by Dan Ninham, Contributing Writer
Kaydence Riley is from the Pueblo of Laguna and Acoma and the Hopi Tribe. She finished her junior year at Santa Fe Indian School. She was a varsity athlete in cross country, basketball and track and field.
Riley’s athletic accomplishments started at the end of middle school when she placed fifth at the 2021-22 state track and field championships in the 400m and the 1600m relay and placed sixth in the 1600m spring medley. She also placed sixth in the high jump as a freshman.
Her athletic accomplishments included being on the New Mexico Athletic Association (NMAA) 3A state championship team as a freshman and were state runner up in basketball the next season in 2023. She was the 400m district champion and placed third in the state meet in the high jump, sixth place in the 400m dash, and fourth in the 1600m relay.
At the end of her sophomore season, she was named all district in basketball. Her track success continued as the 400m district champ, district runner up in high jump. state championship runner up in high jump, fifth in the 400m dash, state champion 1600m sprint medley, and fifth 1600m relay.
Riley placed thirteenth as a junior in the state cross country meet. She ran at the Nike Cross Country Regionals. She made the 3A All State Second Team and District 2-3A All District Team. Riley also was the state track and field champion in the high jump, placed third in the 400m and 1600m spring medley and fifth in the 1600m relay.
Elite athletes have their indigenous core values influence how they practice and compete. Riley said, “My core values are faith and tradition and culture. I think that’s what helped me through the years of great competition. Really getting to know more about my traditions had instilled that we just got to pray and have faith that things are going to happen but it just takes time and practice.”
Jarvis Morningdove is the head coach of the Santa Fe Indian School Cross Country and Track and Field Teams. He said, “Kaydence’s progress as an athlete has been amazing over the past year. Last year’s second place finish in the high jump fueled her focus on capturing that title this year. She came in with a renewed focus and from her first day back on the track you could see it. From the weight room, which we added this year, to the sprint repeats on the track, she attacked her workouts.”
“She has gotten notice for her high jump title but I don’t think that’s her best event. Her 400M has been progressing every year since she was a freshman with her posting a two-second PR at the state meet this year. We depend so heavily on her for our other relays that I don’t think she has gotten to shine in her other events. This past year she had the open 400M, the 400M leg in the Sprint Medley, and she anchored our 4x400M relay. All those events happen in the second half of a meet and she ran them two days in a row,” added Coach Morningdove.
“I think next year, she will have a true breakout year in all her sports, cross country, basketball, and track,” said Coach Morningdove. “Her competitions in Australia this summer are going to push her goals and her limits showing her what she is truly capable of. I can’t wait to see what next year brings
