ENID —
Katie Lee knows the value of winning.
“The more we win, the harder I work,’’ said the Hennessey senior after she won the girls’ A-2A 55 meters in 7.46 seconds at the Trojan Indoor Games Saturday at Chisholm Trail Expo Center Coliseum.
She speaks from experience.
Lee won the 200 meters and teamed with Becky Hau, Kinsey Reeves and Jessica Fuksa to take the gold in the 400-meter relay to help Hennessey win the 2A state title last year.
Last fall, she finished 14th in helping the Lady Eagles take the state cross-country championship.
“My goal is always to win,’’ Lee said. “You start winning here and it sets the bar pretty high to win almost everything I run in at almost every meet.’’
The bar is set even higher considering the Lady Eagles compete against bigger schools for most of the spring season.
“That pushes us more,’’ Lee said. “It’s a challenge.’’
Lee is a self motivator, but if she ever needs a push, Hennessey coach Joe McCulley is there to do it. McCulley, though, even had a smile when Lee crossed the finish line first.
“I know it’s really hard to please him, but I work really hard to do it,’’ Lee said. “I love it when he pushes me. It makes me that much stronger and work harder to get that gold medal.’’
Lee was second to Providence Classical Christian Academy’s Amanda Dillon in the 400 meters with a time of 1:04.65. She was on the winning 4x320 relay team (3:26.81) and was on the 4x160 relay, which was third in 1:35.02. The Lady Eagles won the A-2A title with 181 points.
While Hennessey has “great coaches,’’ the team chemistry has been a key to the Lady Eagles being the golden girls of track and cross-country.
“They have the heart to do it,’’ Lee said. “I love my team. They have worked so hard to come back and try to win state again this year ... the team is so close, we bond all of the time.’’
Lee feels a little pressure to repeat as the state champion, but says she’s hungrier, too.
“I’m so excited to run the 200 at state again this year,’’ she said. “I just want to win it again so I can run at the Meet of Champions.’’
Lee had a 25.9 in winning the 200 last spring. The 400 relay won with a 50.37. The same quartet was fifth in the 800 relay in 1:50.37. Lee was on the 1,600 relay, which was second in 4:10.60.
“Winning state was awesome,’’ Lee said. “The moment I crossed the finish line, everybody was so excited. It was awesome to win on my own and with my girls.’’
It’s said sprinters have to have a different personality because so much is dependent on the start. Lee admits she’s wound tight sometimes.
“It’s good to be nervous,’’ she said. “I’m always terrified when I get down there. But the moment he says ‘set,’ I’m concentrated and ready to run. You have to be a little bit on edge. Everything is coming out of the blocks.’’
Her career began with the Little Olympics in fifth grade. Track and cross country are her only activities.
“I’ve always loved it,’’ she said. “My parents are a big thing. They are always pushing me hard.’’
Her role model was Evan Shimanek, a former Lady Eagle sprinter and pole vaulter, who has gone on to All-American honors at Oklahoma Baptist University.
“She was so fast,’’ Lee said. “I always look up to her for that.’’
Lee has gotten offers from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College and Oklahoma Christian University. She has talked with Oklahoma State, and would be “real interested’’ in running there.
Cross country, she said, helped prepare her for the track season.
“It gets your lungs ready to run, but track is mainly short for me,’’ she said.
Lee is hoping to run a 25.5 in the 200 and get down to a 56.0 in the 400.
“I’m sure coach McCulley will make sure that I break that,’’ said Lee with a chuckle.
Lee said she’s ahead of where she was last year because of a very mild winter. She called her 7.46 time indoors “a little slow, but I like it.’’
She will like it a lot better outside.
“The indoor track is really slick,’’ Lee said. “I just love being out in the sunshine.’’
Lee’s hobby is cooking, especially pasties.
“I love making cakes,’’ she said. “It’s kind of hard on me, though, because I eat a lot of it because of track. I just give to someone else and say eat this and tell me if it’s good.’’
Results of area performers at the OBA Trojans Indoor Games Saturday.
Class A-2A Girls
Team — 1. Hennessey 181, 5. Watonga 37, 6. OBA 22, 8. Sharon-Mutual 10, 9. Fairview 8.
55 — 1. Katie Lee, Hennessey, 7.62; 4. Michelle Gutierrez, Hennessey, 8.08; 6. Becky Hau, Hennessey, 8.12; 8. Erin Coffin, OBA, 8.29.
400 — 1. Lee, Hennessey, 1:04.65; 3. Catherine Sawyer, Watonga, 1:06.45.
800 — 1. Sawyer, Watonga, 2:36.54; 2. Cheyenne Choate, Hennessey, 2:43.91; 5. Kirsten Benson, Hennessey, 2:56.57.
1,600 — 1. Choate, Hennessey, 6:09.36; 2. Cassandra Tarango, Hennessey, 6:28.02; 4. Diana Gonzalez, Hennessey, 7:09.17.
3,000 — 1. Choate, Hennessey, 11:49.43; 2. Tarango, Hennessey, 12:44.69; 4. Gonzalez, Hennessey, 14:19.31.
55 Hurdles — 1. Hau, Hennessey, 9.50; 3. Amanda Thompson, Hennessey, 10.20
4x160 Relay — 3. Hennessey, 1:35.02; 5. Watonga, 1:37.84.
4x320 Relay — 1. Hennessey, 3:26.81; 4. Watonga, 3:52.89.
