Wings of America teams complete mission in Bend

By Mary Albl for DyeStat

On the way down U.S. Highway 26 to Bend, Ore., for the USATF Cross Country Championships, members of the Wings of America stopped at the Boys and Girls Club on the Warm Springs Reservation. 

It was a poignant moment for the organization that is made up of Native American runners. Wings runners were able to tell their stories and why they run, and why Wings matters. 

"I think more than anything that was a reminder of why we do this," Wings of American Program Director Dustin Martin said. "And people here tipping their hats to the Wings kids, that's a great feeling; it's validation of that legacy."

Amid brutal racing conditions Saturday on the Rivers Edge Golf Course, Wings won the men's and women's junior team races, claiming the program's 28th and 29th national titles.

Wings held off runners from Arcadia High in California competing for O'Brien's Army by a 14-22 margin to capture the 6-kilometer women's junior team championship. Wings defeated O'Brien's Army 11-27 in the 8-kilometer men's junior race. 

"It was a confirmation that we're really proud of our tradition and we are not about to let that go," Martin said.  

Course conditions went from ice to mud as the sun came out Saturday.

"It was soft, there were a lot of people falling," Martin said. "I don't think there was a single of one of our guys or girls that didn't slip to their knee at one point. But it was like that for everyone. We just kept grinding forward."

In the junior men's race, Wings member Kashon Harrison of Kirtland, N.M., led almost all of the first half of the race, before placing 11th in 27:06. 

"He really put himself out of his comfort zone," Martin said. "He paid for it toward the end, but he helped lead Jericho (Cleveland), to a 10th-place finish.  And the rest of the guys hung together and ran together."

The Wings men's team was competing without top runner, Jordan Lesansee, who was dealing with an Achilles' injury. Martin said Harrison's performance helped rally the team past O'Brien's Army and Track Rabbits of Long Beach. 

"I'm super proud how they competed," Martin said. 

In the junior women's race, Aliandrea Upshaw of St. Michael Indian School in Arizona, was the top finisher for Wings. The 14-year-old freshman was able to establish herself among many of the more experienced runners. She finished 11th in 24:36.

"It was unbelievable to see her chasing down and beating Division 1 college girls in the last 1,000 meters, and she really just stuck it to them," Martin said. "It was really awesome."