What You Might Have Missed Week 7
Tigers In The Desert
The Pryor Tigers made the trek west to the deserts of southern Arizona to compete in the Desert Twilight. While their performance at the meet doesn't mean much for their odds of 5A glory but what it does do I think is more important for their team culture. As a team which isn't a perennial power in 5A it is hard to get kids into the program and retain them long term to build the momentum and culture necessary for a team title. While Oklahoma's running culture is exponentially expanding its still not to the level of other states and only a few meets in the state have even half the energy of a national caliber meet. For the school and coaches willing to travel to a premier national meet thank you. It may not have been your intentions but you likely planted a seed of curiosity in the sport on a larger scale to your athletes and that may one day grow into making your athletes champions.
Speaking Of Tigers In 5A
The Guymon Tigers traveled down to the Texas Panhandle to drop some stellar marks. Tesfaye Lire ran the #2 5A performance of 15:41 and Adam Sium ran the #3 5A performance of 15:52. While the tigers may not have quite the depth necessary to win their 6th state title in the last ten years expect Lire and Sium to run with the likes of Charlie Ritchie (Bishop Kelley), Eli Horeled (Bishop Kelley) and Jacob Tiger (Tahlequah).
Staying 5A But Traveling North To Lawrence Kansas
With big meets happening at OSU and University or Arkansas many probably missed how Bishop Kelley got on at Rim Rock home of the KU Jayhawks. Lets start with the men who finished 18th as a team in the premier Kansas race of the weekend. I wouldn't say it was their fastest day on the course but Rim Rock is no RSU so don't sell your Bishop Kelley boys stock. As for the women they competed at the Chile Pepper Invite where they finished 14th as a team (4th Oklahoma school).
Back Where The Wind Comes Sweeping Down The Plains
Calliy Walker a Sophomore out of Cordell high school is a name to add to your radar for the 2A division. She dominated the Kingfisher meet winning by nearly a minute in 12:07. According to our database (which doesn't have all small school performances) this puts her in the lead time wise but earlier this season she was defeated by Reese Coleman (Watonga) and Izabella Neville (Hooker). Despite this I would start to add her into the conversation for title contender.
A New Contender In Class A Girls
I frankly don't have a front runner at the moment in this class although Allie Sheppard (Southwest Covenant) would have a strong argument for it with her 12:45 best. This week I believe this class gained a new contender to add to the mix with Talli Bledsoe from Woodland High School. Over the weekend she ran 12:46 which would put her firmly in second close behind Sheppard at least time wise. A lot can happen over the next month but sometimes the naivety of a freshman plays into their favor come state time.