Monticello baseball drops State Play-in game to end season

Heading into the week, the 2A Central Monticello Buckaroos (0-13) knew their first round 2A state championship game on Saturday, May 4 against the second-place 2A South Kanab Cowboys (11-9) would be an end of the season do or die game. Win and you play on. Lose and your season is over.
The Buckaroos struggled mightily at the plate against Kanab and never could get their offense going, eventually getting dispatched by the Cowboys 11-0.
Monticello started the game well when Zack Cecil led off with a single, but a double play one batter later negated Cecil as a scoring threat.
The second inning also seemed promising when Devin Hatch managed a one-out single. However, Hatch was left stranded on base as his team couldn’t move him over.
Monticello looked like they would finally get some offense going in the top of the fourth inning when Kayden Draper connected on a one-out single and Devin Hatch recorded his second single of the game. But a strikeout and a fly-out ended the inning.
The Bucks didn’t get another base runner until the fifth inning when Jaxon Wells reached base on a dropped third strike.
However, the Bucks were unable to advance Wells and the game ended with a shutout by the Cowboys.
Weston Nebeker started on the mound for the Bucks and lasted three full innings, giving up nine runs on six hits. Kayden Draper pitched the last inning, giving up three hits and two runs.
With the loss, the Bucks end a 2019 baseball season that struggled to get going due to a spring that was less than ideal for baseball and forced the team to practice and play early home games in Moab and Blanding.
However, once the season commenced, Monticello played hard every game and did their best to stay competitive in the 2A Central division.
The team loses seniors Weston Nebeker, Kayden Draper, Mark Beh, Lucas Hatch, Matt Beh, and Braxton Atwood, but they look forward to next year as a full-fledged 2A program.
The boys owe a big thanks to coaches Steve Draper, Ryan Young, and Brian Kirby for the time they spent working with the team.
Janiece Draper also deserves a big thanks from Bird Scoop for keeping us well informed all season.

Monticello Track BYU Invitational
On Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5, the Monticello track teams were at BYU in Provo, UT for the 2019 Mr. Mac/BYU Invitational to compete against other 1A, 2A, and 3A teams from Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
The girls team had a competitive meet and, despite not scoring any points, they prepared themselves to do well at the 1A State of Utah Track Championships in two weeks on the same track at BYU.
Individually, in the distance events, Lily Long placed 19th in the 3200-meter with a time of 12:14. She followed that up with a 27th place finish in the 1600, running a time of 5:43 and placed 34th in the 800 with a time of 2:36.
In the hurdles and shorter distances, Makayla Sheeran finished 16th in the 100 hurdles, running a 17:04 and 28th in the 400 with a time of 51:01.
In the 100-meter, sisters Taylor and Presley Lewis placed 41st and 61st with times of 13.75 and 14.13. In the 200, Taylor Lewis ran a 29:09 to finish 63rd and Presley Lewis a 29:62 to finish 81st.
In the field events, Presley Lewis placed 32nd and Naomi Mantz 56th with jumps of 14-08 and 13-10.
The ladies 4x100 team also placed 21st with a combined time of 54:64.
The boys team competed hard and scored 10 points at the meet, finishing in 19th place out of 38 teams. Only 1A Valley outscored the Bucks, earning 17.5 points in the meet.
As usual, the Bucks faired the best in the distance events with Adam Bunker earning a 13th placed finish in the 3200 with a time of 9:44. Cory Bunker followed that up with a 29th place finish with a time of 10:22 and Alan Pettit a 33rd place finish, running a 10:26.
In the 1600, Adam Bunker finished 16th, Pettit 47th, and Cory Bunker 52nd with times of 4:33, 4:51, and 4:53.
In the 800, Adam Bunker placed fifth, Pettit 17th, and Cory Bunker 60th running times of 2:03, 2:08, and 2:18.
In the sprints, Monticello earned the following places in the 100-meter: Reed Hedglin 40th (11.93), Lucas Hatch 43rd (11.97), Spencer Knudsen 90th (12:37), Camden Lewis 103rd (12:77), and Colton Lewis 113th (12:89).
In the 200, Lucas Hatch placed 41st running a 24:24, followed by Reed Hedglin 54th (24:48), Spencer Knudsen 70th (24:94), and Colton Lewis 99th (25.65). Hatch followed that with a 37th place finish in the 400-meter with a time of 54:31.
In the field events, Adam Bunker placed third in the High Jump, clearing 6-04. Robert Musselman placed 38th in the Shotput with a heave of 38-3, and Cory Bunker placed 17th in the Javelin, tossing it 137-0.
Camden Lewis placed 54th in the 110 Hurdles with a time of 19:09.
In the relays, Monticello was DQed in the 4x100 when they dropped the baton. They finished 19th in the 4x400 with a time of 4:03.
On Wednesday, May 8 the teams compete in the Region 19 Championship in Blanding on the San Juan High School track.

Buckaroo golf
This week, the Monticello golf teams were in Green River on the Pirates home course at the Green River State Park G.C. for another Region 19 match.
The Lady Buck team took three team members to Green River and they played well, claiming the top three spots in the match.
Tymbr Black shot a 103 to once gain take low-medalist honors. Teammate Brooklyn Holt had a good match and placed second with a round of 117. Kennedy Brewer shot a 122 to claim third.
At present, Tymbr Black is the top-ranked golfer in Region 19, Olivia Chamberlain is ranked second, Brooklyn Holt fourth, and Kennedy Brewer sixth.
As stated last week, the goal for the Monticello boys team in Green River was to remain undefeated in Region 19 matches this season. That goal was reached as the Bucks once again prevailed over the Pirates 419 to 441.
Britton Brewer was the top Buckaroo golfer, firing a 97 on the day for a second-place overall match finish. He was followed by Taylor Torgerson who shot a round of 101 and Boston Freestone who carded a 106.
Dylan Bird shot a 115 with Hyrum Johnson and Aaron Christiansen carding a 127 and 133 respectively.
The Monticello golf teams continued Region 19 play on Monday, May 6 when they traveled to Price to play the Carbon County Country Club for the final region match of the year and the last match before they play at state next week.