Ardmore girls qualify for 5A state meet

NORMAN — The Ardmore girls cross country squad did just enough to earn its way to a state meet bid, qualifying after a fifth-place finish in team points during 5A regional action in Norman Saturday.

The team earned a 174 cumulative score, tied with Durant, for the event at Irving Middle School that featured representatives from 14 different schools.

The team was paced by the efforts of Destanee Howell, who finished ninth overall with a 13:05 time in the two-mile event, while Celia Caro was 14th overall, coming in 12 seconds after her teammate. Kevi Davis rounded out Ardmore finishers in the top 20, coming in at 16th with a time of 13:22.

The boys team featured two top 50 runners, Zarius Flenory and Chris Garcia, but was unable to qualify for the state meet, finishing with a score of 373.

Wildcat women take third, boys seventh

In 4A action at the same site, the Madill Wildcats also got strong results out of its girls squad, as the team finished third overall with a score of 86.

Miranda Nolen carried the torch for the Wildcats, finishing fifth overall with a time of 12:41, while Cynthia Brown and Melissa Guevara had nearly simultaneous finishes at 15th and 16th overall, respectively.

Natalee Alvarez capped off Madill finishers in the top 25, coming in at 23rd with a time of 13:43.

The boys also saw success, earning a narrow qualifying score after a seventh place finish with a score of 210.

Jose Delacruz was the hero for Madill, finishing eighth overall in the 5k with a time of 17:31, while Anatolie Ibarra was the next Wildcat to cross the line, finishing with an 18:02 time that was good for 26th overall.

Both Ardmore and Madill will see their next action at Edmond Santa Fe High School in Oklahoma City, when the running of the 4A-6A tournaments take place on Saturday.