OKLAHOMA STATE MEET

Noah Thayer Breaks Meet Record; Bella Nelson Leads Owasso Upset Of Piedmont For Third Straight Girls Title

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Noah Thayer can finally call himself a state cross country champion, and also the fastest in Oklahoma state meet history.

After finishing runner-up a season ago, at Saturday’s Class 6A state meet held at Edmond Santa Fe High, Thayer, a junior from Mustang, covered the course in a winning time of 15 minutes, 6.8 seconds to break the meet record, and win by nearly 20 seconds. 

In the 6A boys team race, Deer Creek continued to add to its impressive resume, easily winning for the second straight year with 69 points. The team was led by Ethan Stuart’s sixth-place finish (15:49.1) and had all five runners finish in the top 20. It was the program's 11th state title. 

The girls 6A race was all Owasso, as Bella Nelson, a senior, defended her individual title, winning in 17:27.40, guiding her team to a three-peat with 43 points.

Piedmont, ranked in the top 30 after a sensational run at the Chile Pepper XC Festival, finished second with 72 points.

The Bishop Kelley boys and girls swept the 5A titles. The boys were led by Eli Horeled’s second-place finish (15:42.31). Bishop Kelley finished with five runners in the top 16. The top finisher in 5A was Guymon’s Tesfaye Lire in 15:41.81. 

The Bishop Kelley girls were led by senior Gwenth Meyers’ victory as she won the race in 18:30.96, nearly 25 seconds faster than the field. The Comets placed three in the top 10. 

After moving up to 5A a year ago, Lincoln Christian is back in 4A and still winning. Both the boys and girls claimed titles again.

Sophomore Ty Brooks led the boys team with a second-place finish in 15:50.21, while four other teammates followed closely, finishing all in the top 13. Individually, senior Zachary Williams of Cache put down an impressive time of 15:35.5. 

In the girls race, Lincoln Christian made a strong statement with senior Baylee Woodrich (11:23.0) and sophomore Tennyson Housely (11:37.4) going 1-2 in the 3,200-meter race to lead the team to the state title. 

In 3A, the Cassidy boys took care of business defending their title from a year ago, putting up 57 points. Dickinson sophomore Landon Eubank won the race in 15:56.9.

Cascia Hall’s Ella Stoermer led her team to a 3A title as she won the race in 12:09.5. 

The Regent Prep boys team went 2-3-4 to score 34 points and win the 2A tile. Brayden Cowan of Watonga was first in 16:02.3. 

It was a close race for the 2A girls title, as Hooker narrowly edged out Regent Prep, 39-40 to win the title again. Hooker placed three runners under the top 10. Individually, Watonga senior Reese Coleman won with a time of 12:04.3. 

History was made in the Class A girls race as Southwest Covenant won the school's first championship in any sport. The team did so in convincing fashion, scoring 29 points with four runners in the top 13. Second place was Velma-Alma with 90 points. Boise City junior Mia Hegwood won the race in 12:32.16. 

Due to impending weather, the boys Class A race was postponed until Wednesday, Nov. 6. 

Team Champions 

Class 6A - Deer Creek (Edmond) 69 points, Owasso girls 43 points 

Class 5A - Bishop Kelley boys 37 points, Bishop Kelley girls 42 points

Class 4A - Lincoln Christian boys 38 points, Lincoln Christian girls 40 points 

Class 3A - Casady boys 57 points; Cascia Hall  girls 15 points

Class 2A - Regent Prep boys 34 points, Hooker girls 39 points 

Class 1A - Southwest Covenant girls 29 points (boys postponed due to weather)