Coaches mixed up the routine this year in hopes of bucking a recent trend of not peaking in the postseason.

If last Saturday was any indication, it was the right move.

Kingfisher High School had the best top-five average time of any team in program history as the Lady Jackets easily secured their spot in the Class 4A state meet.

KHS won Saturday’s regional at Oklahoma Bible Academy in Enid with a tally of just 46 points.

Cleveland was the runner- up with 108 while Bristow was third with 136.

The race featured 80 runners. All seven of Kingfi sher’s participants placed 17th or better.

All five of the runners who scored were 13th or better and they averaged a time of 12:43.23.

That tops the 12:52.5 average of the KHS team at the 2018 state meet, one that saw the Lady Jackets crowned state champs.

“They all ran a great race, from 1 through 7,” said KHS head coach Kerri Lafferty.

The team certainly came in fresh as Lafferty and Shiloh Kannady opted to take a week off from competition leading up to the regional.

“We haven’t felt we were at our best heading into regionals and state the last few years,” Lafferty said. “We felt maybe we peaked too soon, so this year we changed up our training and our schedule.”

So far, so good. “I think it helped,” Lafferty said. “We were able to focus the last couple of weeks on workouts that would prepare us for state.”

And, of course, the regional.

Lily Lunsford led Kingfisher’s pack with her fourth-place finish.

She ran the 3,200 meters in 12:19.50.

Lunsford’s oldest sister Katon was a freshman on that 2018 state championship team.

Patiently awaiting her turn, Lunsford has turned into one of Kingfisher’s top runners in her freshman season.

“I was extremely impressed with her,” Lafferty said. “Even though she’s only a freshman, she always runs with strength and confi dence.

“You could tell she wanted to prove that she could run with the fastest in the state and she did it.”

Scout Snodgrass was sixth in 12:36.81.

A few spots back started another string of Lady Jackets.

Peyton Walker, Kinley Taylor, Liberty Starr and Chesni Newkirk ran 11th to 14th, respectively.

Each one ran under 13 minutes.

Harper Evans was 17th in 13:11.01.

Every Lady Jacket put up a season-best time, if not a PR.

Lafferty hopes the physical attributes of the team not only carryover into this weekend at state, but the mental aspect of it as well.

“The competition is tougher and there are so many good runners there,” Lafferty said. “We just have to stay mentally tough to give ourselves a shot.”

Kingfisher enters state ranked No. 2 behind Pauls Valley, which was even more impressive in its regional at Waurika.

The Lady Panthers’ all finished 14th or better and had a top-five average of a blistering 12:20.39.

The state meet is Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe High School.

Class 4A girls will run at 11:45 a.m.

•••

The 4A boys meet will have a pair of Kingfisher Yellowjackets taking part.

Wyatt Long and Conner Askey both qualified with their performances at the regional meet.

Long took 24th and Askey 28th in the regional at OBA.

State accepts the top seven teams as well as the top seven individuals from non-qualifying teams.

Long was third among those individuals and ran the 5 kilometer course in 18:37.84.

Askey was fourth among them and finished in 18:44.18.

Both runners recorded PRs at the regional.

“I’m so happy for both of them,” Lafferty said. “They’ve put in a lot of work this season and have continued to get better and better.

“It’s fantastic to see them rewarded for that work.”

The 4A boys race follows the 4A girls and will start at 12:15 p.m.

4A Girls Regional Results 3,200m

Kingfisher 46 Cleveland 108 Bristow 136 Tuttle 141 Woodward 149 Cushing 158 Heritage Hall 158 Perkins-Tryon 161 Mannford 172 Bethany 194 Berryhill 258

Kingfisher - Lily Lunsford 4th, 12:19.50; Scout Snodgrass 6th, 12:36.81; Peyton Walker 11th, 12:50.78; Kinley Taylor 12th, 12:52.15; Liberty Starr 13th, 12:56.88; Chesni Newkirk 14th, 12:58.18; Harper Evans 17th, 13:11.01