The Edmond Sun
EDMOND —
The Cowboy Jamboree cross country meet in Stillwater on Saturday was a big success for one local team — and for one local family.
Former Edmond North runner Hannah Helker, a sophomore at Oklahoma Baptist University, won the 5K college division of the jamboree with a time of 18:15. Her race featured more than 200 girls.
About five hours later, Hannah’s little brother Jed Helker topped about 165 other boys in the junior high race. The Central Middle School seventh-grader covered the two miles in a time of 10:55.
Hannah was part of North’s 2009 state champion cross country team and won several individual and relay track titles. At OBU, she was named the NAIA National Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week Sept. 12 after leading the Lady Bison to a season-opening victory at the NCAA Division II Central Oklahoma Land Run on Sept. 8.
Jed’s win comes a week after he took the junior high 3200 meter title at the Mustang Broncos Harrier Invitational.
Antlers best of Edmond-area runners
The Cowboy Jamboree field included male and female cross country programs from four different states in a combination collegiate, high school and junior high meet across all classifications. The meet featured more than 6,000 runners in divisions of university, junior college/college, junior high and three high school divisions — 6A, 4A-5A and A-3A.
The Deer Creek boys team took first place in 4A-5A, for the Edmond area’s only high school title. The Antlers placed no runners in the top seven, but all five team runners finished in the top 21, led by Bryce Balenseifen (17:04, eighth) and Coleman Crawley (17:27, ninth). Kyle Larson (13th), Devin Provines (17th) and Chandler King (21st) rounded out the Antler leaders. Grant Schatzman and Wyatt Bradbury ran as individuals for Deer Creek.
In 6A, the Edmond North boys put in a third-place showing, followed by Edmond Memorial at fifth and Edmond Santa Fe in 14th.
Memorial’s Alex Shook paced the Bulldogs at 10th place, North’s Austin Mayer was 15th and Tanner Bailey led Santa Fe at 46th.
Bentonville, Ark., won the boys 6A race.
Oklahoma Christian Academy fielded a boys team that ran 14th in the A-3A division, topping several larger schools in the 21-team event.
North’s Smith leads Edmond girls
Edmond North’s Jaci Smith turned in the city’s top individual performance at the jamboree, placing fifth in the 6A girls 5K.
North’s Jenny Mehner followed in 17th, and Santa Fe’s Rachel Davis was 38th to lead the Lady Wolves.
Jenks won the team title, while North and Santa Fe finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
The Deer Creek girls were 10th in 4A-5A, paced by Sheri Snyder at 38th.
76th Annual Cowboy Jamboree — Local results
TEAM RESULTS: 6A GIRLS
9. 236 Edmond North (12:20.08 1:01:40.40 1:40.58)
1 5 Jaci Smith 11:26.30
2 16 Jenny Mehner 11:51.52
3 37 Kelsey Hicks 12:23.35
4 79 Ashley Gill 12:52.35
5 99 Reilly Emerson 13:06.88
6 (116) Allison Hunt 13:19.55
7 (118) Kelsey Castillo 13:20.88
10. 289 Edmond Santa Fe (12:35.80 1:02:59.04 0:28.78)
1 33 Rachel Davis 12:18.18
2 58 Allison Tompkins 12:34.87
3 61 Kysha Miller 12:38.06
4 65 Miranda Wolf 12:40.97
5 72 Karlie Hamman 12:46.96
6 ( 88) Julissa Tamez 12:57.91
7 (131) Madison Forman 13:34.83
TEAM RESULTS: 6A Boys
3. 133 Edmond North (17:05.36 1:25:26.83 0:36.30)
1 15 Austin Mayer 16:51.02
2 18 Justin Smith 16:56.66
3 26 Tyler Francis 17:05.77
4 27 Blake Crouch 17:06.06
5 47 Zach Verdea 17:27.32
6 ( 70) Davis Crawford 17:55.53
7 (158) Tylur Furr 19:13.52
5. 182 Edmond Memorial (17:14.19 1:26:10.97 1:13.94)
1 10 Alex Shook 16:31.17
2 23 Chris Ebert 17:02.10
3 32 Gabe Thompson 17:10.45
4 58 Ryan Nielson 17:42.14
5 59 Harrison Pierce 17:45.11
6 ( 89) Grey Howard 18:09.07
7 (143) Seth Hammond 18:53.75
14. 402 Edmond Santa Fe (18:00.51 1:30:02.55 0:49.64)
1 46 Tanner Bailey 17:26.83
2 76 Christian Powell 18:00.63
3 87 Stephen Snider 18:08.25
4 90 Kendall Freeman 18:10.37
5 103 Colton Pearson 18:16.47
6 (179) Matt Guidice 19:55.11
7 (181) Neil Knight 19:58.01
TEAM RESULTS: 4A-5A GIRLS
10. 336 Deer Creek (13:25.09 1:07:05.49 0:53.54)
1 38 Sheri Snyder 12:56.43
2 58 Kayla Martin 13:17.74
3 63 Rachel Lewis 13:18.92
4 85 Katy Ewing 13:42.43
5 92 Kaleigh Ewing 13:49.97
6 ( 96) Anne Nigg 13:53.14
7 (128) Lillie Martin 14:40.02
TEAM RESULTS: 4A-5A BOYS
1. 63 Deer Creek (17:37.26 1:28:06.32 0:58.84)
1 7 Bryce Balenseifen 17:04.22
2 8 Coleman Crawley 17:27.82
3 12 Kyle Larson 17:37.45
4 16 Devin Provines 17:53.77
5 20 Chandler King 18:03.06
6 ( 42) Grant Schatzman 18:37.40
7 ( 77) Wyatt Bradbury 19:11.54
TEAM RESULTS: A-3A BOYS
14. 388 Okla. Christian Acad. (20:26.68 1:42:13.40 1:20.75)
1 54 Josh Howard 19:53.12
2 68 Alec Bingham 20:07.55
3 75 Caleb Kingsley 20:20.08
4 90 Seth Howard 20:38.78
5 101 John Zehr 21:13.87
6 (132) Blake Bryan 25:33.55