4x800 Relay — 2. Hennessey, 11:32.03
High Jump — 1. Miya Long, OBA, 4-0; 2. Kelsey Landis, Fairview, 3-10
Pole Vault — 2. McKenzie Brown, Watonga, 8-6; 3. Thompson, Hennessey, 7-6
Long Jump — 1. Coffin, OBA, 15-81⁄4; 2. Hau, Hennessey, 14-9; 5. Cassidy Cronkite, OBA, 14-2.
Triple Jump — 1. Benson, Hennessey, 27-0; 2. Madison Russell, Hennessey, 26-1.
Shot Put — 1. Jaren Custar, Sharon-Mutual, 37-101⁄2; 3. Lily Schmidt, Hennessey, 32-71⁄2; 4. Shelby Crump, Hennessey, 30-9.
Boys 2A-A
Team — 1. Hennessey 167, 2. OBA 65, 4. Watonga 44, 6. Fairview 34, 8. Cherokee 22, 9. Sharon-Mutual 10.
55 — 2. D’Qwan Loneman, Watonga, 7.12; 4. Zach Wright, Hennessey, 7.18; 5. Dylan Compton, Watonga, 7.26; 6. Chris Walker, OBA, 7.38; 7. Ashton McGee, Watonga, 7.39; 8. Elizardo Montes, Hennessey, 7.42.
400 — 2. Loneman, Watonga, 56.48; 3. Evan Bagenstos,Cherokee, 57.57; 4. Cortez Lee-Read, 57.59; 5. Spencer Eldred, Fairview, 58.25; 6. Tristan Hill, Hennessey, 58.68.
800 — 2. Dillon Plummer, Watonga, 2:11.53; 4. Montes, Hennessey, 2:22.14; 6. Brockton Keen, Fairview, 2:29.08.
1,600 — 1. Merritt Suenram, OBA, 4:55.96; 2. Nathan Whitson, OBA, 4:58.71; 4. Hill, Hennessey, 5:19.53; 5. Valles, Hennessey, 5:42.79; 6. Zach Hayes, OBA, 6:03.24.
3,000 — 2. Kristian Stitt, Hennessey, 11:49.63; 3. Valles, Hennessey, 11:51.58; 4. Trey Judd, Fairview, 12:42.29
55 Hurdles — 2. William Arndt, Hennessey, 9.0; 3. Keegan Dobbs, Hennessey, 9.32; 4. Kevin Kim,OBA, 9.55; 6. Brandon Lower, Fairview, 10.18; 7. Zach Wright, Hennessey, 11.05
4x160 Relay — 1. Hennessey, 1:20.34; 2.OBA, 1:21.46; 3. Fairview, 1:23.71
4x320 Relay — 1. Hennessey, 2:55.14; 3. Watonga, 2:59.59
4x800 Relay — 1. OBA, 8:51.88; 2. Hennessey, 8:56.42; 4. Fairview, 9:57.02; 5. Watonga, 10:08.08
High Jump — 1. Dillon Pospisil, Hennessey, 5-8; 3. Cortez Lee-Read, Cherokee, 5-6; 4. Walker, OBA, 5-6; 5. Stitt,Hennessey, 5-2
Pole Vault — 2. Dobbs, Hennessey, 10-6; 3. Ebers, Hennessey, 10-6; 5. Chris Plummer, Watonga, 9-6
Long Jump — 1. Pospisil, Hennessey, 19-6; 2. Wright, Hennessey, 18-9; 3. Tim James, Cherokee, 18-41⁄2; 4. Lowder,Fairview, 17-10; 5. Charlie Hess, Fairview, 17-7; 6. Walker, OBA, 17-4
Triple Jump— 1. Pospisil, Hennessey, 38-1; 2. Stitt, Hennessey, 31-81⁄2
Shot Put — 1. John Custar, Sharon-Mutual, 48-7; 4. Petrolia, Hennessey, 38-41⁄4; 5. Jorge Ortega, Hennessey, 37-91⁄4./
Girls 3A-4A
Team — 8. Chisholm 21, 9. Kingfisher 20.
55 — 7. Esmerelda Camarena, Kingfisher, 8.04.
800 — 2. Alex Choate, Chisholm, 2:45.58
4x160 Relay — 4. Chisholm, 1:33.53; 6. Kingfisher, 1:34.53.
4x320 Relay — 5. Chisholm, 3:35.45
4x800 Relay — 3. Kingfisher, 12:41.75
Pole Vault — 6. Delaney Bartley, Chisholm, 8-0
Shot Put — 4. Whitney Reynolds, Kingfisher, 28-21⁄2; 5. Taylor Clayton, Kingfisher, 26-2
3A-4A Boys
Team — 5. Kingfisher 37, 8. Chisholm 14
55 — 8. Jonathan Baustert, Kingfisher, 7.12.
800 — 4. Dakota Theilen, Chisholm, 2:19.75
55 Hurdles — 5. Trevor Schober, Chisholm, 9.53; 7. Noah Verkler, Kingfisher, 10.21 8. Jonathan Searjant, Kingfisher, 14.75
4x160 Relay — 4. Kingfisher, 1:21.16; 5. Chisholm, 1:22.77
4x320 Relay — 4. Kingfisher, 2:59.23; 6. Chisholm, 3:13.26
4x800 Relay — 6. Chisholm, 10:25.38
Pole Vault — 1. James Kraus, Kingfisher, 11-0
Long Jump — 6. Erick Padilla,Kingfisher, 16-61⁄2
Shot Put — 1. Mitch Henderson, Kingfisher, 49-7


