Fourth for San Juan cross country in Grand Junction

by Jessica Walker
Contributing Writer
The San Juan High School cross country team traveled to Grand Junction, CO this past Saturday, September 10 for the Tiger Invitational at Connected Lakes State Park.
The fairly flat course and cooler weather set a perfect stage for a series of personal records and season bests. Though the course is slightly longer (5k instead of three miles), the Broncos performed exceptionally.
First to come in and leading the boys team to a fourth-place finish was Edward Lyman in eighth place overall with a time of 17:17. He beat his previous season-best by almost two minutes with the excellent performance.
Next to come in was sophomore Abe Lyman in 15th with a time of 18:03. Lyman put up an incredible showing and earned himself a new personal record.
The next three Broncos finished within half a minute of each other. Logan Keith led the bunch in 33rd, earning a personal record with a time of 19:07. Keith was followed by Ryan McCullough in 38th with a time of 19:24 and Toby Ward came home 39th with a time of 19:33.
A final trio of runners rounded out the varsity boys team for the Broncos and brought with them three personal records. Tayden Bitsoie finished in 19:58 and placed 48th, Noah Begay finished in 20:05 and placed 52nd, and Dakota Long finished in 20:10 and placed 54th.
In the junior varsity division, Austin Pincock’s remarkable third-place performance earned him a top-ten placing, which is notable on its own. Pincock didn’t stop there, however.
His time of 19:48 beat his previous personal record by almost a minute and also propelled him into a varsity spot for the first time in his career.
The girls team continued a trend of excellent performances and personal records in their competition in the JV division with a second-place team finish.
Olivia Weeks led the Broncos with a strong sixth-place finish and a time of 25:48. A top-ten finish is a feat alone, but add to that the fact that Weeks beat her season best set in Monticello by nearly seven minutes and it becomes even more impressive.
Brinley Jones, a freshman, followed Weeks by less than 30 seconds and with her time of 26:14 also set a personal record by two minutes. Jones’s performance earned her a top-ten spot as well and she crossed the finish line in ninth place.
With another personal record of several minutes, freshman Rose Kartchner followed Jones in 18th in 27:55. Taryn Nielson finished next at 22nd in 29:42.
Rounding out the team were sisters Jessie and Megan Black in 29th and 31st with times of 31:40 and 33:17. Next up for San Juan is a trip to Flagstaff, AZ for the Four Corners Invitational this Saturday, September 17.

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