Rams Celebrate Cross Country Crown

By MIKE MOGUIN
GTR Sports Writer

Kennedie Rhein started running when she was in third grade. Today, it has paid dividends in leading Owasso to its first ever state championship in girls cross country. 
“I just went up to my mom one day and told her this is what I want to do,” said Rhein, a sophomore. “It’s not really a common thing for people to start running that young, but we found a great club and I’ve met a lot of good people along the way.”
With youthful talent, Owasso won the Class 6A meet with 69 points on Nov. 4 in Edmond. Finishing runner-up was Norman North with 86. 
“Definitely shocking,” Rhein said. “An unreal experience for sure. I think we went into it, knowing we had to make everything go right. We went out there and did exactly what we needed to do to win.”
The feeling of finishing on top, Rhein said, was indescribable. 
“We had a chance to win it. But it was really joyful, a really joyful moment,” she added. 
Rhein led the Lady Rams with a fifth-place finish as an individual, coming in at a time of 19:12.30. 
The relationships she has made with people along the way is what Rhein likes most about the sport of running. 
“I get to learn a lot from people, especially in this high school environment,” she said. “I’ve got to learn a lot about training and I think running is what has shaped me as a person and I think I can thank the people in my coaches and my teammates.” 
Additional Ram runners contributing to the point totals were fellow sophomores Sandra “Andie” Humes (16th, 19:50.13) and Brooklyn Garafola (18th, 19:59.02), junior Elizabeth “Libby” Booth (19th, 20:12.08) and freshman Kate Stocksen (23rd, 20:25.43).
Other girls running for Owasso were junior Alexa Earnhart (21:01.91) and sophomore Olivia Graham (21:50.23). 
“We know what we are doing,” said Rhein, who also runs track in the spring. “We trust in our training, our coaches and our team.” 
Rhein praises her team as super hard workers;
“My teammate Andie (Sandra Humes) won’t give up on anything,” she said. “But they all have their own gifts and I could sit here forever and talk about each one of them and all their abilities, but again, we are super good as a team and each one of them plays a part in that.”
Working together will be key to repeating next year, Rhein added. 
“I think the coaches have definitely put us on a real good training plan,” she said. “I think just staying on track by working and training hard like we really did this year is key. I think the team chemistry this year had a lot to do with it. We’re all super close and really work good and hard together as a team.”

Ram Quick Hit
The Owasso Rams softball team finished runner-up for a second straight year.
Owasso (30-9) made it to the finals of the Class 6A state softball tournament on Oct. 17 in Oklahoma City. The Lady Rams, ranked fifth at the time, got a big win against top-ranked Edmond Memorial in the semifinals, winning by a 4-1 decision, the previous day.
Against No. 2 Southmoore in the final, they overcame a 2-0 deficit to tie the score and send the game into extra innings, but a one-out RBI double in the eighth inning gave the Sabercats a 3-2 win. Owasso lost by the same score to Edmond Memorial in last year’s state final.