Sophomore Bailey Nash paced Sallisaw with a 26th-place finish overall out of 111 runners. He was one of four SHS runners to improve on their regional times, shaving 30 seconds off the previous week’s effort to finish the 3.1-mile course in 18:04.89.
Teammate Ben Dodson ran nearly a minute faster than the previous week, turning in an 18:42.27 to place 46th.
Michael Netz and John Eldridge also beat their regional times as Netz ran a 19:35.78 and Eldridge a 19:50.07 for the Diamonds.
Jake Anderson and Vince Alwine were Sallisaw’s other runners on Saturday.
Santa Fe South captured the Class 4A boys’ championship, placing five runners among the top-14 finishers. Jose Castenedes ran a 17:10.21 to get seventh for Santa Fe South.
The individual state champion was Martin Calderon of Blackwell. Calderon ran a 16:30.75 to finish 19 seconds ahead of runner-up Jerimiah Snelgrove of Piedmont. Will Spears of Metro Christian placed third individually.
Santa Fe South won the meet with 51 points, five ahead of state runner-up Metro Christian. Elgin was the third place team.
In the Class 4A girls’ division, Jori Davis of Piedmont won the race and Madill was crowned the team champion.
Class 4A State Meet Team Standings: 1, Santa Fe South 51; 2, Metro Christian 56; 3, Elgin 125; 4, Weatherford 148; 5, Madill 158; 6, Tuttle 195; 7, Piedmont 197; 8, Cache 221; 9, Byng 245; 10, Mannford 270; 11, Sallisaw 279; 12, Jay 282; 13, Poteau 291; 14, Newcastle 295.
Top-10 Individuals: Martin Calderon (Blackwell), 16:30.75; 2, Jerimiah Snelgrove (Piedmont), 16:49.51; 3, Will Spears (Metro Chr.), 16:52.79; 4, David Annett (Metro Chr.), 16:58.33; 5, Tain DuPoint (Elgin), 17:04.84; 6, Chad Foster (Tuttle), 17:07.21; 7, Andre Butler (Cache), 17:07.85; 8, Jose Castenedas (Santa Fe South), 17:10.21; 9, Ramirro Becerra (Santa Fe South), 17:17.33; 10, Silas Huereca (Weatherford), 17:18.93.
