EDMOND —
The Edmond Memorial boys cross country team took a big hit with the loss of senior Seth Hammond last month, but they never stopped fighting. The Bulldogs notched conference and regional titles the past two weeks. And they made a run at another Saturday afternoon, as they finished third at the Class 6A state meet at Santa Fe High School.
“We achieved our goals of winning Mid-State Conference and Regionals in Norman, and you get your hopes up that maybe you could ride it out at state,” Memorial coach David Sammons said. “And we knew going in that we didn’t have our No. 2 runner, and the other six pulled together, but we were just shorthanded. I’m proud of our guys for pulling together and competing hard.”
Memorial’s Alex Shook led all city boys with a sixth-place finish. The three-time all-state runner crossed the finish line in 16:00.
“I’m very happy to finish in the top 10 and I just enjoy running with all these guys,” Shook said.
Memorial's Gabe Thompson was all-state honorable mention with a 15th–place finish and a time of 16:22. Harrison Pierce was next for the ’Dogs in 32nd place at 16:42, followed by Chris Ebert in 34th place (16:44), Ryan Nielsen at 37th (16:47), Bryce Pickard (17:41) and Howard Grey (18:35).
Hammond, who finished sixth at state last year, was diagnosed with mononucleosis late last month and could not compete in the final few meets of the season.
Jenks held off Bishop Kelley for its first boys state title since 2003. The Trojans finished first with 51 team points, Bishop Kelley was second with 67 and Memorial came in third with 121. North was fifth with 165 and Santa Fe finished eighth with 207.
Stillwater’s Noah Gade ran to the individual title with a time of 15:30.
The Huskies were led by Austin Mayer, who finished in 19th place with a time of 16:29. Justin Smith and Blake Crouch also finished in the top 30 for North. Smith was 23rd (16:34) and Crouch ran 27th (16:39).
Christian Powell and Neil Knight paced the host Wolves. Powell came in 28th place with a time of 16:41.03. Knight was right behind in 29th place at 16:41.35. Tanner Bailey finished 39th in 16:50.
Memorial girls run 6th at state meet
The Edmond Memorial girls led the way for the city schools Saturday afternoon with a sixth-place finish at the Class 6A state meet at Santa Fe High School.
Jaclyn Hummel paced the Lady Bulldogs as she placed eighth with a time of 11:40.99. Clara O’Connor was close behind in 15th place with a time of 12:03, and Hannah Taff cracked the top 25, finishing 24th in 12:19.
Jenks edged Mustang by three points to win the 6A girls team title with 74 points. Norman North rounded out the top three with 94 points. Memorial finished sixth with 160, Santa Fe was next with 165 and North, which won a regional title a week ago, came in ninth place at 216.
Mustang’s Emily Helms won her second consecutive state title, and set a course record with a time of 11:11.
North coach Kent Douglas had high hopes heading into the final meet, but the Lady Huskies struggled on Saturday. Jenny Mehner led the way with a 17th-place finish in 12:05. Sophomore Jaci Smith, the team’s top runner this season, collapsed after crossing the finish line in 37th place, and was transported to the hospital by ambulance.
“We just fell apart today and didn’t run well at all,” Douglas said. “And Jaci had problems at state last year and had a problem this year. She had a tremendous season and state just overwhelms her I guess. And you hate to see that because she had such a great year.”
Santa Fe was led by Rachel Davis who came in 26th place with a time of 12:21. Carlie Hamman was 31st (12:26) and Miranda Wolf came in 38th (12:31).
