EDMOND – The Mustang Broncos finished 10th at the Central Oklahoma Athletics Conference meet last Tuesday, led by a personal best run from Carol Le to start the 2023 postseason.
Le cracked the 20-minute mark for the first time, clocking in at 19:45.2 for 24th place overall. It was her first PR since the opening race held on the same course.
“The course was nice and dry and easier to PR on,” she said. “The weather was super nice and overall, the race was good. It definitely helped and keeping that good mindset and making sure our whole team was cohesive and working together.
“That really helped me push through for the sub-20.”
Kiara Smith (Sr.) races toward the finish during the 2023 Central Oklahoma Athletics Conference meet on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at Deer Creek High School in Edmond. Smith placed 60th overall as the Broncos finished 10th as a team. (Photo by Trey Hunter)
The Broncos, who are gearing up to qualify for the state meet for a record 28th straight season, racked up 256 points, just edging 11th-place Stillwater to crack the top 10. Kendall Howell, Emerson Hodde (Jr.), Kiara Smith (Sr.), and Jayci Klopfenstein (Fr.) rounded out the team’s placers in the meet.
Howell, Hodde, and Smith all broke the 21-minute mark.
Howell placed 50th with a personal record time of 21:06.8 while Hodde came in 53rd with a time of 21:20.2. Smith clocked in at 21:54.6 – good for 60th place overall.
Julia Sroczynski (So.) and Lauren Vivier (Jr.) finished as the team’s displacers. Scroczynski finished in 72nd place with a time of 22:57.9 while Vivier finished 79th with a time of 23:53.2.
Le and her teammates are excited to keep the postseason rolling. They have plans of extending the program’s record streak.
“My teammates were amazing today,” Le said. “I’m very proud of them. I can tell we are getting a lot closer, and our bonding is a lot better. Going into regionals I’m just excited to see what we can accomplish as a team.
“Working together for the next week and a half and making sure all of us have that good mindset is going to be big. And just feeling our best.”
Kendall Howell races down the finish line in the 2023 Central Oklahoma Athletics Conference meet on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at Deer Creek High School in Edmond. Howell placed 50th individually as the Broncos finished 10th as a team. (Photo by Trey Hunter)
Mustang’s chance to extend the streak comes Saturday at Wild Horse Park. The Broncos host the class 6A west regional with hopes of qualifying for state next weekend at Edmond Santa Fe.
The top seven teams from each regional qualify for state. The Broncos will be up seven teams currently ranked in the OSSAA top 15, including No. 2 Deer Creek, No. 3 Piedmont, No. 5 Edmond Memorial, No. 8 Edmond Santa Fe, No. 10 Norman North, No. 12 Yukon, and No. 13 Norman.
The Class 6A girls are set to go off at 9 a.m.
