Broncos dominate at home meet, earn solid fourth at North Sevier

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School track and field team hosted their only home meet of the season, the San Juan County Invitational, this past Wednesday, March 29, closing out a crazy first month of the spring sports season in southeastern Utah.
The Broncos dominated their home meet with the boys scoring 182 points to beat Monticello by 37. The girls fell just short of a team title, finishing in second place 16 points shy of Grand County.
Together the teams combined for 343 total points, beating the visiting Red Devils by 52 for the overall championship.
So many San Juan athletes finished in the points we will concentrate on top-three finishers in this recap. For full results from the meet, visit RunnerCard.com.
Edward Lyman, beginning his junior year in track and field, picked up right where he left off last season, winning the 1600 in 5:22.12 and the 3200 in 11:01.60.
Freshman Tripp Palmer took the win in the high jump, clearing five feet, eight inches. Magnum Nielson won the shot put with a put of 38-03.50.
On the girls side Leah Castellon brought home wins in the 100-meter hurdles in a speedy 17 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 57.66.
The Lady Broncos swept all five places in the 100 hurdles actually. Behind Castellon Keezie Flannery finished second, Ella Davis came home third, Chloe Palmer got fourth, and Phoenix Tizi finished fifth.
Senior Josie Lott jumped 14 feet, two inches to win the long jump, and Savannah Richmond won the girls discus with a nice throw of 83-09.5.
San Juan athletes put together 12 second-place finishes at their home meet. For the boys it was Zack Conway in the 100 and 200, Brigham Nielson in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, Callen Burke in the shot put and discus, JD Palmer in the high jump, Magnum Nielson in the javelin, and the 4x400 relay team.
Second-place finishes for the girls team included Leah Castellon in the 200-meter race, freshman Rose Kartchner in the 3200, freshman Keezie Flannery in the high jump, and the 4x100 relay team.
Josie Lott came home third in the girls 100 and 200. Keezie Flannery finished a strong day with a third-place long jump. And the girls 4x400 and sprint medley relay teams both got third, as did the boys sprint medley team.
After the win at their home meet the Broncos traveled to Salina for the North Sevier Invitational where the team produced a very solid fourth-place finish, scoring 114 total points.
The boys led the way with 73 points to finish third. The girls scored 41 points and came home from the event in sixth.
Two Broncos won individual events, Brigham Nielson in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43.6 and Magnum Nielson with a sizable 153 foot, nine inch throw in the javelin. Also, the boys 4x100 relay team won their race.
Rose Kartchner got second for the girls in the 3200 while Leah Castellon grabbed a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles. She also finished third in the 300 hurdles, as did the girls 4x100 relay team.
Like he did on his home turf, Callen Burke produced a second-place result in the shot put with a 39-02.5 effort. Brigham Nielson finished second for the Broncos in the 110-meter hurdles in 17.6 seconds.
Tayden Mark had the fourth-best high jump among the boys, clearing five feet, four inches to score five points. The boys and girls 4x400 teams and boys sprint medley team all finished fourth in their races.
Rounding out top-five finishers at the North Sevier Invite, Zack Conway came across the line in 24.7 seconds to take fifth in the boys 200-meter race, scoring four points for his team.
San Juan will take a break from competition this week and will get back to action with a trip to Roosevelt, UT to compete in the 2023 Strata Invitational on Friday, April 14.