Sports

Just like last week, Kingfisher controls its own playoff destiny.Only now, the window to do it is much tighter.The Yellowjackets were stunned last Friday in a 12-10 loss at North Rock Creek.

In most respects, 2023 was Kingfisher’s season.Saturday just wasn’t Kingfisher’s day.The Lady Jackets finished in fifth place at the Class 4A state cross country meet at Edmond Santa Fe High School.“Placing top-five in the state in 4A is pretty impressive,” said head coach Kerri Lafferty.

For the second straight year, the Hennessey girls left the state cross country meet with some hardware.The Lady Eagles repeated as Class 3A academic state champions as they posted a cumulative 4.0 GPA.

By the time the Class 2A cross country teams took to the Edmond Santa Fe High School course on Saturday, the conditions had deteriorated.It went from cold and soggy to cold, soggy and raining for the final two races of the day.In the girls competition, Lomega finished 16th with 380 team points.

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.

A massive ground attack was more than Hennessey could handle as the Eagles still seek their first win.Alva rushed for 438 yards Friday night in a 44-7 home win over the Eagles.The defeat dropped Hennessey to 0-8, including losses in all five District 2A-1 games.

LOMEGA FRESHMAN Jackie Penaran, left, and sophomore Hadley Ott run side-by-side during last Saturday’s Class 2A regional in Enid. The two helped the Lady Raiders qualify for the state meet with their fifth-place team finish. [KT&FP Staff Photo]

Just like last year, the Lomega boys and Hennessey girls are headed to the state cross country meet.The Lomega girls are joining the fun this time around.All three teams scored well enough last Saturday in their respective regional meets to make one last run this weekend.

RACE FOR STATE - Covington-Douglas junior Will Johnson, left, fi nds a way to cool off as he races alongside Lomega’s Hunter Russell during the Class 2A boys cross country regional at Oklahoma Bible Academy in Enid. Russell and the Raiders were able to qualify for this weekend’s state meet.

The potential for distraction was there.But the Yellowjackets never let it materialize.Kingfisher shrugged off a whirlwind 48 hours as well as a heartbreaking loss just six days before to put together their most complete performance of the season Thursday in a 42-3 home win over McLoud.