Owasso girls claim 6A cross country title as Bella Nelson also takes individual gold

After moving from Colorado, Nelson wins another individual crown; Lincoln Christian dominates field in 5A

EDMOND, OKLAHOMA - Bella Nelson wasn’t at Owasso last year when they took home the 6A state girls cross country championship. 

In fact, she wasn’t even in the state.

At the time, Nelson was busy in Colorado winning a state title of her own with Niwot High School. But ahead of her sophomore year, she made the move to Oklahoma with the intention of continuing her winning ways.

That is exactly what Nelson did Saturday as she not only helped Owasso win a second straight 6A state title, but she helped herself to the individual championship as well.

“I moved here halfway through my sophomore year, and I was honestly really nervous moving from Niwot, a ranked school, to coming to Oklahoma,” Nelson said. “But I ran it for the only senior that was on the team this year. I ran my heart out for her, I ran my heart out for my team, for everyone.

"They were all cheering me on. It means a lot. It means everything to come out here and win, not only as a team but as an individual as well.”

Nelson finished the 5K course at Edmond Santa Fe in a time of 17:29. She was six seconds faster than Edmond Santa Fe's Natalie Duggan, who took second.

Owasso's Bella Nelson (left) and Edmond Santa Fe's Natalie Duggan compete during the Class 6A girls cross country state meet Oct. 28, 2023

Edmond North’s Morgan Kirkland, Santa Fe’s Aaliyah Joshua and Gentry Turner from Bartlesville rounded out the top five individual placers. 

Nelson and Duggan were neck and neck at the halfway point of the race. But as it progressed, Nelson began to make her move and pull away.

“I had all my coaches and all my family out here telling me just to go, so I was like, you know what, it’s the state meet; let's just give it all we got,” Nelson said. “So, I definitely left it all out there.”

Edmond Deer Creek boys able to finish job, claim Class 6A cross country state title 

Along with Nelson, the Rams had four runners place inside the top 25. That allowed them to post a score of 98 points.

That was just enough to hold off Piedmont, who came in second with 104.

“My heart stopped. I was jumping, screaming with my team,” Nelson said. “It's amazing, to come back here and do it again for them.”

Jenks (120), Edmond North (124), Edmond Memorial (138), Edmond Deer Creek (151) and Bishop Kelley (179) were all battling down the stretch.

The title gives Owasso its third championship since 2020. But with a squad full of underclassmen, Nelson sees a budding dynasty in the making.

“This year is amazing. We have a really young team, so I think we can come back here and do it again next year,” Nelson said. “That's definitely a possibility. It is fantastic.

"We came out here and ran our hearts out for everyone. So, it's a whole other family.”

In Class 5A, the contest wasn’t as close. Lincoln Christian crushed the competition with an impressive 45 points. Guthrie came in a distant second with 114.

All seven runners for Lincoln Christian finished inside the top 25. Tennyson Housley led the charge as she took first place with a time of 18:28.41.

LC teammate Baylee Woodrich was right behind Housley in second place with an 18:53. Jade Burnett of Tulsa Edison, Abby Lee of Blanchard and Kamryn Boller from Guthrie rounded out the top-five placers in 5A.

The championship was Lincoln Christian's third since 2016. 

-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK