Oklahoma 2A Cross Country Final Rankings 2021: Hooker’s Girls Survive, Timberlake’s Boys Pounce

The final 2021 2A poll split its verdict in the most dramatic way possible: it got the girls exactly right and the boys exactly wrong. Girls’ poll, posted October 11th: Hooker No. 1, and Hooker won state with 44, holding off Boise City’s 64. Boys’ poll, posted October 10th: Hooker No. 1. Champions: Timberlake, 96 points, from the No. 3 slot. The Hooker boys were supposed to complete the sweep. Timberlake had other plans.

The girls’ race was a two-team affair the poll saw coming: Hooker 44, Boise City 64. The poll had them 1-2 in that order. Twenty points is a real margin but not a rout — Boise City showed up, Hooker showed up more. And the individual title went to Laverne’s Kamryn Baggs in 12:06.9 — Laverne was No. 4 in the team poll. The fastest girl in 2A didn’t run for either of the top two teams. The poll ranks programs; the individual race has its own ideas.

The boys’ upset: poll said Hooker, Boise City, Timberlake. State said Timberlake 96, champions. Ninety-six points isn’t dominant — it’s the kind of winning score that says “we were the least chaotic team on a chaotic day.” Hooker, the poll’s No. 1, went home without the trophy. That’s the biggest boys’ poll miss in the 2021 archives, and it’s the kind that gets remembered in field houses.

The boys’ individual title went to Erik Franco of Santa Fe South Pathways in 16:20.5. Santa Fe South Pathways was No. 7 in the team poll. Another fastest kid, another afterthought team. Are we sensing a theme yet?

The rest of the girls’ poll: Warner, Laverne, Minco, Goodwell/Texhoma, Boise City, Mooreland, Cherokee, Balko, Fairview, Lomega, Velma-Alma, Wright City, Buffalo, Waurika, Hollis, Hobart, Tushka, Stroud, Deer Creek-Lamont, Fletcher, Calvin, Turpin, Carnegie, Kremlin-Hillsdale, Walters, Canute, Canton, Rattan, Konawa, Colbert, Wynnewood, Coalgate, Forgan, Colcord, Stuart, Latta, Butner, Moss, Wister, Achille, Wewoka, Battiest, Milburn, Wetumka. Boys: Boise City, Timberlake, Oklahoma Bible Academy, Calvin, Chouteau-Maize, Santa Fe South Pathways, Carnegie, Warner, Merritt, Kremlin-Hillsdale, Mooreland, Lomega, Buffalo, Geronimo, Goodwell-Texhoma, Laverne, Ketchum, Silo, Hollis, Battiest, Mounds, Boone-Apache, Colbert, Tushka, Hobart, Minco, Riverfield Country Day, Wister, Strother, Latta, Canute, Rattan, Stuart, Stonewall, Maude, Moss, Midway, Braggs, Carney.

2021 2A: Hooker’s girls did exactly what they were supposed to do, Timberlake’s boys did exactly what nobody predicted, and both individual champions came from teams ranked 4th and 7th. The poll is a rumor; November is the fact-check.

Final poll via ohstrack.com (2021); state results via the OSSAA championships recap.