Former Buckaroo signs to run at Utah Tech

Former Monticello High School cross country and track standout Adri Bird is now a Trailblazer. She signed a letter of intent on March 16 to compete with the Utah Tech track and cross country teams.
The former Buckaroo will run distance track and cross country starting in the fall of 2023.
Bird was recruited and received interest from Utah Valley University, Southern Utah University, Weber State, Idaho State, Biola University, Colorado Western, the College of Southern Idaho, and Salt Lake Community College, among others.
She ultimately chose Utah Tech, where her brother Tyler ran cross country for two seasons, because she was impressed with the school and had a good comfort level with the coaches.
Bird’s high school career began in 2019 with Monticello High School, where as a freshman she was the 2A runner-up at the Utah state cross country meet.
That season she also finished fifth in the Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regional (NXR) race for small schools.
In 2020, Bird battled injuries and finished third at the state meet, helping Monticello to a fourth-place finish.
For the 2021 season, Bird moved to Springville, UT with her family and fit in well at the 5A school. She was a part of Springville’s fourth consecutive 5A cross country state championship, finishing ninth individually at the state meet.
She was also able to compete with her team at the NXR, where Springville placed fourth among the best teams from Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Bird placed 68th in that race.
She ran track for the first time for Springville in the spring of 2022. That season, she qualified to run at state in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter events, placing tenth at the 5A state meet at BYU.
Bird’s 2022 senior season was a struggle. Due to injury, she competed in only two races before state. She competed at the state qualifier (5A Divisional) and gutted it out to score points in a Springville win, placing 20th.
She then ran at the 5A state meet while continuing to suffer with her injury. Amazingly, she passed several runners in the final 250 meters of the race to finish in the all-important fifth place on the team.
Although it ended her streak of top-ten state finishes, her finish helped Springville win a fifth straight 5A title.
Bird will not compete in track and field this season as she has elected to have surgery on her hip to repair some damage. She plans to be healthy and a contributing member the Utah Tech this fall.
She has had great coaches all along the way and is appreciative of the coaching she received in Monticello from Buckaroo cross country star Kasey Harris and in Springville from Samantha Smith and Val Bodily.

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