Teams representing San Juan County open high school track and field season with a bang over weekend at Red Rock Invitational in Moab

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The 2026 high school track and field season got underway for all four San Juan County teams this past Saturday, March 7 at the Red Rock Invitational in Moab. The annual event featured teams from 13 schools representing the 1A to 6A classifications.
Top performances for local teams were turned in by San Juan High School with the boys finishing in fourth place with 84.5 points and the girls tallying 47 points to take sixth.
The Monticello boys came home eighth with 20 points on the day. Whitehorse scored one point to finish in a tie with Pinnacle for 11th.
Among the girls Monticello scored 35 points to secure seventh place. Whitehorse was 11th with ten points, and Monument Valley finished 12th with five points.
SAN JUAN
Two San Juan athletes won event championships in the season-opening meet. Junior Andrew Nielson ran the 300-meter hurdles in 41.72 to set a new personal best and win that event.
Fellow junior Sadie Palmer hucked the javelin an impressive 106 feet, defeating teammate Myra Zohnnie by nearly ten feet. Zohnnie’s throw of 96-5.0 was second-longest in the girls javelin.
Senior Cash Palmer was second in the boys shot put with a distance of 46 feet, 0.75 inches. Brigg Palmer and Andrew Nielson finished right next to each other, separated by just 0.4 seconds to take second and third in the 110 hurdles in 16.37 and 16.77 respectively.
Junior Miken Keith was the runner-up in the boys javelin with a solid throw of 139-5.0. Ryan Shumway took fourth in that event with his throw of 129-3.0. The boys 4x100 and sprint medley relay teams both took second in their events.
Keezie Flannery and Adison Ivins both cleared four feet, 11 inches to tie for third place in the girls high jump. Sincere Nez was fourth in the 3200 with a 12:48.76 and fifth in the 800 with a 2:35.6, a new personal best.
The boys 4x400 relay team came home fourth for San Juan. Cooper Laws was fifth in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles with times of 17.73 and 44.86.
Gaige Palmer took fifth in the boys shot put with a distance of 40-10.0. And the girls 4x100 relay team was fifth with their run of 56.66.
MONTICELLO
Monticello senior Marlee Mack picked up right where she left off last season, besting a field of 42 athletes to win the girls long jump by half a foot over Carbon’s Blythe Bradford. Mack literally flew for 16 feet, 4.75 inches in her championship effort.
Freshman Brandtson Mack cleared six feet in the boys high jump to finish second for the Buckaroos, a very impressive performance in his varsity debut.
Marlee Mack also ran well in the Red Rock Invite, taking fourth in the girls 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.23. The girls 4x100 relay team crossed the line in 55.49, good enough for fourth place.
Maron Freestone took fifth in the girls 300 hurdles with a nice run of 50.49. And the boys 4x100 relay team came home fifth with their run of 47.26.
WHITEHORSE
Top performances for Whitehorse included a fourth-place finish for the girls sprint medley team with their run of 5:16.34. The girls 4x100 relay team took seventh in 1:01.37.
Individually junior Shandiin Roberts was seventh for the Lady Raiders in the girls javelin with her personal-best throw of 79 feet, 11 inches.
Senior Elam Etsitty took eighth in the boys high jump, clearing the bar at five feet, six inches for a new personal best. He was ninth in the 400-meter dash with a run of 55.86.
MONUMENT VALLEY
A pair of Monument Valley girls came home from Moab with top-ten finishes. Sophomore Zaira Holliday was fifth in the javelin with a throw of 86-6.0. Fellow sophomore Samara Sheppard took eighth in the shot put with a 25-2.0.
Senior Josiah Gipe was the only boy competing for the Cougars in the event. He was 26th in the 800 meter with a 2:28.61 and 42nd in the 1600 with a 5:40.83.
All four local teams are getting right back to action this Saturday, March 14. Monticello, San Juan, and Whitehorse are all traveling to Price to compete in the annual Farm Bureau Invitational hosted by Carbon High School.
The Monument Valley girls and boys will head west to try their hand at the Kanab Invitational.