Buck harriers conclude regular season

by Haley Burton
Contributing Writer
The Monticello High School cross country team finished their regular season in Blanding this past Wednesday, October 4 at the John Thornton Invitational.
The race was held at the Pacheco Trail just east of the Blanding Visitor Center which is almost entirely comprised of sand.
The boys began just five minutes before the girls which led to a herd of runners on the up-and-back course. Jesse Pettit paced the team with a fifth-place overall finish with a time of 18:59.
Kooper Nielson was the second Buckaroo across the line, in 21st with a 19:56. Soren Welch completed the course in 20:08 for 26th place.
Curtis Bunker, Kaden Pehrson, and Aaron Gillette all finished within 28 seconds of each other in 29th, 30th, and 35th respectively. The MHS boys finished third as a team behind host San Juan and Grand County.
Marah Long maintained the leadership role she’s held all season for the Lady Bucks with a very strong fourth-place finish in 21:19. Ayla Carling finished in seventh with a solid 22:32. Lilli Burton came in 15th with a 23:13 and Alexis Bailey took 32nd in 26:28.
Because the John Thornton Invite was a 2A region race the placings for the top five runners from each team determined team scores. Since Monticello only had four girls they did not register a team score.
Both Buckaroo teams have had impressive results throughout the regular season. They’ll take this week to gear up for the Region 19 Championship in Green River October 18.
The teams have a lot of anticipation leading up to the region and state races. Monticello Head Coach Jeff Hunt said, “As we come to the close of our regular season, we’ve had some great things to hang our hat on.
“We were able to pick up a few wins at Stewart Foster, Pagosa, and Chicken Creek. We have out-performed almost every 1A school we came across and we’ve had some great individual performances such as Marah crossing the finish line first three different times or watching different boys lead the team across the finish line at different times.  
“Looking forward to region and state, we have a huge mountain to climb,” continued Hunt. “Over the past few years, the region outcome wasn’t really a question. That’s not the case this year.
“Both the boys and girls have seen significant challenges from Whitehorse this year. It will take us running really well and together for us to win region on an unknown course,” he detailed.
“I hate to look too far ahead to the state meet when the region meet is going to be such a challenge for us. I know we are ranked pretty high in 1A [by athletic.net.]
“But Panguitch, Whitehorse, Rich, and Escalante are all running really well right now. We need to take care of the business in front of us before we can take on the unfinished business two weeks from now,” Hunt concluded.