STATE CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK
Class 5A boys: Piedmont caps dominant season, wins title
The Piedmont boys cross country team ended its dominant season with another victory.
The Wildcats beat Tahlequah by eight points at the Class 5A state meet Wednesday at Edmond Santa Fe.
Piedmont was consistently one of the top teams in the state this year, regardless of class.
“It was closer than I thought it was going to be,” Piedmont coach Kelly Beck said. “Tahlequah ran amazing.”
Piedmont senior Beckam Hartis led his team with a second-place finish. He completed the 5-kilometer run in 16 minutes, 14.75 seconds.
“He's going to go down as probably the best runner that's ever gone through Piedmont,” Beck said.
Class 5A girls: Noble places second
The Noble girls cross country program has come a long way in a short period of time.
The Bears had just one girl on their team when coach Kayli Phillips took over three years ago.
Now, they have one of the top programs in Class 5A.
Noble placed second at the state meet.
“I think we did really well ,” Phillips said. “There' s nothing to hang your head about. Obviously, we were looking to bring home first, but I'm really proud of the girls.”
Identical twins Autumn and Leah Hickok led the way. Autumn placed 10th, completing the race in 20:13.77. Leah finished 12th with a time of 20:22.49.
Class 6A girls: Norman North finishes runner-up
The Norman North girls cross country program had a disappointing finish last season, failing to advance to the state meet.
The Timber wolves entered the fall with extra motivation, looking to bounce back.
With senior Jade Robinson and a solid core of young runners leading the pack, Norman North proved it has turned things around.
The Timberwolves placed second behind Owasso at the Class 6A state meet Wednesday at Edmond Santa Fe.
Robinson placed sixth, finishing in 19:17.84.
“We would not have finished as state runnerup today without her,” Norman North coach Jonathan Koscinski said. “She is the heart and soul of this team. We go as she goes.”
Kinley Kite also had an impressive performance for Norman North. The freshman placed 11th with a time of 19:33.36.
Class 4A boys: OCS captures crown
Members of the Oklahoma Christian School boys cross country team were ecstatic when they heard the news.
As the Saints stood on the track after the Class 4A state race Wednesday at Edmond Santa Fe, they learned they were state champions.
The runners screamed and tossed water bottles in the air, celebrating the school's third boys cross country state championship.
“I knew if we came in and everybody did their job, that it was ours,” OCS coach Rodney Nichols said.
Ethan Stovall led OCS with a second-place finish, completing the run in 16:14.91.
Class 3A boys: Randall becomes first Meeker runner to win championship
Riley Randall waited to make his move during the Class 3A cross country state race.
The Meeker sophomore knew he needed to be patient before picking the perfect time to kick into another gear.
“After about a mile, I passed the guy that was in first, and I really just kind of took off,” he said. “I was like, `OK, I can win this thing.'”
Randall went on to win, becoming the first Meeker cross country runner to capture a title. He completed the race in 16:43.09.
Randall is on track to having a storied high school career and has put the Meeker cross country program on the map.
“It's crazy to me,” he said.