Junior Avery Sager tallied a sixth place individual finish while leading the Durant Lady Lions to 10th as a team in the Class 5A State Cross Country Championships last weekend at Edmond Santa Fe.
Sager maneuvered the 5 kilometer course in a time of 19 minutes, 45.3 seconds, finishing only behind a runner from Bishop McGuinness along with a pair each from Tulsa Edison and Bishop Kelley.
Laynee Emert added a time of 21:50.74 to take 49th for the Lady Lions as Kamryn Brooks checked in with a personal best mark of 22:24.09 for 69th.
Katelyn Mauck checked in 71st with a 22:33.38 and was followed by a trio of personal best finishes from Kyah French, 74th at 22:42.99; Grace Morrison, 87th at 23:26.65; and Katelyn Hitchcock, 93rd in 23:36.22.
Sophomore K.J. Lowery was outstanding in the boys’ state event with a 15th place medalist time of 16 minutes, 43.81 seconds, which was his personal best. Zach Ervin suffered an injury on the course and did not finish.
“We had a good season with a great group of kids,” said assistant coach Amanda Reynolds. “We are proud of their efforts. It was exciting to see Avery set a new school record during the season. This was also her best time at state, although she had been nursing an ankle injury all week. The freshman girls really stepped up with their performances and personal best times. They definitely have a bright future ahead.
“We are so proud of our only senior Katelyn Mauck, who came back from ACL surgery and competed at state. She worked hard and earned her varsity spot back in our last two meets before regionals, then almost PR’d at state. It was disheartening that Zach (Ervin) got tripped up about the two-mile mark and fell with a knee injury when he had started strong. K.J. really stepped up his game and finished the season well with a personal best. Overall both our girls and boys teams are young and have a bright future ahead.”