Edmond Memorial High School’s boys cross country (XC) team had a successful season, ending with their state meet on Oct. 30, 2021.

“The team got third this year at state, and we were very pleased. We beat some teams that day that we had never beat before during this season, and we were very happy to get to stand on the podium and receive medals for our placement,” senior runner Jackson Davis said.

The third place finish is a result of the hard work, commitment and many hours that each person put into the season. Davis believes that the use of teamwork was a major factor in the team’s success at state.

“This year our team really learned how to operate as a team instead of individual runners,” Davis said. “We each learned how to pace off each other during races to run even faster times.”

Along with the overall team placing third, two runners earned Allstate honors (placing in the top 15). Davis placed ninth, and junior runner Josh Cherry placed second.

Cherry grew as a runner this year, and helped his team make it to the next level.

“This season I have learned how to keep the outside noise out and how to keep my guys focused on themselves,” Cherry said.

Boys XC’s third place finish kept up their legacy from previous years. The team has made the accomplishment of attending state for multiple consecutive years, and they also received third place in 2019 and 2020.

Not only did the upperclassmen have a successful season, but the newcomers to the team did too.

“We had 22 freshmen and they were all awesome. We even had several who ran varsity throughout the season,” assistant boys XC coach Chris Lowery said.

The coaches saw that the team cared, and they were pleased with their level of dedication.

“Practice is every day there is school, and there is generally a race on Saturday,” head coach David Sammons said.

It is evident to most that the boys XC team not only had a great season but showed lots of improvement.

“We had a lot of new guys on varsity and it was amazing to see them grow and get a lot better this year,” Davis said. “I’m extremely happy with all of them.”

Contact Kelsi Seltenreich at [email protected]