A number of Sapulpa track records fell this past season, and with many of their top performers coming back next season, the Chieftain track-field teams both appear to have a bright future ahead of them.
Focusing on the girls’ squad first, Sapulpa showed a lot of promise, with two freshmen making an immediate impact and qualifying all four of their relay teams for the Class 5A state meet. Sapulpa enjoyed a strong performance at the 5A Regional meet in Jenks, finishing third, and ended up 21st at state.
Freshman Vicky Porter placed fifth at state in both the 200-meter dash and the 400 meters, after placing third and second, respectively, in those races at the regional. Porter was also part of the 4×100 meter relay that took second at the regional and then eighth at state, along with Jasmine Brown, Lateria Stokes and Tyla Heard.
Porter also contributed to the 4×400 relay, with Heard, Lindsey Dennison and Destinee Miller, that finished third at regionals and ninth at state. After falling half a second short at state of the school record, they took another shot on Tues., May 16 at the Meet of Champions at North Rock Creek and ran a 4:13:01 to set the new mark.
The other freshman that had a major impact this season was Laney Madden, who placed seventh in the 1600 meters (one mile) and fourth in the 3200 at the regional, while also contributing to the 4×800 relay. That group, which consisted of Seriah Vess, Madden, Dennison and Miller, actually won the regional and finished 13th at state.
And then the 4×200 relay, with Jasmine Brown, Heard, Jadyn Smith and Stokes, placed fourth at the regional and 13th at state.
The other girls’ relay that set a new school standard was the sprint medley (200, 200, 400, 800) that ran 4:39:62 at Bartlesville, featuring Brown, Smith, Porter and Miller.
“We had all girl relays qualified for state so any time that happens, that’s a great thing,” said Chieftains first-year track and field coach Jeremy Lusk. “That was just a huge change for us this year. Individually, some that stood out, we had two freshmen really compete at a high level. Vicky Porter, who was a two-time podium, fifth-place competitor as a freshman, so she’s on the school record books twice for this year. Laney Madden also ran varsity all year as a freshman in the distance group, and did great, getting her two-mile time into the 12s and her mile time into the 5s.”
Another important contributor was Bailey Moore, who finished second in the 100-meter hurdles at the regional to qualify for state for the third straight year, where she ended up 15th.
Lusk also pointed out how senior long jumper Jaidyn Adams battled back from an ACL tear in May 2022 to compete this season, finishing 12th at the regional. She also earned the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Academic All-State award, the first Sapulpa student since 2012 to do so.
“Jaidyn Adams didn’t even think she was really going to be able to do anything, but she competed about six months after ACL surgery,” Lusk said. “That was impressive.”
For Lusk, who took over the top job after serving as the junior high coach for 16 years, the squad delivered an encouraging performance this season.
“It was just a great group, learning, working together, really exceeded expectations on those four relays and getting two school records in the girl events,” Lusk said. “Just a lot of young talent in the girls’ program.”
Regarding the boys’ team, there were plenty of bright spots as well. The 4×800 relay squad, consisting of Izsik Meza, Isaac Ragsdale, Jayden Williams and Aj Jernegan, was the only one to reach the podium at state, finishing fifth (after placing second at the regional). Lusk believes it’s the third straight year that group has placed at state.
Additionally, Kylen Edwards placed second at the regional and was seventh at state in the long jump and even broke the school record with a jump of 22 feet, 11 inches at Okmulgee earlier in the season.
Unfortunately, one of the Chieftains’ most productive athletes, Bishop Gordon, who scored points all season in the long jump, sprints and hurdles, could not participate in the regional and state meets due to a hip flexor injury.
“That was a little bit of a disappointment, but he’ll be back next year,” Lusk said of Gordon.
The 4×100 relay, consisting of Marco Smith, Tre Morrow, Edwards and Joshua Ogunseye, set a new school record of 43.02 seconds at the regional, where they placed fourth.
The boys’ sprint medley relay also set a new school record this season, running a 3:43.72 at Bartlesville, featuring Ogunseye, Zaden Richards, Williams and Meza.
Overall as a team, the boys placed sixth at the regional and 23rd at state. Similar to the girls, Lusk is optimistic about the boys’ team’s future.
“Even on the boys’ side, the majority are coming back, with the distance crew, the mid-distance and the field events, so the future is bright, really across the board with track,” Lusk said. “A lot of young athletes and the junior high kids coming up are going to help us next year, some eighth graders moving up to ninth grade.
“I am excited for the future of Sapulpa track and field. We have a great core of underclassmen that now have state meet experience.”
