On Saturday, Oct. 30 The Marlow High School varsity cross country teams traveled to Edmond Santa Fe High School to participate in the 3A Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) Cross Country State Championships.

Determined to excel, the Marlow High School boys Varsity placed first in their 5k race while the girls Varsity placed third in their two mile race, making the boys back-to-back state champions.

Last year at state, the boys took first place while the girls took eighth place, with the boys showcasing consistency and the girls showcasing improvement.

The Marlow High School varsity girls finished with an average time of 13:34.85, while the varsity boys averaged a time of 18:33.58.

The varsity girls had an average time of 14:22.41 at last year’s state meet showing a significant improvement, while the varsity boys had an average time of 18:13.79 at last year’s state meet.

Senior Korie Kizarr was the first Marlow girl to finish, placing tenth out of 160 runners while junior Ean Hewitt placed twelfth out of 163 runners, being the first Marlow boy to finish the race.

Kizarr and Hewitt both placed in the top fifteen runners out of their respective races and will now move onto Meet of the Champions All-State Cross Country Meet on Nov. 6  

The Allstate cross country meet hosts the top fifteen boys and top fifteen girls out of the state to run and become allstate champions.

Allstate gives recognition to the top three boy and three girl runners in the state.

The runners have been working all summer and throughout the season to have a chance to qualify for Allstate.

The senior boys, Daniel Aguilar, Caleb Baade, Cody Davis, Jaxen Davis, Braxton Ramsey, and Luke Tolle, had the opportunity to lead the boys’ cross country team throughout the season, while senior Korie Kizarr also led the girls’ cross country team.

Cross country coach Matt Ivory explained what goes into being able to win and compete at the meets.

“In order for the team to be truly prepared for this time of year, we have to start practicing in June.” Ivory revealed, “Mental preparation is just as important as physical preparation; during practice the team all works together to build each other up, so they can grow to win some extraordinary accomplishments.”

The team worked together to keep each other motivated and focused in order to have another great season after last year’s major successes.

Senior Cody Davis expressed how he felt to be a senior leading the cross country team.

“In all honesty, it felt surreal, and I could not believe I’m a senior about to run my last race with guys that are like family to me,” Davis conveyed.

On Saturday, Oct. 23, the Marlow High School Varsity teams competed at the 2A/3A/4A OSSAA Regional XC Meet in Waurika.

The girls’ cross country team took first place in the girls 3A two mile race while the guys also took first place in the boys 5k race.

After the race was finished, the scorers took the top five runners placings from each team and added them together to make up the teams final placing.

Junior Jordan Brown placed fifth overall and first out of the Marlow boys team at regionals.

Brown explained how the team stayed motivated.

“We showed up for practice everyday and helped each other stay focused on our goals.” Brown explained, “We all match the energy of each other, so it helped keep us motivated.”

Keeping each other focused and motivated is what helped the team make it to state.

The cross country team will now begin preparation for next year’s season while partaking in other sports and supporting one another throughout all obstacles.