Guthrie Cross Country Head Coach Bryce Balenseifen could not ask for more from his athletes at the 2023 State Cross Country Championships as the Lady Jays for the second time in school history collected the silver trophy.
Lincoln Christian, a Tulsa private school, captured both the girls’ and boys state championships. The girls scored 45 team points compared to the Lady Jays’ 114 points.
“Second place is a great accomplishment,” Balenseifen said of his girl’s program which continues to search for their first-ever team state title.
“We have known for a long time that this girl’s group had a great chance to compete for the title. Every girl either ran their all-time personal best or their season’s best. At the end of the day, that’s about all you could ask for.”
Senior Kamryn Boller ran the fastest 5k time ever recorded by a Bluejay at the state meet. She finished her high school career with a fifth-place finish in a time of 19:19. A season ago she ran 19:44 for a seventh-place finish and in her sophomore year ran 20:22 for a 13th-place finish.
“19:19 wins 5A around 25-50% of the time,” her coach said. “After her 19:37 at Deer Creek early season, I knew she was ready to pop off. It just didn’t come together until today.”
Freshman Tayor Schroder showed Class 5A she will be a force in the coming years with a 17th place overall in a time of 20:30. Right behind her was Hannah Smith in a time of 20:35.
Peyton Read ran a 21:31 and Raley Hooper 21:54.
For the Bluejays, this year’s state run was personal following a ninth-place finish in 2022.
“The boys ran out of their minds today,” Balenseifen said who is assisted by his assistant coaches Jake Jensen and Lisa Reece.
He continued, “Had they run these times last year, they would have been second.”
In 2022, the top five runners averaged 17:43. Fast forward one year later and the team averaged 17:02.
“The last two times Guthrie boys won state were 2009 and 2010. Our averages for those two years were 17:08 and 17:07. Plug in our times today and we would have beaten both of those teams. It’s crazy to think about it, but this is one of Guthrie’s best teams ever on the boys’ side. 5A boys just got insanely good the last two weeks of the season.”
The Jays finished fifth overall behind Lincoln Christian, Guymon, Tahlequah, and Sapulpa.
Senior Mason Mayer paced the Jays with a 19th-place finish with a personal best of 16:45. Two seconds later it was senior Eli Fortney crossing the line in 21st.
Despite battling a minor cold, Fortney set a goal to run under 17:00. Mission accomplished with a personal best of 16:47.
Isaiah Blevins finished 24th overall in a time of 16:49, Beckett Terry 17:10, and Kallon Cyphers finished at 17:37.
“A cool thing about today is that all the kids who raced today ran with Coach (Adam) Dement at Junior High except two runners. The Dement’s (Tiffany Dement) are doing a great job of getting kids out there and getting them to work hard while having fun.”
The coach added, “They don’t get the stipend or the recognition that they deserve. They lay the foundation and we reap the benefits. Very grateful for them, all the administrators in our schools, and the support we have gotten from the community and parents.”
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