Lady Buckaroos claim cross country title

For the first time in weeks, the Monticello High School cross country teams participated in only one race for the entirety of last week. They hopped across the state line on Friday afternoon, October 4 to run in the Ancient Trails Invitational just outside Cortez.

The Lady Buckaroos put on a great race and came away with a 33 to 44 win over Pagosa Springs and San Juan who both tied for second.

Adri Bird won the race with a time of 20:43 on the very hilly trail course. Teammate Lily Long once again backed Bird up nicely with a second place finish, running a time of 22:15.

Kennedy Brewer placed eighth overall with a time of 24:30 and Serra St Clair claimed 13th, crossing the finish line in 25:03. Halle Morrison (28:11), Macy Badger (30:48), and Kaitlin Morrison (33:52) also completed the difficult course in the team win.

The boys fell just short in as narrow a race as can be run. Two Pagosa Springs runners barely edged out Monticello’s fourth runner by two and three seconds as the Pirates topped Monticello 51-50.

Buckaroo harrier Corey Bunker dominated the field with a time of 17:50. Teammate Alan Pettit came across in second 33 seconds behind Bunker.

Eric Montague claimed tenth place with a time of 20:35. Bailey Walker ran a 21:19 to close out the Buckaroo scoring in 16th. Mahonri George (22:35), Taw Robinson (23:23), and Jalen Bradford (27:39) also finished the tough race for the Bucks.

The teams will enjoy a week off this week as they prepare to travel to Salina on October 16 for the Region 16 Championships. The 2A State Cross Country Championships will follow at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City on October 23.

Football

On a nice but chilly Friday night in Coalville, UT, the Monticello High School football team (4-2, 1-1) took to the field against North Summit (4-3, 3-1) for the first time since the Braves beat the Bucks in the 1990 1A State Championship Game.

Both teams looked to solidify their place in the 2A North race and in the 2A RPI standings.

Monticello had to figure it would be a long night as North Summit began the game with a pooch kickoff, which the Braves promptly recovered.

The quick Buckaroo turnover eventually led to a North Summit touchdown halfway through the opening quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, MHS again had trouble with a North Summit pooch kick. The Braves recovered and their drive led to the second TD of the game.

In the second quarter it looked like Monticello was in business after North Summit fumbled in their own territory. The Buckaroos drove the ball to the Braves’ four-yard line, but two sacks dropped Monticello to the 30 and they were unable to get the ball into the end zone.

North Summit went on to score another touchdown in the quarter and led the Bucks 21-0 at the half.

The second half was no kinder to Monticello. A lone Braves touchdown in the third quarter was followed by three in the fourth as North Summit pounded home a 50-0 win.

The Buckaroos managed only 140 total yards of offense to the Braves’ 429 in the loss, which drops MHS (4-3, 1-3) into a three-way tie for third in the 2A North Region with Layton Christian (2-4, 1-3) and Gunnison (2-5, 1-3).

Monticello gets Layton Christian this week at home on October 11 and the Bucks own the tie-break against Gunnison, having beat the Bulldogs 28-8 on September 6.

Monticello currently sits in ninth place in the latest UHSAA 2A RPI. They’ll need to finish in the top eight to avoid a road playoff game on October 26.

Volleyball

The Monticello High School volleyball team enjoyed a rare pair of home matches last week. The girls hosted Gunnison on Tuesday, October 1 and North Sevier on Thursday on October 3.

Against a tough Gunnison team, Monticello dug deep and came back after losing the first two sets 25-23 and 25-23 to win the third set 25-20.

Monticello was unable to hold off the Lady Bulldogs from that point though, and dropped the final set 25-23. The 3-1 loss moved Gunnison ahead of the MHS for second place in Region 16.

Rianna Shumway was the Lady Bucks’ top server in the game, hitting every one of her nine serves with an ace. Elli Nielson also served well, hitting 95 percent of her twenty serves.

Megan Black’s 18 kills led the team. On defense, Whitney Knudsen had a solo block. Megan Black had 57 service returns, but was eclipsed by Whitney Knudsen’s 3.00 service rating. Morgan Maloy ended the match with 23 assists. 

Two nights later, the Lady Bucks were little tested as they cruised to a straight-set win over the North Sevier Lady Wolves. The 25-8, 25-23, and 25-8 final was a much-needed region victory for Monticello.

Black, Saydee Adams, and Nielson all hit 100 percent of their serves. Black led the team with a 2.56 service rating, 33 total hits, and 14 kills.

On defense, Black tallied 2 solo blocks and Knudsen got one. Maloy led the team with 23 assists. Black had 20 service return attempts and led the team with a 2.0 service return rating.

After the weekend, the latest UHSAA 2A volleyball RPI has Monticello holding on to ninth place ahead of 16 other teams. They sit alone in the third spot in Region 16. 

The Lady Bucks (3-6, 3-2) continued Region 16 play on Tuesday, October 8 when they traveled to Duchesne to face the Lady Eagles (3-7, 0-4).

On Thursday, October 10, Monticello will host the Altamont Lady Longhorns (1-11, 0-3) with a chance to solidify their third place standing in Region 16. The varsity match starts at 6:30 p.m.