Claremore, area schools send runners to cross country state meet

Oct. 28—Zebras are incredibly fast runners.

In fact, adult zebras can reach up to 40mph when galloping at full speed. The cross country runners at Claremore High School aren't quite that fast, but a dazzle of nine red Zebras, seven girls and two boys, qualified for the pinnacle of the sport in Oklahoma — the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association State Championships.

The Claremore girls varsity team — consisting of sophomore Emma Robinson, freshman Eleanor Isaacs, junior Tylea Jones, freshman Chloe Grubbs, sophomore Lillian Miles, freshman Abbie Douthitt and sophomore Natalie Bump — placed seventh of 12 teams Saturday, Oct. 22 in the Class 5A East Regional at the Ponca City Lake Disc Golf Course, finishing with 158 points.

The top seven teams from both regionals advance to the state meet, as well as the top seven runners from nonqualifying teams in each regional.

Bishop Kelley took the regional title with 48 points, 58 ahead of second place Collinsville. McKenna Hood of Tahlequah won the 5K race (3.1 miles) in 19 minutes, 20 seconds while the Lady Zebras' top finisher, Robinson, placed 20th of 88 runners with a time of 22:27.23.

Rounding out the scorers for No. 15 Claremore were Isaacs (22:36.82), Jones (22:59.65), Grubbs (23:35.57) and Miles (25:03.54) with finishes of 21st, 26th, 35th and 56th, respectively.

That group will run in the state meet at 10:15 a.m. Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe High School.

In the boys 5K, freshman Gabriel Rodriguez and sophomore Adrian Reyes qualified as individuals after the team missed the top-seven distinction, placing 10th of 14 teams with 242 points.

Bishop Kelley completed the regional sweep with 55 points, and Mason Mayer of Guthrie won the race in 16:53.57. Rodriguez and Reyes crossed the finish line in 17:53.78 and 18:39.93, respectively, to finish 13th and 30th of 107 runners.

The duo races in the state meet at 11 a.m. Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe High School.

In Class 4A at the Checotah Sports Complex, Inola junior Jaycee Adkins and Verdigris junior Zoe Stout qualified as individuals for the state meet in the 2-mile race.

Adkins, the lone Lady Longhorns runner, claimed a top-10 finish at sixth 13:29.99, and Stout clocked in at 13:51.70 to place 17th of 110 runners. Emily Cruz of Stilwell won in 12:50.53.

They will compete in the state meet at 1 p.m. Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe, with the boys following at 1:30.

On the boys side, Verdigris and Oologah qualified individuals as well.

The Cardinals had the fastest runner of the two schools, as sophomore Michael Pruitt claimed his spot in the state meet with a 23rd-place finish in the 5K with a time of 19:51.03. His teammate Carter Gibson missed the cutoff by just over three seconds to Oologah senior Cody Goff, who finished 26th of 111 runners in 20:03.18.

Ty Lewis, a junior, also qualified for the Mustangs, finishing in 19:56.46 to place 24th.

Andrew Smithwick won the race in 16:09.15, helping Lincoln Christian win the regional championship.

In the Class 3A girls 2-mile run, Chelsea qualified its team of six runners as it placed fifth of 13 teams with 154 points. Regent Prep got the team win with 34 points.

The Lady Green Dragons' top-four point earners ran in a pack, finishing within 12 seconds of each other. Natalie Lopez, a sophomore, led the way with a time of 14:28.57 for 23rd place of 94 runners, and junior Jaclyn Draeger (14:36.04), sophomore Bryonna Wisdom (14:38.79) and sophomore Avery Lawhorn (14:40.73) showed out as well, placing 24th, 25th and 27th, respectively.

Dakota Equals, a freshman, was their final scorer at 16:49.07 for 55th place while fellow freshman Trinity Wisdom (73rd, 18:42.79) was the displacer.

Lucy O'Dea of Regent Prep claimed the top spot with a time of 12:54.37, gapping the second-place finisher by eight seconds.

The Chelsea boys didn't make the cut, but seniors Jaden Perry and Jay Douglas both finished in the top 10 of the 5K at eighth and 10th, respectively, in a race that featured 97 runners to qualify for the state meet as individuals.

Perry clocked in at 18:58.10, and Douglas was close behind in 19:05.98 while Jeremiah Tangren of Regent Prep won in 17:35.62.

Sequoyah competed in the same race, qualifying its seven-runner squad thanks to a seventh-place finish of 13 teams, earning 199 points. Regent Prep won the team title with 55 points.

The Eagles' top finisher, junior Luke Wood, came in just over a second behind Perry in 18:59.34 to finish ninth. Rounding out the scorers were sophomore Wyatt Thompson (20:44.37), freshman Austin Galvan (21:34.81), senior Josh Driskel (23:06.60) and sophomore Steven Holt (23:13.17) with finishes of 28th, 42nd, 60th and 61st, respectively.

The Class 3A state-meet races begin at 2:15 p.m. Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe with the girls, and the boys follow at 2:45 p.m.