Small School Round-Up Week 8

Ok Runner Classic
Collen McLain

Small School Round-Up Week: 8

A

Boys

Southwest Covenant won the OBU meet with a 19:08 minute average, Sweetwater won at Hobart with an 18:52 average and Mooreland won at OBA with a 19:16 average. All of these averages are through 5 athlete so take them with a slight grain of salt. So lets look at the 4s because ultimately it will come down to those athletes in 3 weeks time. Sweetwater #4 19:24, Mooreland #4 20:27, and Southwest Covenant #4 19:37. This does shake the rankings for me as I'd now put Sweetwater in first with Southwest Covenant closely behind. 

Girls

Southwest Covenant will win. I refuse to be a broken record.

2A

Boys

Lets start at the Pinnacle Conference with Regent Preparatory who placed second behind Lincoln Christian. Individually Clay Mckinney took down a deep field of athletes and confirms he is the heavy favorite although time was far from his personal best. I do not know the difficulty of the Pinnacle Conference course to know whether to attribute it to that or a tactical race strategy. Speaking of tactical racing Brayden Cowan finished second at OBA with a 16:14 time but 7 seconds behind Dathan Custar (Woodward) who was the 4th best Okie two weekends back at Cowboy Jamboree.

Girls

Reese Coleman (Watonga) confuses me. One week I think she is the 2a favorite the next week she is getting beat by freshmen one of which being her teammate. She will be there when it matters in 3 weeks do not count her out just yet. Watonga did get the win as a team at OBA. Moving across the north half of the state to the Pinnacle conference meet Regent Preparatory hopped back on course finishing second to a deep Lincoln Christian team and with their 5th crossing the line at 13:11 I believe they move into the lead in this division. A 12:17 from Lucy Odea confirms that OSU was just a tough day on the course and she should be considered the favorite in this division. 

3A

Boys

Are the Jones men contenders? 18:30 average with an 18:50 5th man I think they have a legitimate chance. Speaking of quick averages, Chisholm raced just down the road at OBU and a 17:55 average but they had a 19:21 5th man on a race track of a course. Casady still looks to be the favorites winning at Holland Hall yesterday a 16:40 average and wins over many strong 3a and 4a squads confirm they are on track to win it all again. Levi Haynes walked away with the individual W by 20-plus seconds I don't see him losing against any 3a athletes the rest of the year. A new athlete 3A fans should be aware of is Isaac Anderson of OCS who finished second beating many top 3A athletes. 

Girls

This division has consistently been the most difficult to pick a winner for but a few are starting to emerge. Lexington shows decent promise with their win at home last weekend over many strong 3a and 4a squads. However, their depth doesn't show me enough to call them a favorite. Prague is another team making a run at a title after their win at OBU last weekend. Kinley Taylor (Jones) continues to run fast on fast courses and in an individual race in which any number of athletes could possibly walk away champion, I am beginning to like her odds. Not to be outdone Kylie Nunneley (Bethel) won at OBU in a speedy 12:26 winning by over 30 seconds. 


4A

Boys

Jayden Polk... What a performance (assuming the course is legit). 15:32 would put him in contention to be a top 3 guy at the state meet. Zachary Williams (Cache) will win but there is about 4-5 guys who could be 2nd. One of which is Jayden Polk. In the team battle, Lincoln Christian confirmed they are the heavy favorites with all 5 of their men 17:03 or better at their conference meet defeating a strong Regent Preparatory team. 


Girls

Plainview is a team that I have neglected to speak on all season yet has a genuine shot at being a top 3 team and a potential dark horse. Plainview took the win in the small school division at OK Runner in Norman and with a 5th running 14:30 they are strong enough in the backend to possibly shake up the podium on their best day. Lincoln Christian women finally contested a 3200m dominating the Pinnacle Conference meet with their 5th crossing the line just over 13:00 minutes which assuming the course is a full 3200m I love their odds to win. a 5th that strong will be tough to beat even for a team like Pauls Valley. Speaking of Pauls Valley, they handily won the Waurika meet led by Kenzi Readnour below 12 minutes, and their middle 3 scorers ran similar marks to what Lincoln Christian ran over the weekend. Again their Achilles heel is their number 5 who ran roughly a minute slower than Lincolns 5 did (however I don't know how comparable the courses are.)