Local student athletes receive All-state honorable mentions

Three San Juan County student athletes received All-state honorable mentions for the 2021 spring sports season that recently came to a close.

The Deseret News released its annual list of the top Utah high school athletes June 15-18 based on coaches’ votes from a list of nominated players from each team. In addition to Monticello’s Devin Hatch (who appears on page B1), here’s a look at the San Juan High School honorees.

3A Softball Honorable Mention
Emilie Palmer
San Juan senior catcher – .585 batting average, 20 runs batted in, 4 home runs, 9 stolen bases, 77 putouts

Head Coach Monty Lee: “Emily is a gifted young lady who worked hard to become a hitting threat and defensive standout. Her hitting success helped enable us to earn a spot in the 2021 playoffs. I am very proud of her efforts and grateful for the support she gave me and her teammates. Emilie will be difficult to replace and we wish her well in her future pursuits.”

3A Boys Soccer Honorable Mention
Austin Pemberton
San Juan junior defender – 140 minutes played, 2 shots

Head Coach Jay Jones: “Austin is a very quiet person most of the time but he gives his all on the field. He is a very good young man, respectful and hardworking. He has a great attitude on and off the field.

Austin is very versatile and has been able to play multiple positions when we’ve needed him to. He was strong defensively for us this year and is also very skilled at handling the ball, which gives us opportunities to score.

Austin is going to be a great leader as he goes into his senior year in 2022. We are lucky to have him on our team.”