Buckaroo boys sweep second through sixth, girls sweep second through fourth to win Region 19 Cross Country Championships

by Haley Burton
Contributing Writer
It was an exciting race day this past Wednesday, October 18 as five teams from Region 19 stepped up to the starting line to compete in the region championship cross country meet.
Schools in attendance included Monticello, Whitehorse, Green River, Pinnacle, and Monument Valley. It was the first race hosted by the Pirates and was a new course for a majority of the runners. The heat was warmer than usual for mid October.
Thirty-seven boys competed in the first race of the day which began near Green River High school. The course was viewed by spectators for the first half mile, then the runners disappeared into the sandy foothills north of the Pirates’ domain.
You could feel the anticipation in the air from the family members and friends who were there to support their runners. Spectators checked their watches for an idea of when they might see the first runner pop up over the hill in the last half-mile of the race.
Ethan Begay from Whitehorse was the first runner to reappear. He had a sizable lead ahead of the next several runners and came across the finish line for the region championship with an impressive 17:53 finish.
Monticello may not have claimed the first individual spot, but in true Buckaroo fashion the boys crossed the finish line in the next five spots, completing the race with only 32 seconds between those five runners.
Curtis Bunker led the Bucks in second place with a time of 18:41. Jesse Pettit chased Bunker down in the last hundred yards, finishing only one second behind in third place.
Kaden Pehrson, Kooper Nielson, and Aaron Gillete came in fourth, fifth, and sixth, helping to secure a nearly perfect team score and securing the team region championship.
Monticello just missed a six-runner sweep with Soren Welch coming home eighth in 19:51, but he was very impressively the sixth Buckaroo to finish in the top ten.
Obviously the MHS boys continue to put up amazing team running stats. Their caliber of running and ability to keep their times tight will be a tough challenge for their competition in the state race.
Kooper Nielson shared some of his thoughts after his team’s victory in Green River. “This year we truly came together and all became friends, not only in practice but also outside the cross country environment,” he said.
“This has been very positive because it brought us closer as a team and a family and helped us encourage and motivate each other. Region was a great example of the teamwork between us all.
“The unity as a team helped us accomplish our goals,” Nielson explained. “This bond will continue to help us through our upcoming state race and I’m looking forward to seeing what we accomplish.”
Coming into the region race the Monticello girls knew they had a fight on their hands. Throughout the season Whitehorse and MHS flip-flopped team scores. Sometimes the Raiders would beat the Buckaroos and sometimes it went the other way.
In the region race Whitehorse freshman Keiarra Martin took an early lead and continued to increase the gap throughout the race.
She finished with a time of 19:32, an astounding 1:30 ahead of the second-place girl and a time that would have placed seventh in the boys race.
Marah Long was that second-place runner, putting together an impressive race for Monticello to complete the Green River course in 21:02.
Lilli Burton crossed the finish line in third place overall with a time of 21:33 and Ayla Carling came in fourth with a time of 21:42.
Alexis Bailey ran a career Personal Record (PR), knocking an astounding 25 seconds off her previous top time to finish in ninth place with a 24:52.
So all four members of the Monticello girls team finished in the top ten in the region. They sure know how to pack a punch and great things truly do come in small packages.
Cross country meets are scored by adding up the places of a team’s top four finishers, and the lowest score wins.
As the girls crossed the line in Green River the onlookers began to add up the scores in their heads. Whitehorse one, Monticello two, three, and four.
Whitehorse five, six, seven, eight, and Monticello nine. Can you add it that fast? Did you get it? The Lady Buckaroos took the Region 19 Championship by just one point over Whitehorse, 18-19!
Following the win Alexis Bailey stated, “Region was a challenging yet beneficial race. It took a lot of mental toughness and perseverance but we passed who we needed to pass to secure the win.
“We have worked hard as a team to do well at state and I think we all deserve a win but we need to go out there and work for it one more time this season to take it home.”
Both Buckaroo teams entered the 1A Utah State Meet hoping to bring home individual and team medals.
The race was held on Tuesday, October 24 at the Salt Lake City Regional Athletic Complex in Rose Park and results will appear in the November 1 issue of the San Juan Record.