Monticello harriers open season at 2024 Southern Utah University Invitational

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor

Recently San Juan Record Contributing Writer Haley Burton posed several questions to Jeff Hunt, who’s entering his 21st season as head coach of the Monticello cross country team. Here is their conversation:
Haley Burton: What are your thoughts on the new cross country season?
Jeff Hunt: I am pretty excited for the season. We have a solid core of returning veterans and some exciting youngsters joining us at the high school level for the first time. One of the hardest things to do in sports is to repeat as a champion so the boys have to break that barrier this year. The girls have been chasing Panguitch for the past three years and finally have the support to give them a challenge.
HB: Are there any specific areas or skills you want to focus on improving?
JH: The state meet is back at Sugarhouse this year and that means hills and mental toughness. In the years we have won state, we have had the mental toughness to take on the hills and take charge of the race. The last three years with state at RMAC, it has been a flat course that has led to fast times but hasn’t been much of a challenge.
HB: Can you highlight any standout athletes or new additions to the team?
JH: For the boys Kooper Nielson and Kaden Pehrson have both been medalists at state and know what they have to do to get back on the podium. They should once again lead us with a solid 1-2 punch. Aaron Gillette really came on during track last year and we will count on him to jump into scoring position. The newcomers include Eli Carling who is as determined as anyone to jump into the top ten. Charlie Welch, McKay Nielson and Alejandro Austin need to be ready to jump into varsity this year and do their part.
For the girls our top four are at it again for another run. Marah Long and Ayla Carling are looking to end their stellar careers on the podium, while Lilli Burton is looking to rebound from injury to get back in the top ten. Alexis Bailey has done a great job over the years working hard to keep us in position for a trophy. This year the girls have some help as Allie Carling, Olivia Plemons, Xymenah Alvarado, and Mikayla Gillette join the team to improve our overall depth.
HB: What challenges do you expect this year and how you overcome them?
JH: Our biggest challenge is depth. Like in years past, we don’t have a lot of depth. I really need to be mindful as a coach of how athletes are feeling to keep kids injury free and push them to be their best. Last year, injuries cost us at the state championship and I hope having just a little more depth can really help us improve.
HB: What are the team goals?
JH: As a team we always have the goal to win our region to give it a run at state. For the girls, we always seem to be chasing Panguitch and that is the case for all of 1A this year. Panguitch has an amazing top four who will be hard to beat, but we are not alone in our chase. Whitehorse and Rich both beat us at state last year and return very good teams and Milford has had a good showing early.
For the boys, we are the ones being chased. But as the early meets have shown us, Tintic is a very tough team and could be the team to beat this year. Panguitch, Milford, Rich, and Whitehorse all have very good teams and any one of them has the talent to make a run at the top.
HB: Anything else you want to add?
JH: Starting my 21st year at MHS, I personally want to thank all the parents and volunteers who have helped over the years. We have had great parents and support over the years and I have really appreciated all the support. You all have made this program as successful as it has been.

The Monticello High School cross country team opened their season this past Saturday, August 24 at the 2024 Southern Utah University Invitational in Cedar City.
Both the boys and girls competed in the junior varsity race at the event. The boys race featured 223 runners representing 14 schools. The Buckaroos finished eighth led by senior Kaden Pehrson’s 24th-place overall finish in 18:34.56.
Freshman Eli Carling was just five seconds behind Pehrson, taking 27th place in 18:39.74. Senior Aaron Gillette was 55th overall with his time of 19:16.68.
Junior Kooper Nielson came home 63rd with a time of 19:27.93. Sophomore Charlie Welch was 139th in 21:49.04, sophomore McKay Nielson was 156th in 22:33.77, and sophomore Alejandro Austin came in 184th with a time of 23:26.2.
On the girls side, senior Ayla Carling paced Monticello to a sixth-place team finish with her fifth-place performance, crossing the line in 22:00.15. Fellow senior Lilly Burton was 18th overall with her time of 23:18.44.
Freshman Allie Carling was ninth after she completed the 5,000-meter course in 23:32.53. Senior Alexis Bailey took 41st overall with a time of 25:29.21, and freshman Xymenah Alvarado was 75th in 28:02.42.
The girls race featured 110 athletes representing ten schools. It was a strong start to the season for the Monticello teams after they endured the long road trip to Cedar City.
They’ll get a bit of a reprieve this week as far as travel goes. The Buckaroos are hosting their annual race, the Lloyds Lake Classic, on Friday, August 30.