Small School Round Up Week 5
A
Boys
A couple of marquee match-ups happened over the past week both involving my alma mater. First, we head to Sweetwater in West Central Oklahoma where Sweetwater won a close battle over Mooreland 22 to 24 with another strong contender in Hollis finishing 3rd overall. 5 days later we head up to Laverne where Mooreland defeated Laverne in what was essentially a dual meet between the two squads. However, we can't forget about the Southwest Covenant boys who finished second at the Bethany meet with their 4th man at 18:11. As it stands now SW Covenant 1st Sweetwater and Mooreland 2 and 3 with Hollis and Laverne at 4 and 5. Bly Frieouf still the man to beat.
Girls
Southwest Covenant is still the team to beat in the class A girls. Over the weekend they defeated some strong 3a and 4a squads with a 90 second spread a quick 13:33 average through 5 (they'll only be scored through 4 at state. Abby Gourd (Porter) continues to impress running 20:25 over 5k. I believe she is making a strong case to be a favorite
2A
Boys
Brayden Cowan is back to his winning ways winning at Hennessey. Although he has been a tad inconsistent this season I still believe he's the second-best individual in 2A. Hooker won at Beaver and much like the rest of 2a, not much to report. Regent Prep did not race.
Girls
Hooker Girls scored 19 at Beaver and Miley Holt (Oktaha) and Reese Coleman (Watonga) both continue to run under 13. That's all that happened nothing too shocking to report. Regent Prep did not race.
3A
Boys
Sequoyah Tahlequah is a team people should start to add to the discussion in class 3a. I believe their ceiling is likely 2nd or 3rd but nonetheless should be kept in mind after winning their home meet with a mid-17 average. Casady had a similar average without their #2 Sam Rhoades at Bethany.
Girls
I always appreciate when people more knowledgeable about a classification than myself teach me something about a class. I am also all for sharing knowledge the best I can, that being said I received an email packed full of info about 3a girls I will share here:
"Washington just beat
Casady in
Bethany and the
Jones girl you are high on was at
Kingfisher last year. The Washington girl also beat the Jones girl at
Carl Albert." "
With Metro getting moved to 4a they will have to compete with a strong Pauls Valley team. The 3a girls title will be up for grabs. Chisholm's best girl Addison Pecha looks to be recovering from injury. Bethel's best girls transferred to Choctaw for her senior season. Cascia Hall may be the front-runner for the title followed by Chisholm and Bethel. Washington lacking girls in the 4 & 5 spots won't be a serious contenders. 3a girls will crown a new champion." - Anonymous (Unless they reads this want me to share). Again I appreciate people teaching me about things I have less knowledge of.
4A
Boys
In the 4A boys race not a lot has changed. Individually I still believe in the same teams and guys *except Zachary Williams (Cache)* who I have a friendly bet with over his performance at MSSU this weekend. What I do want to highlight are maybe some performances that would likely sneak past you at a glance. First up Perkins-Tryon who has been putting together a sneaky season and placed 4th at Choctaw defeated by 6A schools. They have a strong group of mostly 18-minute guys who I believe could be priming themselves for a possible top 3 finish if a Cache or Byng falters. Now for a more under-the-radar individual is Jayden Polk (Purcell) who, if I'm not mistaken only has one loss on the season with a PB of 16:22 at the OBU meet two weekends back. Until he races the other top guys in the division it will be hard to tell where exactly he ranks but I don't see him falling out of the top 5-7 individuals come November.
Girls
Much like the 4A boys I still believe the race will play out as I have discussed in previous iterations of this article. I want to highlight some who have flown somewhat under the radar. First the Cache duo of Amidat Olokunola and Kara Daniels trade positions seemingly every meet of which finishes ahead of the other but are always near the front regardless of who they are up against. They are the only two over 5000m who have run in the ballpark of Pauls Valley and Lincoln Christian top athletes. However, this duo likely won't affect team scoring unless Cache can field a full 5 girl roster at regionals. Shayne Vonfeldt of Bethany is a freshman and won her two opening races of her high school career. Currently holds a 12:20 PB and while that is a quick mark it may only place her just inside the top 7-10 at state in such a loaded year for the 4A girls.