EDMOND – Both Bethany’s boys and girls cross country squads finished fifth in 4A at the Edmond Santa Fe Pre-State Meet Saturday (Sept. 21).

With a late September heat wave pushing temperatures into the upper-90s, the start times were moved up from the early afternoon into the morning. Even with the change, Bethany coach Zac Coulson said the heat made an impact.

“I truly believe in my three years at Bethany, this was the hottest race,” Coulson said via text. “Humidity was too high.”

Sophomore Artur Calderon finished 13th with a time of 18:17.13
“(Artur) ran really well in the heat,” Coulson said. Fellow sophomore Oliver Thompson finished 23rd at 18:57.27. Both earned medals.

Freshman Shayne Vonfeldt was in second place with 800 meters to go when she got heat exhaustion. Coulson said she had to be pulled off the course.

Senior Gracie Sparks finished 15th with a time of :13.51.25.

“Gracie ran a smart and great race in the heat,” Coulson said. “The Santa Fe course is fast, but today if you went out too fast, the heat caught up to you.”

Freshman Jocelyn Balderas finished 22nd with a time of :14:10.36. Junior Ava league placed 27th (:14:21.94) . With those results, the three girls earned a medal.

“I told all the runners that today wasn’t about setting PRs (personal records). It was about being better mentally, and shows the importance of hydration,” Coulson said. “Since we have so many young runners, it’s important for them to learn each race, and why in cross country it isn’t about time, it’s about place. It was hot for every runner. So who is more mentally tough, and who is better hydrated.
And today all these runners learned the value of both.

“I am extremely proud of them all! “

UP NEXT

Bethany has a little bit of a break before the last meet of the regular season, the Norman Invitational on Oct. 5.

EDMOND SANTA FE PRE-STATE MEET (4A)

GIRLS TEAM SCORES

PLACE	SCHOOL	AVG. TIME	SCORE
1	Byng	13:34.87	60
2	Kingfisher	13:54.64	77
3	Plainview	14:03.90	90
4	Cleveland	14:12.09	108
5	Bethany	15:12.09	161

GIRLS INDIVIDUALS

PLACE	NAME	SCHOOL	TIME
15	Gracie Sparks	Bethany	13:51.25
22	Jocelyn Balderas	Bethany	14:10.36
27	Ava League	Bethany	14:21.94
47	Sonya Murphy	Bethany	15:48.69
64	Hattie Adkins	Bethany	16:58.23

EDMOND SANTA FE PRE-STATE MEET (4A)

BOYS TEAM SCORES

PLACE	SCHOOL	AVG. TIME	SCORE
1	Byng	17:49.65	46
2	Plainview	18:50.99	103
3	Sulphur	18:52.27	107
4	Crossing Christian	19:28.63	147
5	Bethany	19:55.14	174

BOYS INDIVIDUALS

PLACE	NAME	SCHOOL	TIME
13	Artur Calderon	Bethany	18:17.13
23	Oliver Thompson	Bethany	18:57.27
47	Clay Powell	Bethany	20:24.81
57	Aiden Donoghue	Bethany	20:50.46
61	Salyer Stayton	Bethany	21:06.05
111	Ethan Fine	Bethany	23:46.49
113	Hunter Wyett	Bethany	24:00.63