Navajo) earned an individual state qualifying berth in cross country and arrives with marks of 2:05 (800m), 4:41 (1600m), 10:49 (3200m), and a 5K of 17:52.
Jayden Albert (Winslow High School – Hopi) was a member of the Bulldogs’ state-qualifying cross country team and broke the 5-minute barrier in the 1600m for the first time as a senior, improving from 5:06 to 4:58. He holds a 5K of 18:11.
Rylan Bia (Winslow High School – Navajo) also helped lead Winslow to the state cross country meet and showed consistent improvement across his senior season, cutting 6 seconds in the 1600m, 15 seconds in the 3200m, and running a 5K personal best of 17:23, a 30-second improvement from his junior year. He arrives with marks of 2:21 (800m), 4:49 (1600m), and 10:34 (3200m).
Max Reid (Page High School – Navajo) was a member of the Page Sand Devils’ Division III State Championship cross country team and capped his senior year with personal bests in the 800m, 1600m, and 5K, including a drop from 4:39.82 to 4:36.99 in the mile. He arrives with marks of 2:09 (800m), 4:36 (1600m), 10:04 (3200m), and a 5K of 16:30.
Brydan Bennett (Page High School – Navajo) was part of the Division III Sectional Championship team at Page and improved across the board as a senior, 6 seconds in the 800m, 11 seconds in the 1600m, and 2:21 in the 5K, finishing with marks of 2:01 (800m), 4:32 (1600m), and a 5K of 16:52.
Eli Hadley (Window Rock High School – Navajo) set personal bests in the 800m and 1600m as a senior and arrives with marks of 2:17 (800m), 5:06 (1600m), 12:12 (3200m), and a 5K of 19:59.
Women’s Recruiting Class
Jade Reid (Fort Lewis College transfer, Page High School – Navajo) leads the women’s class with a 5K of 19:07 and track marks of 2:29 (800m), 5:19 (1600m), and 11:20 (3200m). As a prep athlete at Page, she was a four-year top-10 finisher at the Division III Cross Country State Championships, a rare mark of sustained excellence that underscores the competitive standard she brings to CCC.
Saige Sloan (Page High School – Navajo) was a member of Page’s Division III state-qualifying cross country team, earned a divisional qualifier in the 1600m on the track, and improved significantly across her senior season, cutting 58 seconds in the 5K, 18 seconds in the 800m, and 38 seconds in the 1600m. She arrives with marks of 2:34 (800m), 5:33 (1600m), and a 5K of 20:40.
Lillie Dyer (Greenway High School) is a standout multi-sport athlete who earned a state qualifying berth in wrestling and was a member of Greenway’s Division III state-qualifying cross country team. Her senior running improvement was equally impressive, dropping 58 seconds in the 5K, 11 seconds in the 800m, 10 seconds in the 1600m, and nearly two minutes (1:59) in the 3200m. She arrives with marks of 2:30 (800m), 5:48 (1600m), 12:27 (3200m), and a 5K of 20:47.
Uriah Garcia (Wingate High School, N.M. – Pueblo of Laguna) joins the Comets as an individual New Mexico 3A State qualifier in cross country, expanding the program’s recruiting footprint into New Mexico. She posted a 5K of 21:47.
Bailey Cunyus (Gilbert High School) improved over a minute in the 1600m and nearly two minutes (1:56) in the 3200m between her junior and senior seasons, arriving with marks of 2:48 (800m), 6:10 (1600m), 13:12 (3200m), and a 5K of 22:13.
Cadence Antonio (Alchesay High School – White Mountain Apache) is a member of Alchesay’s Division III state-qualifying cross country team and may have the most remarkable individual improvement story in the entire class. After failing to break 30 minutes in the 5K in both her sophomore and junior seasons, she improved by nearly 15 minutes in a single year, running 22:18 as a senior, while also dropping 57 seconds in the 1600m. She arrives with marks of 3:34 (800m), 6:34 (1600m), and 14:26 (3200m).
Returners Poised to Lead
The incoming class arrives alongside a returning core that has already competed on the national stage.
On the women’s side, Nevaeh Barlow (Valley Sanders High School – Navajo) and Haley Johnson (Flagstaff High School) both return after helping the Comets finish 13th at the NJCAA Cross Country National Championships last fall. Johnson placed 62nd at the NJCAA National Championships and is set to improve upon that performance.
On the men’s side, Andrew Hertzall (Arizona Lutheran High School) and Sabino Chatter (Northland Prep Academy – Navajo) return as veterans of CCC’s national squad, which finished 14th as a team at Nationals last season. They are joined by Edgar Avila-Mendoza, who won the Region 1 Cross Country Championship in 2025 and ran 15:00 in the 5K this past track season, a mark that places him among the elite distance runners in NJCAA competition.
“Our returners set the standard last fall, and now they have company,” said Hunt. “When you combine that national experience with the talent and development we’re bringing in, I think the ceiling for this program is very high.”
Of the eighteen incoming student-athletes, sixteen are members of either the Navajo, Hopi, Pueblo of Laguna, or White Mountain Apache Tribes, a reflection of CCC’s deep roots in and commitment to the Indigenous communities of the Colorado Plateau. For many of these athletes, competing at the collegiate level represents both a personal achievement and a continuation of a growing tradition of Native excellence in distance running.
