With the fall season officially in the books, Montezuma-Cortez High School athletes from four fall sports have been recognized for their stellar performances, taking home all-conference recognition.
With volleyball, softball, football and boys soccer finishing their best seasons in years, the Panthers were well represented when the Intermountain League selected its nominations for its honor roll.
Panthers football took home the largest all-league haul, with eight seniors landing on the 2A Intermountain League all-conference team. Making their first postseason appearance since 2014, the Panthers finished with a 4-6 record and posted one of the best statistical outputs in program history. Vincent Conklin, Cordell Baer, Swayde Noyes and Matthew Broughton landed on the first team, and Ike Dennison, Kerwin Tom, Kale Hall and Ezequiel Vargas received honorable mentions.
M-CHS volleyball emerged as a 3A power this fall, with one of the winningest seasons in school history (16-6) and the program’s first appearance in the regional round of the postseason since 2014. Spearheading the Panthers’ success this fall was senior Aryelle Wright, who was named to the first team of the 3A Intermountain League selection. A trio of underclassmen joined Wright on with honorable mention – sophomores Amber Wood and Leigha Comisky and freshman Avery Wright.
M-CHS softball also enjoyed a banner year, qualifying for the 3A state tournament for the first time since 2010. The Panthers play in District 5 in the 3A class, where they picked up a 13-10 record and four all-league honorees. Junior Presley Frost made the district’s first team and received an honorable mention on the all-state team. Seniors Morgan Short and Kailey Case and junior Alyssa Cornett earned all-district honorable mentions.
The soccer team also had an impressive end to its 2018 campaign, turning around a slow start to finish with a 6-8-1 record and finishing just short of a 3A Intermountain League title. Junior Alden Adams made the first team, and sophomore Rodrigo Marquez made the second team.