GCHS track team dominates in Price

The Grand County High School track and field team had a dominant outing at the Eastern Utah Farm Bureau Invitational in Price on Saturday, March 23, where the boys took first as a team by a wide margin, and the girls took a close second to host Carbon.

Grand County High School (GCHS) scored 136 points in the boys division, besting second-place Emery by 43.5 points. Hillcrest was third with 60 points and Carbon was fourth with 55. Meanwhile, Carbon scored 94 points to win the girls division, while GCHS was second with 87, Union was third with 70 and Uintah was fourth with 52.

Connor Guerrero had the most memorable day among GCHS Red Devil athletes, winning both individual hurdle events, while also taking part in relay wins in both the medley and 4×400-meter relays. Guerrero won the 110-meter hurdles at 16.45, and the 300-meter hurdles at 42.45. In the medley, he joined forces with Stacy Randall, Nolan Ramirez and Evan Ellison to run a 3:54.30. In the 4×400, Guerrero, Randall, Ramirez and Eli Hazlett ran a 3:43.24.

Hazlett placed in the top two in three individual events, winning the 400-meters at 48.72, and taking second in the 100-meters at 11.14, and the 200-meters, at 22.83. Emery’s Braiden Ivie won both the 100-meters  (10.77) and the 200-meters (21.98).

Ellison and teammate Malachi Ricks both placed near the front in the two longest distance races. In the 1600-meters, Ellison placed third (4:48.21) and Ricks took seventh (4:55.30); and in the 3200-meters, Ellison took second (10:28.57) and Ricks took fourth (10:38.07).

The Red Devil boys also had several scoring contributions in field events. In the discus, Jarom Shumway took third (113 feet, 6 inches) and Jaymmin Hester took fourth (107 feet, 10 inches). In the shot put, Carlin Bierschied took third at 42 feet, 5.5 inches; Shumway took fourth at 41 feet; Hester took fifth at 39 feet, 4.5 inches; and Trent Elmore took eighth at 38 feet, 8 inches. In the high jump, Teddy Park took second at 5 feet, 10 inches; and in the long jump, Ramirez took fourth at 20 feet, 3 inches; and Kaine Allred took sixth at 19 feet, 2.75 inches.

In the girls division, three different GCHS athletes won events: Kylah Ricks won the 1600-meters (5:39.25), Veda Gritts won the shot put (35 feet, 9 inches) and Morgan Lewis won the high jump (5 feet). Ricks also placed second in the 800-meters by less than a second, finishing at 2:30.00; and third in the 400-meters at 1:03.75. Gritts mirrored Ricks’ performance, also taking second in the discus at 100 feet, 4 inches; and third in the javelin at 108 feet, 10 inches. In addition to the high jump, Lewis also took fourth in the long jump at 15 feet, 9.5 inches.

GCHS also got points in all three girls relays: In the medley, Jessie Anderson, Auburn Jackman, Ali Hirt and Lewis placed third at 4:43.40. In the 4×100-meters, Olivia Medina, Jackman, Kyha Gritts and Annabelle Garrett placed fifth at 55.39. In the 4×400-meters, Hirt, Jackman, Emree Olsen and Anika Scherer placed fourth at 4:37.52.

The GCHS track and field team was also scheduled to run in a small meet at San Juan High School in Blanding on Wednesday, March 27. The Red Devil athletes next compete at the Utah Valley University High School Invitational in Orem on Saturday, March 30, beginning at 9 a.m., in Orem.

Red Devil boys take first, girls take second, at Farm Bureau Invitational