KHS DELIVERS BIG STATEMENT

The difference between a good cross country team and a potentially great one is often not what takes place waist down, but between the ears.

And it’s there, says Kingfi sher coach Kerri Lafferty, where the 2023 girls team is truly starting to show potential.

It was on full display when the Lady Jackets won the 4A girls competition in the Edmond Pre-State Cross Country Meet at Santa Fe High School.

The race, which was run on the same course at which the state meet will be contested next month, featured eight of the top-10 teams in Class 4A.

That included the No. 2 Lady Jackets and No. 1 Byng.

But it was KHS that prevailed with 62 points, edging the top-ranked team in the class by six points.

“Winning that was a huge confidence builder for our team,” Lafferty said.

Confidence. Belief. Mental toughness.

Those three traits intertwined with talent are necessary to win state, Lafferty said.

Her 2018 squad had them all and won state.

Weaving through a tough Santa Fe course on a warm morning, the 2023 version showed it too, said the coach.

“We finally felt like the kids ran smart and tough,” she said. “A lack of mental toughness has been the biggest issue for our runners the last few years.

“They are finally starting to realize that they can and should be competing with the top teams in the state.”

Byng was that team going into the day.

None of the top-five finishers were from either Byng or KHS.

Scout Snodgrass broke that streak when she crossed the finish in sixth place, running the two-mile course in 12:56.10.

Byng, though, had the next two placers before Kingfisher’s Lily Lunsford crossed in 10th place.

And the gap stayed narrow as the next two placers for each team crossed Kinley Taylor in 14th and Peyton Walker in 15th for KHS.

Walker was one spot ahead of Byng’s fourth runner, Blakely Miller.

When Miller crossed, Byng led KHS by a single point, meaning the team title came down to the next runners to cross for each team.

That very next one was junior Liberty Starr for the Lady Jackets as she was on the heels of Miller, finishing one spot and one second behind her.

The next Byng runner to finish was in 24th place, giving KHS the win.

“The meet allows teams to run against other schools in their same class and we needed to see that to see how we stacked up,” Lafferty said.

No. 5 Cache took third in the team race with 102 points. Seventh-ranked Anadarko was third with 111 and No. 6 Poteau fifth with 124.

The only potential contenders not taking part in the meet were No. 3 Pauls Valley and No. 4 Regent Prep.

Among Kingfisher’s other top finishers were Chesni Newkirk at 27th, Harper Evans at 34th and Emmy Lunsford at 36th.

While the showing was good - and even beneficial - Lafferty knows her team can be even better.

“We definitely saw some race management mistakes that we can improve on, but we did run really well,” she said.

The key is to do it again in about a month.

“We just have to stay motivated and healthy for the next month,” Lafferty said.

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The Hennessey girls posted a strong showing later that afternoon in the 3A event.

The Lady Eagles were fifth out of 14 teams and have now climbed to No. 6 in the 3A rankings.

Alva won the meet with 74 points, edging Bethel by a single point.

Chisholm took third with 116 points while Mount St. Mary was fourth with 121.

HHS notched 132 points and was led by Emma Sipe.

Sipe was 11th overall, but eighth among scoring runners. She ran the course in 14:19.60.

Tayler Franklin took 24th (20th) and Jocelyn Matousek rounded out the Lady Eagle medalists in 29th (24th) place.

Also scoring for Hennessey were Taryn Jech, who was 39th (34th) and Jazzy Bullis, who took 58th (46th).

There were 118 runners in the 3A girls race.

•••

Three Yellowjackets ran in the 4A boys event.

They were led by Wyatt Long’s 48th-place finish.

He tackled the 5 kilometer course in 19:52.60.

Conner Askey was 76th out of 224 runners while Alezandro Cuellar was 155th.

A pair of Hennessey boys took part in the 3A race.

Brok Cooper was 39th and Vandin Vadder 95th out of 122.