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October 31, 2009

Hembree wins 5A state cross country crown

By JEREMY SHORT

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Tahlequah freshman Jessica Hembree captured the first individual cross country state championship in school history on Saturday as she won the 5A girls’ division with a time of 11:58.95.

The meet was held at Mitch Park in Edmond.

“She was very excited and the group was excited for her,” said Lady Tigers coach Elzy Miller. “She’s worked very hard for it.”

Diana Garcia (13:12) and Chenea Tschirhart (13:27) were the next two finishers as they took 23rd and 28th place, respectively.

Griselda Garcia (53rd), Amanda Wood (58th) and Melanie Paris (64th) and Taleka Oropeza rounded out the top-7 for the Lady Tigers.

Overall, the Lady Tigers finished seventh as a team with 162 points.

Collinsville was the state champion with 55 points, followed by Bishop McGuinness, Bishop Kelley, Edmond Deer Creek and Pryor.

The boys’ team came in as the No.5 ranked team in the state and lived up to that ranking with a fifth-place finish.

“It’s been a strong year,” said Tigers coach Jason Proctor. “The top three teams were very good.”

Guthrie won the 5A division with 20 points, followed by Edmond Deer Creek, Bishop McGuinness and Bishop Kelley.

“I’m really pleased,” said Proctor. “All but one [Fowler] of our runners are first-timers at the state meet. The next two years look to be very good.”

Moe Brown led the pack for the Lady Tigers with a time of 17:51 to finish 20th.

Micah Holcomb ran an 18:04 to finish 30th.

Rounding out the top-7 for the Tigers was Rusty Fowler (18:06), Ben Grant (18:30), Paul Blevins (18:38), Derrick Young (18:40) and Ara Poteete (19:33).

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