Meet At OBU One Of The Most Competitive Of The Season
In one of the most competitive meets of the season, Sulphur cross country teams each enjoyed an outstanding overall performance, the boys 2nd in 16-team field, and girls sweeping to their third consecutive championship in a 10-team field. The event was held at OBU in Shawnee last Saturday.
The Dog’s Morgan Brown was the lone Sulphur boy’s medalist with a sixth place finish, crossing the finish line with a 16:46 time.
“Morgan had an outstanding race and is running with a lot of confidence right now,” said coach Emile Heitland. “In a highly competitive field that included multiple state placers from last year, he positioned himself early with the lead pack and held strong with them throughout the entire race. His performance showed both composure and grit against top-tier competition.”
Heitland said heading into the race, several on his team were dealing with injuries, including Noah Heitland who was sidelined with a knee injury and Keaton Seitz, who suffered a sprained ankle during a Friday workout.
“I didn’t expect Keaton to race,” said Heitland. “But on Saturday morning, he showed up, went through his warm-up, and told me he was ready to go. I was incredibly impressed by his toughness and determination. Not only did he compete with a sprained ankle, but he also delivered an outstanding performance matching his personal record (PR) time. It was a gutsy effort that really stood out.”
Finishing behind Brown in race were Calvin Downey, Seitz, Korbin Mayo, Andrew Hail, Zak Kirk, and Landy DeArman.
Nine team members ran PR times at the event, said Heitland.
Junior High Boys Win 9th In the junior high division, the boys placed 9th out of 15 teams and 160 runners.
The Dog’s Jake Mann captured a first place win and PR of 11:09.
Other top performers for Sulphur were: Dautry Smith, Skyler Sloan, Levi Walther, Trypp Pulis and Eli Wright.
Girls Win Third Consecutive Meet Title Coach Kari Seitz’s Lady Bulldogs swept to their third consecutive meet title of the season, beating their nearest rival by 50 points with four individual medalists. There were 114 runners in the high school girl’s division competing in the OBU event.
Jayden Lee led the Sulphur girls with a third place effort and set a new PR and was a medalist performer. She was followed by Hannah Hail - 11th, a medalist who tied her PR, Rory McMillan - 12th, a medalist with a new PR, and Paxtyn Hiser - 16th, and a medalist.
“The girls team had another great day,” said Seitz. “They have won three meets in a row now, which is a great confidence builder and affirmation for them that all their hard work so far is paying off. They have set big goals for themselves and their team, and each week they continue to impress me with their determination to get better.”
Lee broke her own school record, again. She ran a time of 11:53, and improved her previous PR time by eight seconds.
“Jayden is very motivated to keep improving each week and it shows,” said Seitz.
Hannah Hail, Rory McMillan, and Paxtyn Hiser also won medals Saturday, finishing close together in tough competition. “These three girls continue to run strong each week and it’s great to watch them push each other,” said the coach. “Rory spent most of the 2024 cross country season out with an injury, so it’s good to see her running strong and improving each week. I’m very proud of how all of the girls ran at OBU on Saturday and I’m excited to see how much they continue to improve in the coming weeks.”
Junior Girls Win 2nd
In the junior high division, Sulphur narrowly missed winning the meet and settled for second place by a mere one point. They set 13 PRs in the process.
Leading the team with a first place performance was Jozi Gilliam. She was followed by Gabbi Pettigrew - 2nd, and Huntley Hatfield - 3rd.
“Jozi, Gabbi, and Huntley dominated the race, coming in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in a field of 136 runners. I’m very proud of how much the junior high girls continue to learn and improve each week.
Other junior high performers were: Cadence OKelley - 39th, Brantlie McCracken - 45th, Adalyn Whitehead - 53rd, and Sophie Webb - 69th.
