BRIDGE CREEK – Bethany freshman Shayne Vonfeldt outran the competition in her first high school race, winning the 2-mile event Saturday (Aug. 24) at the Bridge Creek cross country meet.

Vonfeldt finished with a time of :12:48.93, well ahead of Norman North junior Hailey Jewell, who finished second with a time of :13:31.22.

“Shayne’s performance was incredible and a great way to start the season,” Bethany cross country coach Zac Coulson said via text. “She realizes that her gift is running, and she works incredibly hard to prepare herself for the challenge.”

Coulson describes Vonfeldt as “one of the sweetest kids you will meet,” but he says something changes “when the gun goes off to start the race.”

Coulson said that Vonfeldt “set the tone and pace from the beginning and was going to make others hurt to beat her.” Jewell and the rest of the field never got closer than 50 meters in the race.

“I always tell the kids ‘be comfortable being uncomfortable’ and Shayne pushes herself to be the best,” Coulson said.

Senior Gracie Sparks had a strong showing, finishing 16th with a :14:40.43.

“I can tell is going to be an amazing senior year for her,” Coulson said.

Sophomore Ava League wasn’t far behind Sparks in 18th place with a :14:52.26.

“It was her best race to date,” Coulson said of League. “I’ve seen a change in her hard work this summer and to see it pay off this morning was amazing to watch.

Coulson also highlighted sophomore Peyton Selsor (#19/:14:54.02) and freshman Jocelyn Balderas (#20/:14:54.50) saying that they “ran phenomenal races for their first high school races.”

Coulson noted that having five runners place in the top 20 was a big accomplishment.

As a team, the Lady Bronchos finished fourth, behind Norman North, Blanchard and Bridge Creek.

CALDERON PACES BETHANY BOYS

Sophomore Artur Calderon led the Bethany boys team in the 5K race, finishing seventh with a time of :17:37.44.

“This course was challenging and Artur looked strong,” Coulson said. “I am proud of him because he has bought in, he realized how talented he is as a runner and has worked incredibly hard this summer.”

Sophomore Oliver Thompson (#21/:18:31.61) and freshman Sayler Stayton (#23/:18:42.70) “also had great days racing,” Coulson said.

Coulson said he was proud of his squad and how they started the season with a challenging course.

“Having a very young team will come with a lot of learning and growing but I know they are ready to improve each week,” Coulson said.

“Today was the perfect example of a quote that I love ‘running isn’t always about winning, it’s about testing the limits of the human heart ‘ ” Coulson said.

UP NEXT

Bethany competes in the Mustang Night Meet next Saturday (Aug. 31) starting at 8 p.m.

WEST TEAMS FINISH 10TH AND 11TH

The Putnam City West boys team finished with 10th at the meet and the girls finished 11th.

Freshman Edward Cifuentes Morales led the Patriots with a 59th place finish and a time of :20:38.02. Junior Shiloh Nixon wasn’t far behind at No. 62 with a time of :20:40.89.

On the girls side, freshman Victoria Rolling finished 56th with a time of :17:44.11, tied with Harding Prep sophomore Tegan Ashley. Senior Daniella Ortiz finished 64th in :18:08.92.

WEST METRO BOYS – BRIDGE CREEK MEET

PLACE	SCHOOL	AVG. TIME	SCORE
6	Bethany	00:19:18.28	161
10	Putnam City West	00:21:04.22	289

POSITION	NAME	SCHOOL	TIME
7	Artur Calderon	Bethany	0:17:37.44
21	Oliver Thompson	Bethany	0:18:31.61
24	Salyer Stayton	Bethany	0:18:42.70
54	Clay Powell	Bethany	0:20:15.08
59	Edward Cifuentes Morales	Putnam City West	0:20:38.03
62	Shiloh Nixon	Putnam City West	0:20:40.89
67	Mario Romero Colis	Putnam City West	0:20:52.21
68	Gerado Ponce	Putnam City West	0:20:55.93
77	Aiden Donoghue	Bethany	0:21:24.60
96	Emmanuel Saucedo Castaneda	Putnam City West	0:22:14.04
97	Walter Amador	Putnam City West	0:22:16.89
100	Alexis Reyes	Putnam City West	0:22:23.59
126	Hunter Wyett	Bethany	0:23:52.60
127	Ethan Fine	Bethany	0:23:53.97

WEST METRO GIRLS – BRIDGE CREEK MEET

PLACE	SCHOOL	AVG. TIME	SCORE
4	Bethany	00:14:26.03	74
11	Putnam City West	00:18:50.13	293

POSITION	NAME	SCHOOL	TIME
1	Shayne Vonfeldt	Bethany	00:12:48.93
16	Gracie Sparks	Bethany	00:14:40.43
18	Ava League	Bethany	00:14:52.26
19	Peyton Selsor	Bethany	00:14:54.02
20	Jocelyn Balderas	Bethany	00:14:54.50
32	Sonya Murphy	Bethany	00:15:38.34
56	Victoria Rolling	Putnam City West	00:17:44.11
64	Daniella Ortiz	Putnam City West	00:18:08.92
71	Yorelmy Munoz Deleon	Putnam City West	00:18:27.49
73	Hattie Adkins	Bethany	00:18:37.08
79	Swan Buffalo	Putnam City West	00:19:35.12
84	Yamilett Avalos Putnam City West	Putnam City West	00:20:15.01
110	Nhi Vu	Putnam City West	00:29:09.18