KHS runs down Watonga team title

It may not make sense to a cross country outsider to hear that a Class 4A coach was going to judge her team’s status on how well it fared against a 2A team.

But Hooker - the twotime defending Class 2A state champs with five of its top-seven runners returning - isn’t your typical 2A team.

That’s why Kingfisher High School head coach Kerri Lafferty was elated late Saturday morning when results were posted to reveal the Lady Jackets edged Hooker by four points for the team title in the Watonga Cross Country Invitational.

“They are always a very deep and talented team,” Lafferty said. “We knew if we could compete with Hooker this early in the season that it was a sign our training was going well.”

Here’s your sign. KHS and Hooker dominated the top of the standings.

Seven of the first 10 runners – and 15 of the first 18 - to cross the finish line of the 2,500 meter course were from those two schools.

Lafferty gave her group of runners a game plan going in.

“We just told the girls to run relaxed and try to stay on the hip of one of Hooker’s runners and see how we finished at the end,” she said.

Easier said than done. Not only is Hooker deep with quality runners, but the Watonga course offers its own set of challenges.

“I think Watonga is our toughest course,” said Lafferty before the season, describing its patches of loose sand and steep hills.

But the Lady Jackets followed that plan.

Hooker’s Izabella Neville finished first, but Scout Snodgrass was able to take second, about 18 seconds ahead of third-place Reese Coleman of Watonga.

The Lady Bulldogs’ Ema Herald was fourth, but three Lady Jackets crossed the line before the next Hooker runner.

Lily Lunsford was fifth overall, but fourth in score placing. (Note: Watonga did not have a full team, so Coleman’s third-place finish didn’t count toward a team total therefore moving up the next several runners behind her by one place each when totaling team points.)

Kinley Taylor took seventh (sixth) and Peyton Walker was behind her.

Hooker’s Analisee Gonzalez was behind Walker by one position.

The Lady Bulldogs appeared ready to take the next two spots as Jenna Carter and Annda Deherrera were ahead of Kingfisher’s Liberty Starr with about 150 meters to go.

However, Starr ran down Deherrera and nearly caught Carter at the finish line to give KHS its final scoring place.

Starr’s finish put KHS at 30 points.

Deherrera was Hooker’s final scorer (12th in team scoring) as her team finished at 34 points.

Chisholm took third overall with 107 points.

Starr’s willingness to push herself at the end of a grueling race was indicative of much of the team, Lafferty said.

“I thought we ran with great mental toughness,” she said.

The standings also showed how important it is for each team member to finish as strong as possible.

“We obviously need to have strong runners with our first four,” said Lafferty, “but our fifth, sixth and seventh runners are just as important, if not more, when calculating team scores.”

Chesni Newkirk took 14th overall (13th) and held off a bevy of four Hooker runners to place right behind her.

Harper Evans was seventh among KHS runners and 22nd overall (16th).

There were 95 runners in the race. The top-30 individuals earned medals.

Among them were Emmy Lunsford at 24th, Terry Ann McCully at 25th and Zaylynn Lopez at 29th. Freshman Maya Haney just missed medaling with her 31st-place finish.

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High school boys were the first to compete this week and embarked on a 4,000 meter run.

Kingfisher junior Conner Askey was the top Yellowjacket finisher as he was 32nd in 15:24.97.

Wyatt Long took 44th, Alezandro Cuellar 67th and Brantley Johnson 113th.

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Kingfisher’s junior high girls were fifth overall with 107 points.

OKC Storm won the team trophy with 58, three better than Hooker.

Merritt was third with 82 and Watonga fourth with 100.

Seventh grader Hinsley Brodrick was tops among the Lady Jackets as she took 19th overall (13th score placing).

She ran the 1,735 meter course (just over one mile) in 7:37.65.

Also medaling were Ryan Farrar and Chloe Richardson. Ximena Ponce finished just behind Richardson.

There were 120 runners who competed.

Like the high school boys, the junior high boys didn’t have enough for a complete team.

The Jackets’ Chance Doyle was the top finisher at 34th place out of 125 runners.

Makaio McCully was 49th and sixth grader Channing Doyle 93rd.