CC Teams Open With A Bang

Boy’s Morgan Brown Wins 5th; Girl’s Jayden Lee Finishes 2nd

The Sulphur High School boys cross country team opened its season with an impressive thirdplace finish at the Bridge Creek Invitational, competing against a field loaded with some of the top teams in Oklahoma.

The meet featured seven teams that finished among the top teams in their respective classes at last year’s state championships, including Class 1A state champion Laverne, Class 4Astate runner-up Byng, Class 4A third-place Bridge Creek, Class 3A fourthplace Dickson, Class 4A fifthplace Crossings Christian, Class 2A fifth-place Minco and Class 5A seventh-place Blanchard.

Despite the extremely competitive field and a challenging course, Sulphur finished just nine points out of first place.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs was sophomore Morgan Brown, who finished fifth overall and earned a medal. Brown was only six seconds off his personal record while competing against a field that included last year’s Class 3A individual state champion, the Class 1Astate runner-up and several other state placers.

“Morgan ran a great race against a really tough field,” said head Sulphur coach Emile Heitland..“ He was only six seconds off his PR, so I was very excited to see us running so well this early in the year.”

Freshman Jake Mann also turned in an outstanding performance, finishing ninth overall and earning a medal. Mann ran 17:07 in his first high school cross country 5K.

“Jake ran a 17:07 for his first XC 5K ever, which is an incredible time for a freshman in his first race,” said Heitland.

Keaton Seitz and Calvin Downey continued Sulphur’s strong showing, finishing 19th and 20th, respectively. Both runners finished just a few seconds off their personal-best times.

The Bulldogs also received strong performances from several other freshmen competing in their first high school 5K. Banks Tucker finished 46th in 19:08, Dautry Smith placed 48th in 19:09, and Jagger Jennings finished 60th in 19:34.

All three times were encouraging starts for the freshmen in their first high school race.

“I was very excited with how several of our freshmen ran,” said Heitland. “Jake, Banks, Dautry and Jagger all ran very solid times for ninth graders at their first high school 5K meet.

“With 127 runners competing in the boys race, I really feel like our third-place finish provided an early indication of the potential of this year’s Bulldog squad.

“I was really encouraged with how we ran as a team,” “It was a pretty tough course and a very tough field.

“We need to build on this strong opening performance as we continue the 2026 cross country season.”

Senior Jayden Lee, Freshman Hensley Jarman Lead Lady Dogs In Strong Season Opening Effort

The Sulphur Lady Bulldogs opened their cross country season Saturday with an impressive performance at the Bridge Creek Invitational, competing against a highly competitive field that included two state championship teams and three of the top five Class 4A teams from last year’s state meet.

Leading the way for Sulphur was senior Jayden Lee, who finished second overall with a time of 12:19. Freshman Hensley Jarman also turned in a standout performance, placing fourth in 12:32 in her first high school race.

“I’m extremely happy with how the girls competed at our first meet of the season Saturday,” Sulphur head coach Kari Seitz said. “It was an unbelievably tough meet, with a new course and a very competitive field that included two state championship teams and three of the top five 4A teams from last year’s state meet.”

The Lady Bulldogs were also dealing with several runners competing in their first high school race, making the performances even more impressive.

Behind Lee and Jarman, Hannah Hail finished 16th in 13:01, followed by Jozi Gilliam in 26th at 13:48. Hoda Garner was 27th in 13:49, Huntley Hatfield finished 29th in 13:56, while Mady Hatfield and Kamree Quinten also competed for Sulphur with times of 14:56 and 15:50, respectively.

Seitz was especially pleased with the performances of Lee, Jarman and Hail.

“Jayden has worked extremely hard throughout the summer and is motivated to make the most of her senior season,” Seitz said. “It was great to see her open the season with such a strong race, and I’m confident she will continue to improve and get stronger as the season progresses.”

Jarman and Hail also made strong impressions. Jarman, a freshman, had put in significant mileage during the summer, while Hail, a senior, provided another strong performance for the Lady Bulldogs.

“Hensley and Hannah also ran outstanding races,” Seitz said. “Both Hensley and Hannah are talented, hardworking runners who have already shown they will be important contributors to the team. I’m confident they will continue to grow and make a big impact as the season moves forward.”

Seitz was equally encouraged by the efforts of Gilliam, Garner and Huntley Hatfield.

Saturday marked the first high school race for both Gilliam and Huntley Hatfield, and Seitz said both handled the challenge well despite still adjusting to the longer race distance.

“The longer race distance is something they are still getting accustomed to, but as they become more comfortable with the distance, I’m confident they will continue to improve and get stronger,” Seitz said.

Garner also had a notable day, posting a big personal-best time. Overall, Seitz said the opening meet provided plenty of reasons for optimism as the Lady Bulldogs continue their season.

“I’m very happy with how all the girls went out and competed in the first race of the season,” Seitz said. “Many of them worked incredibly hard throughout the summer to prepare for this, and I couldn’t be more excited and motivated to see how much they continue to improve as the season progresses.”

With a strong opening performance against some of the best competition in the state, the Lady Bulldogs will now turn their attention toward continued improvement as the cross country season moves forward.