Cross Country: Piedmont boys finish runner-up at OK Runner Classic, girls finish sixth

Wildcats top Class 5A teams in both races, set for Pre-State Saturday

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Tanner Bailey (So.) and Fares Maarouf (Jr.) helped lead Piedmont's boys to a runner-up finish at the 2019 OK Runner Classic in Norman Saturday. (Photo Provided)

By Trey Hunter
Sports Editor

NORMAN – Piedmont’s boys nearly won the 2019 Norman OK Runner Classic Saturday, finishing runner-up against nine teams from Class 6A and two from 5A.

The Wildcats finished with 91 points, 22 behind first-place Deer Creek (6A) and six points ahead of third-place Mustang (6A). Santa Fe South and Guymon finished eighth and ninth as the other Class 5A representatives.

Juniors Fares Maarouf and Beckam Hartis led the way, each finishing inside the top-10. Maarouf finished eighth with a time of 17:26 while Hartis finished ninth with a time of 17:28. Sophomore Tanner Bailey also cracked the 18-minute mark, finishing 22nd with a time of 17:58. Senior Garrett Bickley finished 24th with a time of 18:01 and freshman Reese Fricke finished 28th with a time of 18:08 to round out Piedmont’s placers. Seniors Jacob Brightwell and Landis Scoon finished in 48th and 51st as the team’s displacers.

Santa Fe South’s Christian Arenivar won the meet with a time of 16:40 while Mustang’s Gabe Simonsen finished second and Deer Creek’s A.J. Antonelli finished third.

The Wildcat girls finished as the top Class 5A team, coming in sixth with 114 points. Deer Creek (6A) finished first with 66 points while Edmond Santa Fe (6A) and Norman (6A) finished second and third.

Sophomores Lexi Meier and Maci Brannum led the way, each cracking the top-20. Meier finished 16th with a time of 21:46 while Brannum finished 19th with a time of 21:55. Freshman Jillian Crawford and sophomore Aubrey Bray each finished inside the top-25. Crawford finished 21st with a time of 22:16 and Bray finished 24th with a time of 22:34. Sophomore Naia Shepherd finished 34th with a time of 23:14 to round out the team’s placers while junior Lana Daniels finished 48th as the team’s lone displacer.

Westmoore’s Annabel White won the meet with a time of 20:02 while Putnam City West’s Tiffany Watson finished second and Norman’s Charlotte Means finished third.

The Wildcats return to the course Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe for the 2019 Pre-State meet before traveling to Arkansas for the Chili Pepper Festival Oct. 5.

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