Local cross country teams get strong showing at annual John Thornton Invitational in Blanding
The San Juan cross country team hosted nine teams – including local rivals Monticello, Whitehorse, and Monument Valley – in the annual John Thornton Invitational on Wednesday, September 30.
Recent rains in Blanding forced the race to be moved from its traditional location along the Pacheco Trail to an alternate road course that eventually concluded on the San Juan High School track.
Eli Carling of Monticello won the boys race, finishing the 5K course in 16 minutes, 15 seconds. Right behind Carling was San Juan standout Platte Lyman who finished as runner-up with a time of 16:25.
Fellow Bronco Cannon Kartchner was third with a time of 16:26. Also finishing in the top ten were Peter Lyman and Jeraden Hurst of San Juan, in seventh and eighth respectively.
Also for San Juan, Jack Kartchner and Keegan McCullough finished 12th and 13th with James Gosney finishing 20th to round out the top seven for the Broncos.
San Juan’s top five finishers earned the lowest score of 31 to help the boys team win their home meet. Grand County and North Summit were second and third with the Monticello boys finishing fourth.
The Buckaroos were led by Carling with Charlie Welch and Linden English finishing 15th and 16th. Gabe Long was 24th and Christian Hunt was 29th to round out the five scoring runners for Monticello.
Monument Valley finished in sixth place among the boys teams. Darnell Benally led the way for the Cougars in 34th overall with a time of 20:31.
Memphis Black was 37th, Alexander Hicks 41st, Jake Deswood 43rd, and Caleb Cly 46th to round out the scoring runners for Monument Valley.
The Whitehorse boys came home seventh in the team standings led by Hyatt Thomas who finished 35th in a time of 20:32.
Harley Jim was 50th, Braxton Kinsel 55th, Aiden Smith 60th, Brayden Kinsel 65th, and Jacob Dedman 71st to round out the scorers for the Raiders.
In the girls race San Juan’s Sincere Nez was the runner-up, finishing in a time of 19:16. Maria Yellowman was the top Whitehorse runner, crossing the line eighth in 20:56.
The Lady Raiders were also the highest-finishing San Juan County team in the race, in third place behind North Summit and Grand County.
LaKyara Begay was the next runner across the line for Whitehorse in 17th overall. Laylah Benally was 20th, Aubrey Mitchell 33rd, and Mikey Little 38th to round out the scoring runners for the Lady Raiders.
The San Juan girls were fourth as a team paced by Sincere Nez’s second-place performance. Ada Lyman was next across the line in 12th.
Harmony Oshley was 28th for the Lady Broncos, Braylyn Eddie was 30th, and Delilah Tahy finished 45th to round out the scoring runners for the home team.
Monticello was fifth led by Latalia O’Harra who finished 19th in a time of 22:36. Xymenah Alvarado finished 22nd, Murryn Suttlemyre was 29th, Brenna Baxter 35th, and Mikaylah Gillette 36th to round out the Lady Buckaroo scorers.
Monument Valley didn’t have enough runners to register a team score but two Lady Cougars ran well in the race. Summer Atene finished 13th with a solid run of 21:51, and Kaleigha St. Germaine finished 37th overall.
All the teams are back in action this week. The San Juan Broncos are competing in the Region 18 Championship on Wednesday, October 7.
The Monticello, Monument Valley, and Whitehorse teams are all heading to Mancos, CO for the annual Chicken Creek Challenge on Saturday, October 10.