Strong showing for Buckaroo cross country

It was a calm cool morning for the annual BYU Autumn Classic on Saturday, September 11 at Timpanogos golf course.

Forty-three teams from all over the state and across all divisions stepped up to the starting line. The Monticello Buckaroos had participants in four races.

Leading out the day of racing was the boys freshman/sophomore race. Kaden Pehrson led the young team, finishing 48th with a time of 19:08. Curtis Bunker finished close behind in 53rd with a time of 19:19.

Jesse Petit ran with a time of 19:50, taking 73rd place. Soren Welch’s time of 21:50 put him in 144th place. Aaron Gillette came in 155th with a time of 22:02 and Carter Harrod placed 229th at 33:43.

It was the biggest race the team has competed in thus far in the season. The Buckaroos placed 12th as a team.

Five of the six lady Buckaroos ran in the girls freshman/sophomore race. Monticello’s Lilli Burton scored a ninth-place finish with a time of 21:49. Ayla Carling came in 50th, Marah Long 54th, Abigail Crowley 86th, and Alexis Bailey 96th.

Three Buckaroos ran in the boys the variety race. Boston Freestone ran a steller race with time of 18:36 placing 115th out of 177 runners.

Josh Wheeler came in second for the Buckaroos at 169th and Easton Young got 176th place.

Lily Long represented MHS in the girls varsity race. After missing two weeks due to injury, she ran a strong race, crossing the finish line in 21:15.

The Buckaroos started off this week at the Stewart Foster Invitational held at the Huntington State Park in Huntington Utah on Monday, September 13.

The Monticello boys took first with the first five team members finishing in the top 20. Boston Freestone and Curtis Bunker crossed the finish line 22 seconds apart in fifth and sixth place.

Josh Wheeler came in 13th, one minute behind Bunker. Easton Young and Soren Welch followed in 19th and 20th. Jesse Petit finished 28th and Aaron Gillete came home 30th.

Lily Long took the lead in the girls race finishing in first place with a time of 21:40. Both Ayla Carling and Marah Long finished in the top ten.

Abigail Crowley finished 19th and Alexis Bailey finished 21st, helping to secure a second-place finish for the Lady Buckaroos.

With two races in three days the Buckaroos will take a well-deserved break from racing this weekend.

They’ll be back at it next week at the John Thornton Invitational, hosted by the San Juan Broncos on Wednesday, September 22. They head to Pagosa Springs, CO on Saturday, September 25 for the Pagosa Springs Challenge.