Sapulpa XC teams looking good early
Posted on 09/11/2018
(SPS) - The boys and girls of the Sapulpa Cross Country teams have put up some impressive performances early in the 2018 season.

It started on Sept. 1 at the Sapulpa Invitational when 25 teams met at Westside Sports Complex to open the season. The Chieftains took first place in Varsity Girls and Junior High Girls divisions, while the boys of Varsity and Junior High both placed second. Stailee Heard and Kyle Haught won their divisions. Overall, Sapulpa runners claimed 34 medals across eight divisions.

View the Sapulpa Invitational race results.

Up next, the Broken Arrow Tigers XC Meet on Sept. 8.

The Varsity Girls finished fourth in the 5k. Stormie Ramsey and Sydney Krehbiel crossed the line in 7th and 8th place, respectively. Leona Crowl and Demi Ernst finished with personal best times, and Khaige English, despite battling pain, pushed through to be the team’s 5th point scorer.

On the boys' side of the Varsity team, Caiden Henderson (17:56), Mason Quinton (17:57), and Evan Quinton (17:58) ran personal best times in the 5k competition. All three placed in the top 23, of a field that included 140 runners.

“I'm not sure they expected to see those times this early, but based on how they've performed in practice, we were not surprised at all,” said Coach Debbie Williams. “We really think, weather permitting, we will see those times drop even more this upcoming weekend.”

Mason and Quinton were the two fastest freshmen runners and fellow 9th-grader Edgar Borjas, who ran the 3.1 miles in under 19 minutes, were three of the top 6 freshmen. The boys team looks to be set for the next few years as Coach Williams expects Micah Redman, Desmond Bible, and Jordan Williams to challenge each other for the final three spots on this team.

Over on the Junior High side, the girls continued their undefeated season at Broken Arrow.

Stailee Heard led the way, winning the 1.55-mile race in 9:34 to maintain her spotless record. The Lady Chieftains had nine runners place in the top 32 including Taylor Bilby and Jasmine Brown who finished 8th and 15th, respectively.

“I’m so impressed with the work ethic and the way these young ladies push each other to be better runners and better people week in and week out,” said Coach Jeremy Lusk. “We have great leaders and runners who know what it takes to compete and be champions.”

The boys of the Junior High squad finished 5th and were paced by AJ Jernegan who finished third overall in the 1.55-mile race. Jaxson Lary crossed the line in 18th to give the team two top 20 finishers.

Coach Lusk said Jayden Williams, who’s battling through pain, and 6th-grader Kyle Haught will help the team through the end of the season.

View the Broken Arrow XC Meet results.

Up next is the Southern Stampede at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin for the top Chieftain runners. The remaining Varsity, Junior Varsity, and 6th-grade teams will compete at the Sand Springs Case Cross Country Invitational. Both competitions are Sept. 15. The 7th and 8th-grade teams have the weekend off.

Cross Country Junior High team pose with 1st place trophy for Sapulpa Invitational

Cross Country Varsity Girls team pose with 1st place trophy for Sapulpa Invitational

Cross Country Junior High Boys team pose with 2nd place trophy for Sapulpa Invitational

Cross Country Varsity Boys team pose with 2nd place trophy for Sapulpa Invitational