Published: October 28, 2009 11:52 pm      

Lady Huskies gunning for state title

Kent Douglas knows a thing or two about state championship cross country teams. The Edmond North coach, who led the Lady Huskies to a state title and a pair of runner-up finishes each of the past three seasons, hasn’t been shy about their odds this fall.

“These girls know what it takes to win a state title,” Douglas said. “They have the confidence that when they get on the starting line, they know they’re not just there to finish, they’re there to win. And that takes experience, that takes victories, hard work and dedication, and they’ve put it in.”

The Lady Huskies have backed up their coach’s claims by mowing through their competition this fall. North has yet to lose to an Oklahoma school, and they don’t plan on snapping that streak when they race for the Class 6A state title Saturday afternoon at Mitch Park.

“I think we just all have the mindset that we want it so bad, and we can’t quit because our teammates will get mad,” junior Hannah Helker said.

Douglas believes the biggest advantage the Lady Huskies have is experience. They returned all but one runner from last year’s state runner-up squad, including four members of the ‘07 state championship team in Helker, Megan Watson, Ashley Webb and Anna Kimsey.

“We have the experience of being in that position, all these girls ran last year, they all know what it’s like,” Douglas said. “The experience is crucial. Some of these girls that I have were young then, but they know what it takes.”

And unlike many top teams, the Lady Huskies lack a true frontrunner. Last year at the state meet it was Webb leading the way with a third-place finish. This fall, Kimsey paced the North girls through the first five meets of the season, but Meredith Farley has finished the season strong. The sophomore has lead the way in North’s last three races, including a first-place finish at the Metro Conference meet.

“Now we’re all very tight, we’re not first, second and third all the time, but we’re definitely up there competing and we’re closer to each other,” Watson said. “It’s always changing, I’ve been in position where I was the seventh runner and the past one I was the fourth runner.”

While the Lady Huskies have made it look easy much of the season, they got a wakeup call from a familiar foe at Saturday’s regional meet. Westmoore, which beat the Lady Huskies by eight points at state last year, proved they are still a force in Class 6A, finishing just five points behind North.

“I think it shook us up a bit and reminded us of last year and what happened with Westmoore, we don’t want that to happen again,” said Watson about the regional meet.

Along with Westmoore, the Lady Huskies are expecting stiff competition from rivals Memorial and Santa Fe, as well as Tulsa Union, which won the east regional.

Memorial sophomore Tara Lewis will be one of the favorites to take the individual title, after winning regional crown with a blazing time of 12:01.

The state meet will begin at 10 a.m. with the 4A girls race. The event is set to conclude with the 6A boys race at 2:45 p.m.