It was an eventful day on Wednesday as Carbon, Emery and Pinnacle cross country teams traveled to Moab for the Grand High School Red Rock Invitational at the Moab Golf Club.
It was especially eventful for the Dinos. Travelling along I-70 near Green River, the Carbon bus overheated, forcing it to the side of the road. With temperatures hovering around 110 degrees, kids and coaches were downright hot. Head coach Telisse Allen ordered a relief bus from the Carbon garage, hoping to arrive in Moab before the 4 p.m. start time. Having negotiated with Grand officials to push the start time back to 4:15 because of the problem, Allen and the 30 kids on the bus waited in the sweltering temperatures.
As the team was contemplating its next move, a Green River High bus, on its way to Grand for a volleyball matchup with the Red Devils, noticed the broken down bus and graciously stopped along the busy interstate and picked up the Dinos and carried them the rest of the way to their destination.
The cross country team barely made the meet, having arrived at 4:05. They quickly visited the restroom and made the start line just in time for the 4:15 gun.
“It was crazy,” coach Allen said of the ordeal. “Like it was made for a story.”
Temperatures during the race reached 103 degrees, causing 18 athletes between the teams that competed to collapse, unable to complete the race.
Despite the hardship, the Dino girls’ and boys’ teams placed fourth and seventh place, respectively, out of 11 total teams.
Dino Regan Hansen finished in seventh place with a time of 21:23.0. Anthony Jones was the high finisher for Emery, coming through with a time of 18:17.9, placing 24th.
The Spartans boys finished with a third place finish. Freshman Bryar Meccariello finished seventh with a time of 17:13.6.
The Pinnacle girls finished in 11th place. Savana Dart placed first on the team, coming in at 25:40.5, good for 39th overall.
All three teams will be in action this next week with the Dinos taking part in a pre-region meet at Lakeside Park in Orem on Wednesday. Both Emery and Pinnacle will travel to Richfield on Wednesday for the Richfield XC Open.
For complete results from the Red Rock Invitational in Moab, please click here.
