MOORE — The Westmoore girls cross country team won its second meet in a row Saturday at the Edmond Dog Pack. Or did they?
Dog Pack officials split the girls side into two divisions. In the varsity group, the participants ran the standard 3,200 meter race while the ‘Elite” division ran a 5K.
“They are trying to see if schools are willing to switch to the longer distance,” Westmoore coach Laura Clay said. “That was the only factor in distinguishing between the “Elite” race. The other race was the 3,200 and we chose that one because that is the distance and course for the state meet and I want them to be on that course as much as possible.”
The Jaguars came in first in the varsity division with 21 points. They held off Norman High, which took second with 46 points.
“I think we ran really well,” Clay said. ‘We went from 105 degrees at Norman to 60 degrees at Edmond. They adjusted to both. Most ran their personal best times for that course.”
While the Jaguars and Tigers chose the varsity level, other dominant cross country programs such as Mustang and Edmond North took on the Elite level. It kept Westmoore from running against several of the runners they will see at the state meet.
Despite, Clay liked the fact her team finished with five of the top seven placers. That’s a recipe for success no matter what type of race it is.
“I really think so,” Clay said. “We have to run together as a pack and continue to push each others times.”
Alex Scott led the jaguars with a second place finish. Her time of 12:33 was 39 seconds behind Norman’s Hayley Redwine. The rest of the top 10 finishers include Shelby Miller (3), Savannah Waddell (4), Amber Durrett (5) and Ashtyn DeRoin (7).
Amanda Kirby had the fast time for Moore High at 13:33 and finished in 15th place. Southmoore’s Destiny Russell came in 17th with a time of 13:37.
As a team, the SaberCats nabbed 5th with 156 points and Moore 7th with 191.
On the boys side, Westmoore’s Alex Davis was the highest placer for all area runners at 18th. He ran the 5K in a time of 17:16 as the jags took fifth as a team.
“He is running faster than this time last year and we had six guys under 18 so that was a great effort on the entire varsity’s part,” Clay said.
Teams have only three meets left before Mid-State Conference Oct. 9 and the start of the postseason. That includes heading to Mustang Thursday.
