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Oklahoma 3A-4A-5A State Meet
Highlights & Photos
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007 at Mitch Park, Edmond, OK
HIGHLIGHTS & PHOTOS:
- 5A -- 4A -- 3A --
5A
- SO#9 Tulsa Union boys scored 39 for gold, the 1st in team history, with all 5 scorers in the top 15 and a 16:22 average. Jenks earned silver with 105, matching its 2006 finish, followed closely by Moore with 108, Broken Arrow with 109 and defending champ Mustang with 131 to round out the top 5.
Tulsa Union
(l to r) Coach Houltberg, Griffin Mason, Colin Whitsett, Alex Baker, Taylor Monaghan, David Jones, Steven Baker, Head Coach Mike Stanton, Coach Swanson, and Jordan Gullic in front
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- Tulsa Union OK jr Steven Baker, 4th last year and the #1 returnee, broke the tape in 15:51.75, ahead of Broken Arrow sr Ryan Farrar in 16:00.64, Tulsa Union jr Taylor Monaghan in 16:03.70 and Broken Arrow sr Mitch Johnson in 16:05.30.
Steven Baker
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- Edmond North girls captured its first team title with 67 points (8-10-13-15-21) and averaged 12:14. Westmoore placed 2nd with 91 (2-16-23-24-26), followed by Tulsa Union with 94, defending champ Jenks with 96 and Norman with 144 in 5th.
Edmond North girls (pictured at OSU Cowboy Jamboree)
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- Tulsa Union sr Sara Vaughn made it two in a row, posting a winning time of 11:33.48. Westmoore jr Katelin Cherry, second to Vaughn at state in 2006, then back and forth with her this season, claimed silver again in 11:46.66. Enid fr Rani Melvin took the bronze in 11:50.28.
Sara Vaughn with a commanding lead
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| Tulsa Union photos courtesy Kim Stanton
| | Sara Vaughn in the homestretch, with only Katelin Cherry in sight | 
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4A
- Deer Creek boys captured the 1st state title in team history just last year, but they didn’t waste any time getting #2, dominating this year with 17 points (1-2-3-5-6) and a 16:39 average. Western Heights was 2nd with 83, then Shawnee with 121 and Bishop Kelley with 123 in 4th.
"For the first time this season, we hit on all cylinders at the same time, same day, same race, and State was a pretty good choice, said Cach David Riden. "I anticipated a strong finish, but I never dreamed it would be that good. Our top 5 (Adam Young 1st, Dakota Buck 2nd, Jared Clark 3rd, Mitchell Moore 5th, and Eric Fairbairn 7th) all ran lights out and passed at least one runner over the last mile of the race for a near-perfect score. Jacob Mild 12th and William Kwendi 17th rounded out the placing for us. The first 5 were all under 17 minutes and qualify as All-Staters and will be running on November 17th in the Oklahoma-Arkansas All-Star Meet. Then they’re planning on running in the NTN Open race in Oregon."
| Deer Creek (pictured at OSU Cowboy Jamboree) |   | | |
- Deer Creek sr Adam Young, the #1 state returnee with a bronze in 2006, led the Antlers’ charge and earned individual honors in 16:15.60, followed by teammates soph Dakota Buck in 16:28.42 and jr Jared Clark in 16:42.00.
Coach David Riden said, "Adam Young has been battling mono-like symptoms for over 3 weeks now and was sleeping 12 hours a day heading into State, so I really thought he might not even be first runner on our team, much less be the State Champion. I mean he looked terrible all week. But he can be a pretty tough, determined kid and one gritty competitor when he sets his mind to it and that is what he did. He broke his main rival at about 1.5 miles and wasn't challenged until my sophomore Dakota (Buck) closed to within 3 seconds of him with 300 meters to go. Adam kicked and pulled away though."
- Bishop McGuinness girls struck team gold for the 18th time in the last 21 years, including the last 4, with 53 points (3-5-12-14-19) and a 12:25 average. Harrah placed 2nd with 59 and Bishop Kelley was 3rd with 101.
| Bishop McGuinnesss, with Coach Trevor Swink (left) | 
| photo courtesy Andrew Worthington
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- Bishop Kelley jr Andrea Lewis, in just her first cross country season, grabbed the individual crown in 11:43.67, ahead of Deer Creek soph Hillarie Kessler in 11:58.59 and defending champ Bishop McGuinness sr Molly Ferguson in 12:05.58.
"There was great competition from many schools, said Andrea Lewis. "The Deer Creek girl (Hillarie Kessler) and I pretty much ran the first mile together. About a mile and a half into the race I had about a 15-second lead on her and maintained that for the rest of the race. The competition was tough and pushed me to run my personal record of 11:43. The race was also satisfying for our team, placing third, and having 4 of our top 5 runners set PRs at State."
Andrea won the State 4A #1 singles tennis title in May, and hadn't run prior to this season. "To win state meant that all of the previous races throughout the season had prepared me for this one and paid off. I love the self-motivation and discipline that cross country requires. I also love that it is a sport where hard work pays off. I had mentally set a goal for myself at the beginning of the season and thanks to my coach, teammates, and family, I was able to accomplish it. It was a satisfying and rewarding experience and a feeling I will never forget."
| Andrea Lewis pushes the pace, as Hillarie Kessler gives chase | 
| | | | Andrea Lewis was alone near the finish | 
| Lewis photos courtesy David Phillips
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3A
- Madill boys claimed its 2nd team trophy in a row, scoring 37 (1-2-7-8-19) with a 17:04 average. Elk City was the runner-up again with 88, while Jay placed 3rd with 119 and Anadarko 4th with 120.
- Madill sr Isbek Salinas successfully defended his individual title, clocking 16:30.69, followed by jr teammate Jose Flores in 16:45.08 and Jay’s Robert Menchaca in 16:49.97.
Isbek Salinas 1st (middle), Jose Flores 2nd (right), Robert Menchaca 3rd
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- Madill girls made it 3 in a row, tallying 53 (1-8-10-11-23) with a 12:31 average. Seminole earned silver with 108, ahead of Jay with 125.
Madill, with Coach Ron Love
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- Madill soph Kadie Peoples, 6th as a freshman, moved to the front of the pack, posting a winning time of 11:47.00. Jay’s Talisa Budder placed 2nd in 11:53.85 and Victory Christian’s Whitney Brannan was 3rd in 12:02.02.
Kadie Peoples 1st (right), Talisa Budder 2nd
|  | 3A photos courtesy Ron Love
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Oklahoma 3A-5A State Meet homepage
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