Host Bronco cross country teams beat local opponents at John Thornton Invitational

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School cross country teams weren’t very hospitable at the 2025 John Thornton Invitational this past Wednesday, September 17 in Blanding.
Both Bronco teams won their home event – the boys in dominant fashion 22-67 over Monticello and the girls 30-38 over South Sevier. Every San Juan athlete who competed set a season-best time and seven personal records fell at the event.
In the boys race six Broncos finished in the top ten. Though it has been junior Platte Lyman leading the way for the team all season, this time teammate senior Rosendo Martine took the overall title with a run of 18:21.9.
Platte Lyman came home second overall, crossing the line in 18:38. Jack Kartchner was fourth in 19:28.2, Keegan McCullough was seventh in 19:45.3, Noah Begay was eighth in 19:46.9, and Jeraden Hurst rounded out the top ten with his run of 19:54.7.
Though they finished outside the top ten, Devan Brown, Cannon Kartchner, Peter Lyman, Ashtin Nielson, Sadler Nielson, and Andrew Rosacker all set new personal records at their home event.
The Monticello boys were a distant second in the race, with senior Kooper Nielson leading the way in third overall with a run of 19:28.
Eli Carling was 14th overall, crossing the line in 20:37.2 and Charlie Welch came home 19th in 21:37.
The Whitehorse boys were fourth in Blanding, scoring 83 points as a team. Two Raiders finished in the top ten, including Elam Etsitty in fifth overall with a run of 19:37.5. Ethan Begay was sixth in 19:40.1.
Monument Valley’s top finisher in the boys race was Josiah Gipe, in 13th with a 20:31.5 performance. Reily Stanley crossed the line 22nd in 22:31.5.
In the girls race Sincere Nez finished second overall, just under a minute behind the leader in 22:51.4, leading San Juan to another team title.
Ada Lyman was the second Lady Bronco across the line, in third overall in 24:29.3. Brinley Jones was seventh with her run of 26:28.1. Freshman Eihaazbah Dejolie set a new personal record in the race with her 32:17.4 run.
The Monticello girls were third among the teams at the John Thornton Invite, with sophomore Allie Carline leading the way in fifth place overall with a nice run of 25:40.8.
Freshman Brenna Baxter was 13th overall with her run of 29:23.2. And Xymenah Alvarado came home 15th, crossing the line in 30:11.7.
One Whitehorse runner finished in the top ten in the girls race. Maria Yellowman was eighth overall with a run of 27:16.3. Brandilyn John finished 24th in 35:03.4.
Summer Atene took fourth for the Monument Valley girls with her run of 24:49.2. KeriAnna Fatt was 18th when she crossed the line in 31:38.4.
The Monticello boys finished off their week with a very solid performance at the Montezuma-Cortez Invitational in Cortez, CO on Saturday, September 20.
Kooper Nielson finished second overall in 18:13, Eli Carling took third in 18:21, and Charlie Welch was sixth in 19:39, leading the Buckaroos to a team win in the boys race.
Though the Lady Buckaroos didn’t have enough athletes to register a team score, they also placed three runners in the top ten in Cortez.
Allie Carling finished second in 22:32, Mikaylah Gillette was sixth in 27:12, and Brenna Baxter was ninth in 29:15.
Monument Valley also competed in the Montezuma-Cortez Invite. Josiah Gipe led the boys with an eighth-place finish in 20:07. Summer Atene was the top Lady Cougar with her fourth-place run in 24:41.
The Whitehorse teams finished off their week at the Chieftain Invitational in Shiprock, NM on Saturday. The boys took sixth as a team led by Ethan Begay’s 14th-place effort in 18:37.92.
The Lady Raiders didn’t register a team score in Shiprock, but Laylah Benally finished 24th in 25:38.6 and Maria Yellowman was half a second behind in 25th.
This week all the local teams will compete in the Red Rock Invitational in Moab on Wednesday, September 24. Monticello is in Pagosa Springs, CO on Saturday, September 27 while Monument Valley is at Window Rock, AZ and Whitehorse is in Newcomb, NM.