Oklahoma 5A Cross Country Final Rankings 2024: Kelley Swept Again, Carl Albert Crashed the Party, and Guymon’s One-Man Show

The October 1, 2024 polls got the 5A winners right — Bishop Kelley, both races, and the Comets delivered both titles at Edmond Santa Fe on November 2. But a poll that names the winner can still be wrong about nearly everything else. Carl Albert’s girls were ranked 11th and finished 3rd. Guymon’s boys were ranked 11th, finished 7th, and produced the individual champion and the third-place finisher. This is the 2024 5A season rewind — sweeps, snubs, one-hero teams, and the freshmen who would own the next two seasons.

Girls: Kelley 42, and Then Carl Albert Out of Nowhere

The October 1 girls poll: 1. Bishop Kelley, 2. Tulsa Edison, 3. Blanchard, 4. Guthrie, 5. Duncan, 6. Altus, 7. Bishop McGuinness, 8. Claremore, 9. Pryor, 10. Southeast, 11. Carl Albert, 12. Durant, 13. Tahlequah, 14. Noble, 15. Collinsville.

State meet final standings: 1. Bishop Kelley 42, 2. Duncan 125, 3. Carl Albert 146, 4. Southeast 156, 5. Guthrie 175, 6. Thomas Edison 190*, 7. Blanchard 190*, 8. Bishop McGuinness 199, 9. Claremore 200, 10. Tahlequah 215, 11. Durant 224, 12. Altus 255, 13. Pryor 265, 14. Noble 292. (*Edison won the tiebreak on sixth runner.)

Kelley earned the top spot — 42 points with scorers going 1-6-9-11-15. But look at the wreckage behind them. Edison, ranked 2nd, finished 6th. Blanchard, ranked 3rd, finished 7th. And Carl Albert — ranked 11th, an afterthought — finished 3rd with 146. The poll had eleven teams ahead of Carl Albert; the stopwatch had two. Somewhere a pollster is still explaining that one.

Duncan deserves a line too: ranked 5th, finished 2nd with 125. The Demons were the only team within shouting distance of Kelley, and nobody in October thought so.

Girls Individuals: Meyers, Then the Future

Gwyneth Meyers (Bishop Kelley, SR) won the 5A girls title in 18:31.0. Emma Robinson (Claremore, SR) was second in 18:54.2, Jade Burnett (Thomas Edison, JR) third in 19:11.6, Adella Carter (B.T. Washington, SO) fourth in 19:21.6 — running unattached to any scoring team — and Abby Lee (Blanchard, SR) fifth in 19:36.4.

The individual rankings sheet (September 30) actually called the podium in order — Meyers, Robinson, Burnett — typos and all. The sheet said ‘Gwyn Meyers’ and ‘Jaylin Ramirez’; the official report says Gwyneth Meyers and Jailyn Ramirez. Spelling is hard; ordering the top three correctly is harder, and the sheet did it.

Now the hindsight section, because this blog cross-references everything: Jade Burnett went from 19:11.6 (3rd, as a junior) to 18:56.7 and 2nd at the 2025 state meet. Annabelle Gentry (Kelley) went from 20:04.4 (10th, as a freshman) to 19:37.2 (5th) in 2025 to 18:50 and #5 in the 2026 Week 4 poll. Kherington Smith (Kelley) went from 20:19.3 (12th, as a freshman) to 19:24 and #4 in the 2026 poll. The 2024 state meet was a preview of the next two seasons’ contenders, and Kelley’s freshman class was the trailer.

Boys: Kelley 37, and Guymon’s Two-Man Wrecking Crew

The October 1 boys poll: 1. Bishop Kelley, 2. Tahlequah, 3. Classen SAS, 4. Bishop McGuinness, 5. Santa Fe South, 6. Pryor, 7. Blanchard, 8. Guthrie, 9. Coweta, 10. Southeast, 11. Guymon, 12. Tulsa Edison, 13. Duncan, 14. Carl Albert, 15. Claremore.

State meet final standings: 1. Bishop Kelley 37, 2. Classen HSOAS 108, 3. Tahlequah 139, 4. Pryor 143, 5. Bishop McGuinness 174, 6. Guthrie 188, 7. Guymon 210, 8. Blanchard 214, 9. Southeast 219, 10. Claremore 246, 11. Duncan 253, 12. Santa Fe South 255, 13. Coweta 284, 14. Carl Albert 301.

Kelley’s 37 points (2-4-8-9-14) is a championship profile — the poll’s #1 delivered. But Guymon is the story: ranked 11th, finished 7th with 210, and the scoring line tells you everything — 1-3-40-81-85. Two of the three best runners in the class, and a team that still couldn’t crack the top five. That’s the one-hero pattern in its purest form: two heroes, three stragglers, seventh place.

Classen deserves credit: ranked 3rd in the poll, finished 2nd at state — one spot off. Tahlequah, ranked 2nd, finished 3rd. The top of the boys poll was roughly right, which in this blog’s experience is the exception that proves the rule.

Boys Individuals: Half a Second

Tesfaye Lire (Guymon, SR) won the 5A boys title in 15:41.9. Eli Horeled (Bishop Kelley, JR) was second in 15:42.4 — half a second back. Half a second between first and second, after 5,000 meters. Adam Sium (Guymon, SR) was third in 15:45.8, completing Guymon’s 1-3 punch. Ethan Brooks (El Reno, FR) — a freshman, running unattached to a scoring team — was fourth in 15:51.3, and Charlie Ritchie (Bishop Kelley, SR) fifth in 16:10.2.

The individual rankings sheet had Charlie ‘Richie’ — the official report says Ritchie — ranked #1 at 15:32.37. He finished fifth in 16:10.2. Rankings measure September; state meets measure November.

And the hindsight: Eli Horeled’s half-second loss as a junior became a dead-heat victory as a senior — 15:41.1 at the 2025 state meet, tying Claremore’s Carter Gibson for the title. Isaiah Blevins (Guthrie) went from 16:15.6 (7th, as a junior) to 16:16.8 (4th) in 2025. Logan Sanders (Duncan) went from 16:50.3 (18th, as a sophomore) to 16:23.3 (5th) in 2025. The 2024 boys’ race was a junior-and-sophomore showcase disguised as a senior’s coronation.

The Poll, Graded

Both #1 picks won — the poll’s best day of the 2024 season. But Carl Albert’s girls (11th to 3rd), Edison’s girls (2nd to 6th), Blanchard’s girls (3rd to 7th), and Guymon’s boys (11th to 7th with the champion) mean the poll got the winners right and the season wrong. Naming the favorite isn’t analysis. The gaps are the analysis — and the gaps said the pollsters stopped watching after the top five.

State meet results from the official DirectAthletics meet report (via ossaaillustrated.com, November 2, 2024, Edmond Santa Fe). Final polls and individual rankings from ohstrack.com, October 1 and September 30, 2024. 2025 comparisons from the official 2025 5A state report and this blog’s 2025 5A rewind.