The Mustang Broncos are once again heading to the Class 6A State Championship Meet.
After a runner-up finish at the 2023 6A West Regional Meet at Wild Horse Park last Saturday, the third-ranked Broncos punched their ticket to state.
All five of the team’s placers finished inside the top 25 on route to a strong run which saw the Broncos close the gap on top-ranked Deer Creek.
Senior Luke Balliew (left) and sophomore Teagan Nelson (right) race at the 2023 COAC Meet at Deer Creek High School earlier this season. Balliew and Nelson helped Mustang finish runner-up at the Class 6A West Regional Meet last week at Wild Horse Park. (Photo by Trey Hunter)
Cameron Langdon (Jr.) led the way for Mustang, placing third overall with a time of 16:24. He was followed by Noah Thayer (So.) and Carson Patten (Sr.) in sixth and seventh place.
Thayer clocked in at 16:29 while Patten finished in 16:34.
Luke Balliew (Sr.) and Teagan Nelson (So.) rounded out the team’s top five. Balliew finished in 16th place with a time of 16:55 while Nelson finished in 21st place with a time of 17:02.
Ryan Cable (Sr.) finished in 34th place (17:34) and Wyatt Fryar (Sr.) finished in 44th place (17:55) as Mustang’s displacers.
The Broncos tallied 53 points, just 27 more than Deer Creek, who won the regional title with all five placers inside the top 10. Brody Woodcock (Sr.) and Tyler Schwarz (Sr.) finished 1-2 for the Antlers while Spencer Carlson (Sr.) finished fifth.
Second-ranked Edmond North won the East Regional Meet while Broken Arrow finished second and Westmoore finished third.
Mustang’s chances of winning the program’s fourth state championship lies on chasing down the Antlers and Huskies on Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe.
The three teams have paced Class 6A all season. The Broncos have had their sights set on both teams, treating each meet throughout the regular season as training for Saturday.
“We talk about it all the time, but the main thing is believing that we can get them,” Patten said after the COAC meet two weeks ago. “We have to be ready to pounce on our opportunity and believe that we can.”
The Class 6A State Championship Meet is set to start at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
