There was only two runners Cameron Langdon had his eye on as he dashed around Wild Horse Park.
The junior harrier was trying to outpace runners from other teams of course, but they were nowhere in sight. Only teammates Carson Patten and Noah Thayer had a chance to catch him, and Langdon wasn’t about to let it happen two weeks in a row.
“He (Patten) beat me last week, so I had to get him back,” said Langdon, who won the 2023 Mustang Harrier night race and helped lead the Broncos to the team championship on Saturday night. He finished behind Patten in the season-opening meet at Deer Creek.
“I was just planning to have fun, race with the boys, and win.”
Mustang cruised to the title on the back of Langdon, Patten, and Thayer’s 1-2-3 finish. Langdon clocked in at 16:22.99 to pace the pack. Patten and Thayer were hot on his heels at 16:31.73 and 16:35.92.
“It’s been a while since we’ve led a race like that 1-2-3, so it was really fun,” Patten said after the meet. “I looked back at about a mile and I kind of figured we had it in the bag.”
The Broncos placed three more inside the top-15, including Teegan Nelson (So.), Ryan Cable (Sr.), and Luke Balliew (Sr.).
Nelson placed 10th with a time of 17:07.80, just ahead of Cable who placed 11th with a time of 17:10.44. Balliew wasn’t far behind in 12th, clocking in at 17:18.16.
“I think we dominated,” Thayer said. The sophomore also finished third for the Broncos at Deer Creek.
Wyatt Fryar (Sr.) rounded things out for the host Broncos, placing 17th with a time of 17:38.34. Only three Class 6A racers finished ahead of Mustang’s seventh scorer.
The Broncos won the 5A-6A meet by 80 points, scoring 19 while second-place Santa Fe South put up 99. Blanchard finished third with 148.
The course wrapped around the Mustang park, including a trip through the outfield of one of the softball complex fields. The racers then wrapped around the pavilion and playground, made another loop near the fields, circled back around and sprinted to the finish line near the duckpond.
The Mustang Broncos varsity squad of Teegan Nelson (So.), Wyatt Fryar (Sr.), Ryan Cable (Sr.), Cameron Langdon (Jr.), Carson Patten (Sr.), Luke Balliew (Sr.), and Noah Thayer (So.) pose for a photo after winning the 2023 Mustang Harrier night race on Saturday night. (Photo by Jeff Marzec)
It was a perfect evening for racing, especially considering the brutal heat Oklahoma has suffered through over the last month. The atmosphere was intense with an enormous crowd, the MHS drum line playing, foot trucks, and more. Teams across the state should be lining up to attend the event.
After two races in 2023 and coming off a strong 2022 season, the Broncos know where they stand early in the campaign. Gaining ground on Deer Creek, who won the Field Run last week, is high on the priority list.
“We feel pretty strong,” Langdon said. “We know what we have to do to make up the points.”
“They have a fast 1-2 so we have to focus on getting in front of those guys,” Patten added. “If we can get us three in front of their second and pull our 4-5-6 up in front of their five and six, that puts us in a really good spot.”
The Broncos host the 2023 Western Days Stampede runs this weekend before returning to regular season action at the Westmoore Jaguar Jamboree on Sept. 16.
JUNIOR VARSITY MAKES IT A SWEEP
Sean MartinezKappel (So.) placed second while Wyatt Karber (So.) and Ashton Anderson (Jr.) placed third and fourth to help lead the Broncos to the title.
MartinezKappel finished with a time of 18:09.74 while Karber crossed the finish line at 18:26.22. Anderson clocked in at 18:27.43.
Eight other racers finished inside the top-20 for Mustang, including Tavien Gallop (Sr.), Myles Mayfield (Jr.), Griffin Hawthorne (Jr.), Robert Manzo (Sr.), Shaun Lund (Jr.), Trent Dovers (Sr.), Hunter Davis (Sr.), and Daniel Robertson (So.).
