Strong start for local high school track and field teams at Red Rocks Invite

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
Area high school track and field teams got the 2022 season underway this past weekend at the Red Rocks Invitational in Moab on Saturday, March 12.
San Juan, Monticello, and Whitehorse high schools competed against a solid field that included teams from Carbon, Emery, Grand County, Gunnison Valley, Maple Mountain, Pinnacle, and Dolores, CO high schools.
In the combined boys and girls team scores, San Juan was the top finisher among San Juan County schools, finishing in fifth place with 107 points. Monticello was sixth with 46 points and Whitehorse came home ninth with 25.
The San Juan boys and girls both finished fourth in their respective divisions. The Monticello girls were sixth and the boys were eighth. The Whitehorse boys finished seventh and the Raider girls got ninth.
Individually, it was a banner day for San Juan sophomore Zack Conway. He led the way among San Juan County athletes with 25 points, which included second-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dash. He helped his team to a third-place finish in the sprint medley relay and also got a sixth-place result in the shot put.
The strong showing from San Juan underclassmen continued with freshman Reaghan Laws pulling in 20 points on the day, including a second-place finish in the girls 400 meter. She was also part of the relay teams that finished third in the girls 4x100 and sprint medley.
San Juan sophomore Brigham Nielson performed well in the hurdles, coming home second in both the 100- and 300-meter distance in those events and collecting 17 points in the meet.
The top finisher for Whitehorse High School was senior Weston Manygoats, who scored 13 points, including a fifth-place finish in the boys 3200.
Monticello sophomore Sadie Adair led the Buckaroos with 13 points on the day. She finished fourth in the girls 100-meter hurdles.
Three San Juan Broncos all finished with 12 points apiece: Maycee Conway, Ashlyn Palmer, and Meagan Palmer.
Monticello sophomore Robert Morrison picked up the only individual championship of the day among San Juan County athletes with an impressive 18 foot, six inch long jump. He finished the day with ten points.
Hudson Whatcott (San Juan) also got ten points at the meet. Edward Lyman (San Juan), Tyler Winn (San Juan), TainNea Anderson (San Juan), and Shania Mitchell (Whitehorse) all earned nine points apiece.
Fourteen more athletes from San Juan County finished in the points for their respective teams and many more competed in what was a very strong day for local schools. Full results are available at RunnerCard.com.
This Saturday, March 19 the San Juan and Monticello teams are headed to Price for the Farm Bureau Invitational at Carbon High School. And Monument Valley will slide into the mix as they open their season at the Kanab Invitational.