There will be some familiar foes waiting together for the starter’s pistol at the Class 2A state cross country meet. Calera’s Cale Eidson had to settle for a runner-up finish at the Lindsay Regional over the Saturday and will have to contend with a pair of opponents capable of threatening his shot at a third-straight state championship.

Watonga’s Nigel Hampton, who took second to Eidson at State last year, won at Lindsay with a time of 16:47. Eidson finished in 17:03, followed by Dales Jimmy Doulan at 18:20.

Hampton isn’t the only concern. The other Region, held in Coweta, was won by Tonkawa’s Josh Reece. Reece, who finished in 17:25.32, placed sixth in state last year, but became Eidson’s top competitor in track and field. At State in the spring, Reese won the 3200 meter run, with Eidson placing second and the duo finished vice-versa in the 1600 meter run.

Eidson does have an edge at Gordon Copper Vo-Tech, Shawnee, site of the state meet. Last year he won the title there with a time of 16:16.40, and as recent as Oct. 8 won the Oklahoma Baptist University meet there.

Also headed to state will be Silo’s Dillon Cook, who will represent the Rebels in only their first season of competition. The Silo high school boys and girls cross country teams competed Saturday at the Coweta Regional. Cook managed to medal in eighth place with a 5K time of 19:40. Although Silo did not have a boys’ team, Cook’s time was good enough to place him fifth individually and earn him a spot at State.

Silo junior Josh Townsend, freshman Ethan Smith, and senior Derrik Underwood were the three other runners for Silo boys.

“Each of these boys worked hard this season,” said Silo coach Bobbie Pratt. “They improved their times and helped to make this first season at Silo a great one.”

Silo girls finished their season at the Regional Meet. The girls placed sixth as a team — one spot away from qualifying for State. Silo’s top runner, sophomore Paige Thomas, ran a 17:28 two-mile race.

“I have high hopes for this team,” said Pratt. “Paige shed close to three minutes off her time this season. Unfortunately, we will lose our second spot senior Kendra Treat, who also improved her time by a few minutes throughout the season. Kendra has a great attitude and tons of dedication, she was a great role model for the team.”

The rest of the regional team consisted of freshman Katelin Hull, and sophomores Katie Hinshaw, Jackie McMichael, and Chelsea Coverstone.

“We have a young and determined team,” said Pratt. “I can’t wait to see what they can accomplish.”

At North Lamar

The Durant Lady Lions high school girls made major strides at Saturday’s meet at North Lamar. Each of the girls had personal best times and finished third as a team.

Aata Miettinen led the way with a seventh-place individual finish, shaving 31 seconds of her previous best with a 13:41. Riley Richards placed 11th with a time of 13:57, 17 seconds off her previous best time. Kali Brown placed 14th with a time of 14:20 (-0:11), while Tiana Harris was 22nd in 14:56 (-0:44), Barbara Flury finished in 15:27 (0-:47) and Elaney Schmidt rounded out the team with a 16:06.

The Lions were led by Chay John, who placed ninth with a time of 21:31 in the 5K. Caleb Norman was 15th with a time of 22:33, while Houston Franklin finished 16th in 22:47 and Joseph Mathis was 27th in 24:00.

Durant will head to its Regional Meet at O’Brian Park in Tulsa on Saturday.

Durant also had junior high runners at North Lamar, led by Jared Woods with a seventh-place finish in 12:45. The junior high girls were led by Emily Norman, who improved by 2:27 to take 19th in 15:32.

Other results: G- Kiersten Burkhalter 15:57, Vanessa Thomas 17:23 and Jocelyn Alejo 18:29.47; B- Trey Hunt 13:59, Gavin Gray 14:28 and Ryan Tran 14:49.