Despite having only five competitors the Ryan Cowgirls finished in fifth place in the tough Elgin Invitational Track Meet last Thursday.
The Cowgirls amassed 68 points in the small school division which consisted of schools from Class 3A to Class A. Hollis, a Class 2A school, won the meet with 135 points.
And, this small contingent of Cowgirl thinclads had a memorable day in the meet that replaced the canceled Stratford meet that was originally on the Cowgirl track schedule.
Holland Carter led the Cowgirls with a gold medal in the 800 meters. Her time of 3:01.3 was impressive considering the windy conditions.
Lilybet Harmon earned a bronze medal in the 800 meters with a time of 3:15.27.
The other highlight of the day came in the 1,600 meter relay. While the Cowgirls managed only a fourth place finish in the event, the squad set a school record with a time of 5:12.17, besting the previous school record mark of 5:15.0 set in the 1990 Southern Eight Conference meet.
The 1,600 meter relay team consists of Carter, Harmon, Lily York and Juliet Spangler.
The same group of girls earned a silver medal in the 3,200 meter relay with a time of 12:22.37 – which was well short of the school mark this relay team set earlier this season at Cache.
The distance races are definitely the strength of the Cowgirls this season as Spangler and York added to the point total with high finishes in the 3,200 meters and the 1,600 meters.
Spangler earned a silver medal in both events. Her time of 6:28.25 is behind her own school record time of 6:16.82 and is the fifth best in school history.
York was right behind her teammate and earned a bronze medal with a time of 6:31.45, which put her at sixth on the school record chart in the 1,600 meters.
Spangler and York also finished second and third, respectively, in the 3,200 meters. Spangler turned in a time of 14:15.37, while York finished the race with a time of 14:57.55. Both were well back of the winning time of 13:12.65.
This meet had a unique format in that participants from schools in all classes ran together in each event. The 3,200 meter relay team actually ran a better time than the Lawton MacArthur and Lawton High squads.
The 68 points scored by the team in the meet was the second highest point total by a Cowgirl track team in school history.
The Cowgirls will try to improve on their early season performances tomorrow (Friday) at the Waurika Eight-Man Invitational Meet. Field events begin at 9:30 a.m., while the running events will get under way at 10 a.m.
