Bronchos finish in top 5 after dark in Mustang

MUSTANG – The Bethany boys and girls cross country teams each earned third place in the small school division of the Mustang Harrier “Under the Lights” race Saturday (Aug. 31) at Wild Horse Park.

“I was extremely proud of the way all the kids ran at Mustang,” Bethany coach Zac Coulson said via text.

Freshman Shayne Vonfeldt, coming off a race win in her debut at Bridge Creek last Saturday, placed fifth overall in her first ever 5k race. Vonfeldt ran the the race in 20:17.01.

Two other Lady Bronchos finished inside the top 20 individually. Senior Gracie Sparks broke her personal record in the 5K by two minutes to finish 15th. Sparks ran the race in 22:47.78.

Newcomer Jocelyn Balderas placed 18th with a time of 23:15.05. Coulson said the freshman “looked phenomenal on her debut in a 5K.”

Sophomore Ava League ran five minutes faster than last year and was three spots away from a medal, finishing in 23:43.16 good for 28th place.

“I am so proud to see (Ava’s) hard work paying off,” Coulson said.

“I can tell how much the girls have improved, it’s remarkable to watch,” Coulson said. “These girls are going to be phenomenal in October when it matters the most.”

Sophmore Artur Calderon paced the boys squad, placing fifth in the small school division.

“I could see (the runners) got a little boxed in at the beginning and so his start wasn’t the best but he had a phenomenal and strong second half of the race,” Coulson said.

Calderon finished with a time of 17:46.03.

Sophomore Oliver Thompson (11th place, 18:32.66) and freshman Sayler Stayton (12th place, 18:33.03) finished less a second from each other.

“Another strong performance by them,” Coulson said.

Sophomore Clay Powell (34th place, 19:59.10) and freshman Aiden Donoghue (42nd place, 20:35.07) had “great nights,” Coulson said. The newcomers finished 35 seconds from each other.

“The boys have also shown growth already in these first two races,” Coulson said.

The teams “have fun with this meet,” Coulson said and the girls team dresses up for the event.

“They were hands down the best dressed for this meet. The atmosphere is so awesome with running under the lights, the food trucks and the music and Mustang drum line.”

Coulson, in his third year at Bethany, is pleased with his teams’ progress after two races.

“I’ve got the best job in the world!” Coulson said. “I love seeing these young runners find something inside themselves they didn’t believe they had.”

UP NEXT

Bethany hosts its own meet on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Eldon Lyon Park. The meet starts at 8:15 a.m.

BETHANY BOYS RESULTS (SMALL SCHOOL DIVISION)

PLACE	SCHOOL	AVG. TIME	SCORE
3	Bethany	19:05.17	98

PLACE	NAME	TIME
5	Artur Calderon	17:46.03
11	Oliver Thompson	18:32.66
12	Salyer Stayton	18:33.03
34	Clay Powell	19:59.10
42	Aiden Donoghue	20:35.07
66	Hunter Wyett	23:05.75
68	Ethan Fine	23:07.11