Stray dog disrupts cross country race
The sport of cross country often gives athletes the chance to enjoy nature while competing.
But on Tuesday, nature got a little close for one Yukon runner.
Yukon sophomore Elora Jones was in the lead more than halfway into the girls 5K race at the Paul Parent Jamboree at Woodson Park when a stray dog jumped on Jones, knocking her down.
Jones ended up being fine, but lost her momentum and dropped out of the race.
“He must have thought it was play time,” Yukon coach Matt Parent said of the dog. “He had been over there for hours and he didn’t bother any of us and probably ran 30 miles combined just to see all the kids.
"But he took a interest in Elora.”
The dog not only knocked Jones out, but ended up costing the Yukon girls the race as the team point total dropped from first to second. The Yukon boys did end up taking home the win, placing five runners in the top 11.
Parent said it’s a rare occurrence for animals to affect a race, but he remembers one other time at a race in Stillwater when some cows got loose on the track.
“Those would do a lot more damage if you ran into one of those,” Parent said. “Thankfully I think we are going to be OK and we’ll keep working and getting better as the season goes along.”
Carl Albert’s Taylor suffers knee injury
Carl Albert star running back Dadrion Taylor suffered a knee injury during the final plays last week's game and will not play this week against Del City.
Carl Albert coach Mike Corley told The Oklahoman that Taylor suffered the injury, but he did not know the severity. Taylor, known as “Rabbit,” had yet to visit a doctor, Corley said Wednesday.
“We don’t know how bad yet,” Corley said. “We’re just going to wait and see what the doc says. I don’t have certain dates yet, but he’ll get in there this week and get evaluated."
Corley does not anticipate Taylor's season to be over.
Taylor, a 5-foot-11, 175pound senior, is ranked No. 20 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 rankings.
He rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns last week and was removed in the fourth with the Titans ahead 28-7. But Midwest City rallied to get within a touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining. Taylor was reinserted into the game and on one of the final plays an opponent fell on his knee. Now, the top-ranked Titans and two-time defending champions move forward without their star player.
“We’ve still got very adequate, capable guys to step in there, but everybody knows it’s not Rabbit,” Corley said. “You’ve got to move on. We’ll run our offense with the guys we have.”
Bethany volleyball off to undefeated start
Bethany volleyball coach
Kerri Cagle wants her girls to clear their minds before each match. The Bronchos season record speaks loudly enough.
“We are really excited and really proud of the girls,” Cagle said. "But we we talk about it at every practice about how we gotta stay humble.”
Bethany has jumped out to a 12-0 start this season, taking down Class 5A Mount St. Mary and Class 3A’s Heritage Hall and Oklahoma Bible. Cagle credits great leadership from several seniors as well as outstanding play from sophomore outside hitter Addi Ray and junior middle blocker
Whitney Bowie.
“All our girls just want to be the best teammate,” Cagle said. “That really make everyone look good when everyone else is focused on each other’s success.”
Cagle said her team is focusing on each team as they come and not worrying about what the win/loss record looks like.
“We just have to respect everybody,” Cagle said. “Being undefeated makes every team we play want to beat your more. So we will get everyone’s best shot.”
Jenks’ Latham commits to Arkansas
Jenks offensive lineman Brady Latham took 15 days to make his college decision. Latham announced Tuesday that he was committing to Arkansas, a school that made a scholarship offer on Aug. 20.
Latham is ranked No. 15 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 rankings of the state’s top college recruits. He chose Arkansas over offers from New Mexico, Missouri State and Utah State. The son of former OU center Bob Latham, Brady is a 6-foot-4, 273-pound center as well. He is the second in-state recruit to commit to Arkansas, joining Putnam City’s Collin Clay.