LEADING THE PACK
Lady Jackets’ consistency leads to another cross country team title - this one at home
KINGFISHER’S JAYDEN Newkirk (8758) was second in the boys’ race Saturday at Briscoe Park. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simon-sports-photos.smugmug.com]
KINGFISHER HIGH SCHOOL’S Zoey Evans (front right) and Katon Lunsford (front left) lead a pack of runners during Kingfi sher’s cross country meet last weekend. That pack includes KHS teammates Andrea Becerra (left) and Emmy Lunsford (right). All four placed in the top-10 in the team standings to help the Lady Jackets win the meet. [Photo by Chris Simon/www.simon-sports-photos.smugmug.com]
The pack mentality.
That’s how coach Kerri Lafferty described her Kingfisher girls cross country team.
“We’re pack runners,” she said. “We have girls that stay together, pace each other and push each other.
“Plainview is known for that. You’re never going to have an individual state champ, but you push each other and place high.”
It’s worked for Plainview, which has 18 girls cross country state titles since 1992 and is currently ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.
It’s also proved successful for KHS and last weekend was the latest example.
While Weatherford again had the top-two runners, Kingfisher had four in the top-10 and all five scorers were in the top-20. That allowed the Lady
That allowed the Lady Jackets to win the Kingfish-er Cross Country Invitational Saturday at Briscoe Park.
KHS had just 44 points to defeat runner-up Weatherford’s 56. Watonga was third with 76.
It was the same 1-2-3 finish as the prior week at Watonga.
“You just never know how it’s going to go because the teams are really good,” Lafferty said. “But our girls ran lights out.”
Junior Katon Lunsford was fourth as she ran the 3,200 meter course in 13:38.44.
Senior Zoey Evans was two spots and four seconds behind her, though her placing was fifth toward the team standings.
Defending 4A champ Jordan Hoffman, a sophomore, won the meet in 13:01.59.
Her Weatherford teammate Kennadi Price, a senior who won 4A in 2017 and 2018, was four seconds behind Hoffman in second.
Those were the only two Weatherford runners among the top-10 while KHS had four in that range.
Andrea Becerra, another senior for KHS, was 10th overall, but eighth in the team count. Freshman Emmy Lunsford, Katon’s sister, finished 12th (9th).
“You’ve got Katon and Zoey running together and then you’ve got Andrea and Emmy running together and they’re trying to close that gap with the first two,” Lafferty said.
The next pack is a trio which consists of freshmen Hannah Francis and Chesni Newkirk and sophomore Jacee Mueggenborg.
They were 22nd (18th), 23rd (19th) and 27th (23rd), respectively.
Only Francis’ finish counted toward the team standings, which consists of a team’s top-five placers.
“But each of those seven are so important,” Lafferty said. “Because we know if someone has an off day, there’s someone who will step up and be strong for us.
“I’ve never had this kind of depth on a team.”
The depth doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.
Kingfisher Middle School girls once again took first place in their meet as well.
Seventh grader Scout Snodgrass won the onemile race in 7:04.59.
She was second at Watonga after setting too fast a pace early.
“I told her to just stay with the leader for this race,” Lafferty said. “Just stay with her and then I promise you’ll out-run her at the end and that’s exactly what she did.”
All seven of Kingfisher’s runners in the team standings were among the top-14. The five that counted were first, third (Lily Lunsford), fourth (Liberty Starr), seventh (Natalie Garrett) and 12th (Talor Mecklenburg).