Local cross country teams perform well at Mancos meet

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Monticello and Monument Valley high school cross country teams represented San Juan County at the Chicken Creek Challenge hosted by Mancos High School this past Saturday, October 12.
The race, which draws around 400 athletes from the Four Corners area annually, was marred this year by an ongoing land ownership dispute in the beautiful Chicken Creek area outside of Mancos.
A group calling itself the Free Land Holders Committee built a fence around a swath of U.S. Forest Service land near the race course, claiming ownership of about 1,400 acres. A group of local residents started tearing it down this past Thursday, October 10.
Due to safety concerns for the athletes, race officials moved the race to the Boggy Draw course near Dolores, CO, marking the first time in the event’s 25-year history that it hasn’t been run on the Chicken Creek course.
Despite the drama surrounding the event, Buckaroo and Cougar athletes were able to put on strong performances in the race.
Marah Long led the way for Monticello in the girls race with a third-place overall finish behind Ridgway’s Natasha Hessler and Telluride’s Austin Cook. Long finished just two seconds behind Cook in 22:14.
Allie Carling took 14th place overall for Monticello, crossing the line in 25:28. Alexis Bailey was 20th in 26:58, Xymenah Alvarado was 31st in 29:33, and Mikaylah Gillette was 47th in 33:56. The Lady Buckaroos finished fifth as a team.
In the boys race Monticello finished fourth as a team and Monument Valley took sixth. Eli Carling led the way for the Buckaroos with a solid seventh-place overall performance in 19:47.
Kaden Pehrson was 11th overall when he crossed the line in 20:44. Josiah Gipe was the lead Cougar runner, in 14th place overall with his time of 20:57.
Buckaroo Aaron Gillette was 26th in 22:09 followed by a couple of Cougars: Talon Brooks in 28th with a time of 22:34 and Riley Stanley in 33rd overall with his time of 23:07.
Monticello’s Alejandro Austin was next among the Utah runners, in 47th with a time of 25:08. Jake Deswood took 53rd in 25:49 for the Cougars.
McKay Nielson closed out the Monticello finishers in 54th place, crossing the line in 25:58. And Caleb Cly was the final Monument Valley runner across the line in 56th with a 26:14.
The Monticello, Monument Valley, and Whitehorse teams are gearing up for the Region 19 Championship which will take place at the Huntington State Park on Wednesday, October 23.