Bucks get solid performances as track ramps up
by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monticello High School track and field team has put together some excellent results in three meets over the course of the past two weeks.
Most recently the girls team finished second and the boys took third at the Bob Archibeque Invitational in Cortez, CO Friday and Saturday, April 11-12.
The Lady Buckaroos were led by junior Marlee Mack who had a perfect weekend, winning all four of the events she competed in. She won the 100-meter hurdles in 16.43, the 200-meter dash in 27.12, the 300 hurdles in 47.45, and the long jump with a 16-10.
Mack didn’t do it all by herself. Senior Marah Long had a great weekend as well, with wins in the 800 and 3200 and a second-place finish in the 1600. She ran the 800 in 2:39.29 and the 3200 in 12:42.28.
Monticello sophomore Maron Freestone took third in the 100 hurdles with a 17.80 and third in the high jump, clearing four feet, eight inches. She was fourth in the 400 meter and fifth in the 300 hurdles.
Sophomore Josie Mack had a solid weekend with a fourth-place performance in the 200 meter, crossing the line in 29.76. She was fifth in the 100 hurdles in 18.61 and sixth in the 300 hurdles with a 54.75.
Freshman Allie Carling came home fourth in the 3200 with a 14:11.86. She took eighth in the 800 in 2:59.49.
Madison Adair was second in the girls discus, hurling the disc 80 feet, three inches. Kyleigh Adair took third in the shot put with an effort of 29-10.25.
Senior Alexis Bailey finished fifth in the 3200-meter race with a run of 16:15.73. Freshman Myah Lewis was sixth in the 100 with a 14.2. Fellow freshman Olivia Plemons took sixth in the 400, crossing the line in 1:11.06.
Freshman Mikaylah Gillette came home seventh in the girls 400 with her run of 1:13.09. Ayla Carling was eighth in the 1600 with a 6:34.93.
The Lady Bucks had two teams competing in the 4x100 relay and both finished in the points. Team one was fourth, crossing the line in 59.86 seconds.
Team two was less than three seconds behind in eighth place. And the girls 4x400 relay team took fourth when they crossed the finish line in 5:01.86.
Freshman Eli Carling was tops among the Monticello boys with wins in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter. He crossed the line in 5:11.02 and 11:18.52 respectively in those races. Carling also took eighth place in the 800 meter.
Senior Tavon Black helped his teammate out with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash in 24.15, a fourth-place finish in the 100 meter in 11.75, and a fifth-place performance in the long jump with an 18-1.5.
Junior Ryan Lewis took third in the boys discus with a nice throw of 94 feet, two inches. He was sixth in the shot put with a 32-2.75.
Fellow junior Seth Taylor was third in the 300-meter hurdles in 46.64 and sixth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 18.99. Senior Jarum Robison took eighth in the discus with a throw of 86 feet, nine inches.
Like the girls, the Monticello boys had two teams competing in the 4x100 relay. Team one crossed the line in 48 seconds even, securing sixth place. Team two was eighth in 51.65 seconds.
And the Buckaroo 4x200 relay team captured sixth place in Cortez with their run of 1:55.5.
On March 29 the Monticello teams were in Salina, UT to compete in the North Sevier Invitational. The girls finished sixth out of 11 teams and the boys were eighth of 12, with the teams combining for a seventh-place finish.
Mack led the way for the girls, scoring 30 of their 48.8 total points. She won the long jump with a 17 foot, four-inch effort. She was second in the 300 hurdles, crossing the line in 47.96.
She was also second in the 100 hurdles with a speedy 16.13. And she took third in the girls 100-meter dash when she crossed the finish line in 13.30.
Kyleigh Adair finished fifth in the shot put with a strong effort of 29 feet, 7.5 inches. She scored four points for the team.
Ayla Carling collected a couple points with a seventh-place finish in the 800 meter in 2:47.08. Josie Mack was eighth in the 300 hurdles, crossing the line in 54.91 for one point.
Two relay teams combined for 11.8 points for the Lady Bucks in Salina. The sprint medley team of Myah Lewis, Jane Burton, Lilli Burton, and Ayla Carling won their race in 5:03.5.
The girls 4x100 team of Madison Adair, Aubrey Black, Jane Burton, and Lilli Burton finished eighth, crossing the line in 59.18.
Tavon Black scored six points for the Monticello boys team, finishing fourth in the 200-meter dash with a run of 23.92 seconds. He was seventh in the 100 in 11.72.
Eli Carling was the only other individual athlete scoring points for the Buckaroos in Salina. He took seventh in the 3200 meter in 12:06.89 for two points.
The boys sprint medley team of Kooper Nielson, Tavon Black, and Carter Rogers came home second behind San Juan, crossing the line in 4:02.16 for six points.
On Saturday, April 5 the Buckaroo track and field teams competed in the Frank Woodburn Invitational in Grand Junction, CO.
The girls were very impressive, scoring 69 points to finish fourth among the 20 teams in attendance. The boys scored 11 points to finish 14th.
Marlee Mack had another near perfect day, winning two of the three events in which she competed. She took individual titles in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and was second in the long jump.
Marah Long was third in both the 3200 and 1600 in Grand Junction and fourth in the 800 meter. Maron Freestone was fourth in the 300 hurdles and fifth in both the 100 hurdles and high jump.
Ayla Carling took seventh in the 3200, Josie Mack was seventh in the 100 hurdles, and Allie Carling finished eighth in the 3200.
The girls 4x400 relay team put together a solid performance to finish third, crossing the line in 4:22.61.
Tavon Black was the only individual Buckaroo to score points for the boys at the Frank Woodburn Invite. He was eighth in the 100-meter dash, crossing the line in 12.08 seconds.
But the boys 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams both finished fourth in their respective races. The 4x100 team came home in 45.41 seconds and the 4x200 team finished in 1:37.11.
The Monticello track and field teams continue a busy portion of their season with a couple meets this week.
On Wednesday, April 16 they travel to Castle Dale for the Darrell Gardner Invitational. On Friday, April 18 Carbon High School is hosting the Eastern Utah Championships in Price.