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Lady Eagles’ Class 2A State Champ CC Squad Honored by Rep. Sanders
(Above) Oklahoma RepresentativeMike Sanders (far left) honors the Lady Eagles’ varsity cross country 2019 Class 2A State Championship squad on Friday, May 8 in front of Watonga High School. From second on left to right: junior Caton Cope, head coach Jim Bob Coleman, senior Halie Elston, junior Jocelyn Turney, junior Riley Coleman, junior Caitin Parker, senior Emma Hussey, senior Cacie Gorman, freshman Shawnda McMillen, sophomore Landri Hussey, freshman Julien Roman Nose, sophomore Ady Hightower, and freshman Mason Estep are all pictured and honored for their memorable 2019 season.Photo Courtesy of Mike Sanders Watonga Republican
Last Friday afternoon, the Lady Eagles’ varsity cross country team was honored by Oklahoma Representative Mike Sanders in front of Watonga High School for their 2019 Class 2A State Championship.
“I had originally planned to honor these State Champions at the State Capitol but due to the health pandemic I changed plans,” Sanders said. “I came to Watonga to honor these amazing girls on their accomplishments on and off the field. So proud of these young women and congratulations to Coach Coleman on the job he did.”
Back on Oct. 26, 2019, the Lady Eagles won their first cross country title since 2009 (fourth overall) and gave Watonga head coach Jim Bob Coleman his first championship title at the helm of Watonga cross country.
The Lady Eagles won a thrilling championship title as Watonga edged the Hooker Lady Bulldogs by the slimmest of margins in Shawnee, as Watonga’s top five runners’ combined score of 52 was just enough to win the state title over Hooker’s 53 points.
For much of the race, Lady Eagles’ standout junior runner Riley Coleman was leading the 3200-meter race at Gordon Cooper Technology Center that consisted of a field of 154 state qualifiers at the girls’ Class 2A level.
Coleman still had a stellar race and finished roughly six seconds behind Weaver in second place as the individual state runner-up with a great time of 12:13.49, more than 25 seconds ahead of the thirdplace finisher in Cheyenne High School junior runner Hayley Whiteneck.
Lady Eagles’ junior runner Jocelyn Turney was the second runner to cross the finish line for Watonga’s varsity squad in 12th place, which earned her a medal for finishing in the top 15 with Coleman.
Watonga’s third, fourth and fifth place runners all finished in the top 30 to earn the Lady Eagles a great score of 52 for the state title.
Lady Eagles’ junior runner Caitin Parker finished in 16th with a time of 13:30.47, senior Emma Hussey in 23rd with a time of 13:45.95 and sophomore Landri Hussey in 28th place with a time of 13:48.44.
The Hussey sisters were especially clutch in Watonga’s state title, as both Emma and Landri passed multiple runners on the final stretch before the finish to help improve the Lady Eagles’ score in the team competition.
Watonga freshman Shawnda McMillen finished right behind Landri in 29th place with a time of 13:48.97, while senior Halie Elston finished in 59th place with a mark of 14:16.47.
The Watonga cross country and track programs are in fantastic hands with Coleman and should compete for Oklahoma state championships for years to come.
As far as current Watonga High School sports and what the OSSAA announces regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, more updates regarding Eagles’ and Lady Eagles’ varsity athletics will come in future issues of the Watonga Republican.
Andrew Salmi can be reached at Sports@WatongaRepublican.com