Bronco XC teams grab wins

by Jessica Walker
Contributing Writer
Two meets within three days made for an exhausting week for San Juan High School athletes and coaches. In addition to the physical fatigue inherent in consecutive races, the Broncos undertook a journey of over 600 miles to attend their races in Duchesne, UT and Dolores, CO.
Strategically, most runners chose to prioritize one of the two races. Many of the top runners paced their fellow runners in the other race, hoping to aid their teammates in the quest to improve.
In Duchesne, perhaps one of the most impressive runs was that of Brittany Jensen. She comfortably breezed through the course to finish first among the girls with a sizable personal record.
Three other runners joined Jensen in the top ten, an incredible feat. Snagging a fourth-place finish, Brinley Jones was the first of the trio, followed by Ada Lyman in sixth place. Sincere Nez and Braylyn Eddie followed Lyman in tenth and eleventh.
Sierra Black crossed the finish line next, only five seconds behind Eddie in 13th. Rose Kartchner was the final varsity runner for the San Juan girls, finishing 16th. The collective effort from the girls team culminated in an exciting first-place team finish, their first win as a team this season.
The entire boys varsity team finished within less than a minute of each other to earn second place overall behind region rival North Sevier. Freshman Keegan McCullough led the pack with an eighth-place finish. He was followed by Austin Pincock in ninth, Jack Kartchner in tenth, Platte Lyman in 12th, Jeraden Hurst in 14th, Oren Bradford in 15th, and Abe Lyman in 16th.
In Dolores, it was the boys who sped to a first-place team finish, doing so with a perfect score over 20 points lower than second-place Dolores. It was a sea of blue as the Broncos descended on the finish line at the Boggy Draw Bear Chase, seizing the first four places.
Rosendo Martine was first to finish with a commanding win over the field of 63 athletes. Martine was followed by Austin Pincock in second, Platte Lyman in third, and Abe Lyman in fourth.
Close behind the lead pack was Jack Kartchner who finished seventh. Keegan McCullough trailed Kartchner in 13th. Oren Bradford came next and fought to the finish, besting two runners (including one of his teammates Ethan Francom) by less than a second. With a hard-earned 14th-place finish, Bradford rounded out the varsity team.
Sincere Nez led the girls team with an excellent fourth-place performance. Joining her in the top 20 was Brinley Jones who crossed the finish line in 15th.
Jones was followed by Ada Lyman in 27th, Rose Kartchner in 29th, Sierra Black in 30th, Harmony Oshley in 31st, and Jessie Black in 35th. Together, the Lady Broncos earned a fifth-place team finish.
San Juan heads to Moab for the Red Rock Invitational hosted by Grand County this Wednesday, September 25. They’ll host the annual John Thornton Invitational in Blanding next Wednesday, October 2.