Sandite Cross Country places 12th at State Championship

The Charles Page High School boys' Cross Country team made their way to Edmond for their first-ever State Championship appearance Saturday and took twelfth place ahead of teams like Union and Westmoore.

The Sandites were led by junior Aden Baughman in 41st place with a time of 17:05.27. Junior Jaelyn Jackson finished in 57th place in 17:19.47 immediately followed a half-second later by senior Ian Baustert in 17:19.97. Junior Jacob Smith placed 78th in 17:38.39, senior Landin Green placed 87th in 17:54.07, junior Nelson Yazzie placed 96th in 18:12.39, and junior Danny Murray placed 110th in 18:45.01. 

Individual Sandites have made the trip to State before, but never as a unit. Baughman made the trip last year and finished in 17:36.7 for 44th place. He also took 69th as a freshman in 17:53.5. 

Bartlesville won the title handily with a 36-point margin over Edmond Memorial. The Sandites finished with 271 points, 21 ahead of Union, and 207 behind the Champs. The Frontier Valley Conference was well represented with a fourth place finish from Owasso and an eleventh place finish by Jenks with 249 points.

Edmond Memorial senior Jed Helker took the individual title with a time of 15:46.91, more than seven seconds ahead of Bartlesville senior Nathan Lauritsen. The Bruins also had the third-place finisher in senior James Martinez. 112 boys competed. 

Last year's Runners-Up, Norman, won the girls' division with an eighteen-point margin over the defending Champions from Bartlesville. Senior Lady Bruin Rilee Rigdon won the individual title in 18:15.81 with a sixteen-second margin over Mustang's Emma Downing. Rigdon succeeds the Sandites' Cheyenne Walden, who won the title four-straight years before graduating this spring.