Monticello boys win John Thornton Invite

by Haley Burton
Contributing Writer
For the last several years the John Thornton Invitational has been held at the the park near the Blanding Visitor Center. The majority of the race was run on a dirt road.
This year however, with all the rain over the last few weeks the course was not in suitable condition to run. Although it was new to runners this season, the “new” course was actually used in years past by the San Juan Broncos.
It is run nearly entirely on pavement, a terrain the Monticello High School cross country team had yet to encounter this year in a race.
The pavement proved to be an asset to the Buckaroo harriers. Three of the girls recorded new personal records (PRs). All of the Lady Bucks scored a PR for the season.
Marah Long led the MHS girls with a second-place finish, closely followed by Lilli Burton in third. Ayla Carling finished the race in fifth place and Alexis Bailey came home 25th.
The boys team is showing great consistency this year. They walked away with another first-place team finish with an impressive seven Buckaroos crossing the finish line in the top 20.
Individual placing for the boys was as follows: Jesse Pettit sixth, Curtis Bunker eighth, Kaden Pehrson ninth, Josh Wheeler 11th, Soren Welch 12th, Kooper Nielson 13th, Jacob Johnson 16th, Aaron Gillette 48th, Carter Harrod 68th, and David Francom 75th.
Following the win Monticello Head Coach Jeff Hunt said, “At this point in the season I really feel good about where we are. This really has been one of the hardest-working groups I’ve had and the kids have seen the results of that hard work as they are building on their own PRs.
“They’ve been running well together also,” Hunt continued, “and different kids have taken the lead at different races. They all know they can count on each other if one of them has a bad day.”
Both teams are set for a big week with two races. Wednesday, September 28 they compete in the Red Rock Invitational on an all-grass course at the Moab Golf Course.
Saturday, October 1 they hit the mountain trails at the Chicken Creek Classic hosted by Mancos High School.