Cheyenne Walden is three-time State Champion
/By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
Varsity Girls
Junior Cheyenne Walden is not your average high school athlete. Not only is she one of the best in Charles Page history, she's one of the best in Oklahoma as well. For the third year in a row, Walden claimed the first place title in Conference, Regional, and State 5Ks.
As a Freshman, Walden stunned the field with an 11-second lead on the runner-up, then beat her teammate Morgan Long by 15 seconds as a Sophomore to earn her second title. This year, she put the pedal to the metal.
Walden was the only girl in the race to finish in under 18 minutes, and was one of only two runners who finished in under 19 minutes. Crossing the line at 17:57.9, she had a 52.3 second lead over Bartlesville sophomore Rilee Rigdon. Walden beat Rigdon by 36 seconds at Regionals.
The Lady Sandite Star claimed first place in her first 5 consecutive races this season, and was undefeated in the state of Oklahoma. Her only second-place finish came at the Fayetteville Chile Pepper Festival to Chelsea Drum of Jackson, Missouri. Despite the loss, her 17:58.97 finish was her season-best. Her career-best was set last week at Regionals with a 17:35.02 finish and she took 1st in a total of 8 races.
Sand Springs as a school failed to qualify for State, but two other Lady Sandites made the trip as individuals: juniors Alexis Davis and Nia Byrd.
Davis had her third-best time of the season, coming in 45th with a 21:02.5 finish. Her season best was 20:34.29 at Regionals.
Last year Byrd finished 91st and she shaved that down to 90th this year with a 22:24.1 finish.
Varsity Boys
Only one Sandite boy qualified for state--freshman Aden Baughman. Baughman is the first Sandite boy to qualify since Andrew Coleman took 55th in 2012.
Overall, Baughman came in 69th with a 17:53.5 finish--his second-best of the season. Among freshmen, however, he took 7th. With a season-best time of 17:06.52, it's a reasonable assumption that we can expect a great career and a bright future from Baughman.
