Hennessey, Lomega girls teams run back to state

There was one surprise in the Class 2A girls cross country regional at Oklahoma Bible Academy.

Fourth-ranked Regent Prep ran to the regional crown, knocking off No. 1 Hooker, which was the runner-up with 36.

What wasn’t a surprise was Hennessey being among the automatic qualifiers.

The Lady Eagles ran their way into the state meet by placing fourth. The top five teams in 2A automatically qualify for state.

Hennessey scored 116 points, placing it behind Caney Valley’s 110.

Fairview also qualified by placing fifth with 136.

The Lady Eagles are ranked sixth in the class and were led by seniors Emma Copeland and Jocelyn Matousek.

Copeland placed 17th overall and 14th among runners scoring for their teams.

She ran the two-mile course in 13:22.

Matousek was 19th (16th) in 13:51.

She was the first of three straight Matouseks to finish for Hennessey.

Julianne Matousek 22nd (18th) and JoHanna Matousek placed 38th(29th).

Faith Martinez also scored for the Lady Eagles as she was 51st (39th).

••• The Hennessey boys were one spot away from being state qualifiers in Class 2A.

Ironically, Hennessey had enough individual qualifiers

team.

The Eagles notched 145 points at the OBA regional and placed sixth.

Only the top five in 2A automatically qualify as teams.

Fairview was fifth with 131.

Regent Prep won the regional championship with just 18 points.

Outside of the team qualifi ers, the top 12 individuals from non-qualifying teams also move on to state in Class 2A.

For Hennessey - that was five runners.

Senior Seth Sims led the way as he placed 15th as he ran the race in 19:19.2.

His finish earned him a medal.

Also scoring for Hennessey were Asher Ward, who was 32nd (27th); Mauricio Gonzalez, who placed 38th (33rd); Tryton Moreno, who placed 39th (34th); and Rogan Choate, who placed 42nd (37th).

Each of those Eagles placed high enough to get into state this week.

••• Lomega is back in the state cross country meet.

The Lady Raiders were automatic qualifiers again after placing third at their Class A regional on Saturday in Waurika.

The top five teams from each regional advance to state.

Led by Gracie Sawyer’s fifth-place finish, Lomega recorded 54 points as a team.

Third-ranked Thomas won the regional championship with 34 points.

Sixth-ranked Velma-Alma was the runner-up with 37 points.

Also qualifying from the regional were Rush Springs with 85 points and Burns Flat with 91.

Sawyer finished the twomile course in 13:37.3, putting her among the medalists. The top 15 individuals medal at each regional.

She was fifth overall, but third among runners scoring points for their respective

Olivia Landreth was 18th (14th) in 14:17.7.

Sawyer and Landreth are both freshmen.

A few spots back were teammates Joann Bilger, who was 22nd (18th) and Claire Myers in 23rd (19th). Both are juniors.

Also scoring for Lomega was Josey Nusz, who was 40th (28th).

Lomega enters state as the fourth-ranked team in the class.

The Lady Raiders placed 11th at state in 2024.

••• It’s not just ladies from Lomega who will be competing

at state.

Hunter Russell placed seventh in the Class A boys regional at Waurika and is a state qualifier.

A junior, Russell completed the 5,000 meter track in 18:23.1.

Lomega placed seventh as a team, knocking it out of automatic qualifier status.

However, the top 12 individuals in a Class A regional from non-qualifying teams also advance.

Russell was among that group.

Also for Lomega, Traevo Smith-Dunn was 29th, Cal Krittenbrink 77th and Breckon Murray 88th.

••• The Dover boys narrowly missed making their way to the state cross country meet.

The Longhorns placed sixth Saturday in their Class A regional at Oklahoma Bible Academy in Enid.

Only the top five teams move on to state.

Dover missed out by just five points as their 108 fell just behind the 103 scored by fifth-place Hillsdale Christian.

Laverne won the regional with 19 points. Also qualifying were OBA, Mooreland and Buffalo.

However, Dover isn’t without a qualifier.

Freshman Nicklas Spradlin finished 25th overall and 18th among runners scoring points for their teams.

He finished in 19:26.7. The top 12 individuals from a Class A regional who aren’t on a qualifying team also advance to state.

Spradlin is among those qualifiers.

Also for Dover, Kyler Williams was 34th, AJ Avila 43rd, Marco Sotelo 55th

and Jensen Ludwig 70th.