Lady Jackets take 3rd at state

Small tears of disappointment welled in their eyes on the afternoon of competition, but a day of contemplation helped bring perspective to the Kingfisher girls cross country team.

The Lady Jackets on Wednesday took third place in the Class 4A state cross country meet to earn a spot on the podium at Edmond Santa Fe High School.

It’s the second-best finish in school history.

“Placing third in 4A is a huge accomplishment,” said KHS cross country coach Kerni Lafferty “It was the toughest of all classes this year.”

That was the message Lafferty gave her runners at the end of the race as many were showing their disappointment.

“I think a lot of us girls were disappointed just because we knew we could’ve done better, but considering the circumstances I am very proud of my team and all we have accomplished this season,” said senior Zoey Evans.

KHS entered the day ranked third behind Plainview and Byng.

That’s the way the team standings played out as Plainview won the title with just 87 points.

Byng was the runner-up with 128 and KHS next with 153. Community Christian took fourth with 167.

“We ran with a tremendous amount of heart and guts, which is all we can ask of our runners,” Lafferty said.

Perhaps nobody exemplified that more than Evans.

As is usually the case, Evans was near the lead pack along with junior teammate Katon Lunsford.

Then disaster struck.

“About a half-mile into the race, I fell to the ground and it took me about five seconds to get back up because girls kept running over me,” Evans said.

By the time she was able to get back to her feet, she was well behind the front pack.

“I tried to catch back up to Katon and the other top runners, but I could never close that gap,” Evans said.

She eventually finished the 3,200 meter course in 13:19.38 and in 31st overall place. For the team standings, she placed 25th.

“I’m proud of Zoey for finishing where she did despite falling,” Lafferty said. “She could have just given up at that point, but she kept pushing herself to try to get back in the race. Katon took on the responsibility of leading the team the rest of the way.”

Lunsford was the first Lady Jacket to cross the line in 12:54.11, good for 20th overall and 17th in the team count.

“The race felt a lot different than the races this season,” Lunsford said. “It was a very quick race and my coaches had told me that a lot of girls (on other teams) had seen improvement in their times throughout the season, so I knew that it would be a very competitive race, whereas most of our meets were not as high level as state.”

Not only was the race more competitive, but the course had its own challenges.

“Santa Fe is a different type of course than we are used to running. It’s very narrow with quick turns,” Lafferty said. “Physically the kids were ready to run; I’m just not sure I mentally prepared them enough for this type of course and race.”

Senior Andrea Becerra was two spots behind Evans. She crossed the line in 13:21.46.

“Yesterday was just a tough day,” Becerra said. “Most of us were just nervous and I think it got to us.”

Becerra made huge strides her senior season and not only cemented her spot on the team, but became one of its most consistent performers.

“We wanted to accomplish something good this year,” she said. “So I wanted to make sure I was part of it. I really tried to work my butt off so I could be in the top-seven.”

Freshmen were next as Emmy Lunsford was 46th (39th) and Chesni Newkirk 52nd (45th) to give KHS its five scoring places.

Jacee Mueggenborg, a sophomore, was 81st (66th) and Dani Rios-Ramirez 117th (97th) in the 160-person race.

Lafferty said the work of the final five runners pushed the Lady Jackets to the bronze medal.

“Andrea, Emmy, Chesni, Jaycee and Dani worked their tails off trying to pass people so we would have a chance at the podium,” Lafferty said. “I have to remember that with the exception of Zoey and Katon, the rest of the runners are relatively new to this type of competition.”

Despite besting 18 other teams, the Lady Jackets walked off the podium still showing their disappointment.

“I just think for the most part, most of us were/are disappointed because we could’ve done better,” Becerra said. “But we all got to the point where we know we can’t change it and it happened for a reason.”

Lunsford will be the hands-down leader heading into her senior season. Still, she aspired for just a little more in her last junior race.

“We had very high expectations for ourselves individually and as a team. We were hoping to have a few of our girls medal and we were trying to win a state title,” Lunsford said.

“After a day, though, a lot of us realized that expectations are great goals to chase after, but receiving third is nothing to hang our heads about.”

Evans doesn’t get “next year” in a KHS cross country uniform and admitted Wednesday’s fall “definitely wasn’t the way I wanted my last meet to go.” However, the senior garnered her own perspective afterward.

“I think a lot of us girls were disappointed just because we knew we could’ve done better,” she said. “But considering the circumstances, I am very proud of my team and all we have accomplished this season.”

The Lady Jackets competed in eight meets this season and won six of them, including a regional for just the third time in the program’s history.

The third-place finish sits behind only the team’s state title in 2018 in which Evans and Lunsford played major roles.

“Third place definitely isn’t first place,” Evans said. “But I am still very happy that we were able to pull that off.”

The KHS boys entered state ranked 17th in Class 4A.

They finished three spots better once the race had concluded.

“I’m just super proud of the way they finished this year,” Lafferty said of the Jackets.

Senior Jayden Newkirk paced the team as he has all season.

He finished the 5K course in 17:56 and placed 25th out of 164 runners.

His team placing was 20th.

“Jayden ran a very good race. Again, Class 4A is extremely tough, especially for the boys,” Lafferty said. “He had a great race plan and stuck with it. He tends to pick people off in the second mile and try to maintain placement, which he did.”Connor Hine was 56th (48th), Xavier Ridenour 99th (84th), Braden Burns 102nd (87th) and Coleman Gilles 141st (123rd).

Oklahoma Christian School won the 4A title with 79 points. Community Christian was second with 102 and Lincoln Christian third with 111.

KHS scored 362 to finish among the middle-third of the 21-team field.

Class 3A

Taking part in their first cross country state meet in four years, the Hennessey girls finished 13th in the Class 3A race.

The meet was won by Regent Prep, which had just 54 points. Cascia Hall was a distant runner-up with 109.

Hennessey’s 323 points was led by freshman Taryn Jech’s 33rd (29th) place finish.

Sol Tarango, a senior, was 40th (36th).

Class 2A

Lomega was making its eighth straight appearance in the 2A boys field and took 16th place.

The Raiders’ Hector Rivera was 43rd (33rd) out of 158 runners.

Jesse Johnston was 87th (65th) and Dilon Fisher four spots back of Johnston.