Randall, Bussell go 1-2 at state
Coody medals for NRC
There was a time in Saturday’s Class 3A cross country champion when defending state champion Riley Randall knew what he had to do to win again.
He had led almost the entire race, but found himself overtaken by Kingston runner Brycen Ward with a little more than a mile to go.
“He passed at the twomile mark and I knew I had to make a move to win,” said Randall, a junior at Meeker.
“So on the back-stretch coming downhill, I dropped the hammer and gapped him and got maybe a 10-meter lead.
“I think it wore him out and helped Braxton to catch up to him later.”
The Braxton in question was Braxton Bussell, another Meeker junior.
Bussell was in sixth place about halfway through the race, but began picking off the runners in front of him, eventually passing Kingston’s Ward and finishing 11 seconds behind Randall.
“It’s awesome, and all glory to God,” Bussell said. “Riley pushed me every single day in practice, and having the opportunity to run with him and have a partner like that is awesome.
“I realized I’m a runner that usually gets out super fast and likes to lead the pack. I was in about sixth or fifth place when I realized what I had to do.
“I felt good and took my chance.”
Bussell finished at 16:39.70, more than a minute faster than his time last year, when he finished eighth and earned All-State honors, and beat his previous personal best by three seconds.
Randall finished at 16:28.41, almost 15 seconds better than his winning time last year, but he said he felt this year was more of a challenge.
“This time I had a target on my back and I knew there were going to be some guys coming for me, just like Braxton was. Brycen Ward and Wyatt Vinson, they were all on my tail there for the first couple of miles.”
With their first- and second-place finishes, Randall and Bussell helped Meeker’s boys to a seventh-place team finish, its third top-10 finish in the last three years.
“It is amazing how much this program has grown,” said coach Brady Dukes. “Not just Braxton and Riley, but overall.
“We were really competitive this entire season. Finished second at pre-state, which was really great. It was such a tight state race this year. I’m proud of the way we raced.
“I told them today. Have fun and go run your best. Don’t worry about where everyone else finishes. Run the best you can. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
North Rock Creek’s Jordan Coody earned All-State status for the third straight year, finishing 11th in Class 4A with a time of 17:04.88, 16 seconds better than his time last year, when he finished third in Class 3A with a time of 17:20.