BARTLESVILLE CROSS COUNTRY EXCELS; FRONTIER CONFERENCE MEET TUESDAY
Bartlesville High School runner Lyndsey Lief, right, matches strides with a competitor near the finish line during the 38th annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival Oct. 3, 2026, at Agri Park in Fayetteville, Ark.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports Report
By Stephanie J Lief
Oct. 12, 2026
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
With an eventful few weeks, the Bruins cross-country team is gearing up for its final meets of the season.
"The coaches are doing a great job preparing these runners for greatness," Coach David Ayres said. "The hardest battle is them believing in themselves. They are great kids who work hard and that work is paying off in meets."
On Oct. 3, the Bruins varsity and JV teams traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to participate in the 38th Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival. The Bruins were part of the 2,992 high school participants, all boasting stellar performances against some high competition from multiple states.
The Bruins delivered some season-best and personal-best performances, propelling the varsity squad into a top 10 team placement with three finishes in the top 11 percent of the field. The JV team finished 24th out of 53 teams, with multiple placement finishes in the top 25 percent of the field.
Chile Pepper Festival - Bruins Results:
Jim Dudley - 16:34.4
Talmage King - 16:36.4
Preston Shoesmith - 16:42.2
Calen Bolitho - 17:27.0
Peter King - 17:27.4
Blake Crow - 17:52.4
Wesley Pierce - 17:55.8
Everett Ellis - 17:56.0
Logan Barnes - 18:12.0
Caleb Taylor - 18:16.0
Olivier Humble - 18:48.9
Emerson Shawhan - 19:10.0
Kayden Swisher - 19:36.2
Anderson Malcom - 20:13.9
Manual Jimenez - 20:18.8
Eli Toker - 21:09.5
Sam Roper - 21:18.1
Krystopher Stevenson - 23:08.6
Stephen Lauritsen - 23:21.4
Olivier Bulleigh - 23:24.2
The Lady Bruin varsity team ran to a 17th-place finish out of 60 teams, with every runner proudly hitting a personal-best time. The Lady Bruin JV team also placed 17th out of 40 teams.
Chile Pepper Festival - Lady Bruin Varsity Results:
Afton Miller - 20:38.5
Margaret King - 20:45.0
Madilyn Malcom - 20:54.5
Eliza Miller - 21:03.9
Isabella Prentice - 21:18.7
Mikah Hightower - 22:25.1
Chile Pepper Festival - Lady Bruin JV Results:
Kimberly Kramer - 22:17.8
Cora Miller - 23:31.7
Lyndsey Lief - 23:06.9
Sahara Stamps - 25:35.9
Ciara Swisher - 25:42.3
Keylei Alvarenga - 26:55.3
Naomi Vivian - 27:02.0
Sky James - 27:11.7
Adrian Ward - 28:18.3
Paige Lindbloom - 28:22.4
"We are very proud of their progression," Ayres said. "We now have three guys under 17:00 and two girls under 21:00. Our goal is for five guys under 17:00 and five girls under 21:00. We think that is what it will take to make state this year. They are close, but we still have a lot of work to do."
_____
Bartlesville High School runner Oliver Humble leads a pack of competitors during the 38th annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival on Oct. 3 at Agri Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Humble finished the race with a personal-best time of 18:48.9.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports
_____
On Oct. 2, the Bruin middle school teams took to the fields in Claremore. The Lady Bruin 2-mile team defended its undefeated season with a first-place finish.
Claremore Meet - Middle School Lady Bruin Results:
Madisen Dennis (8th grade) - 12:41.20
Jillian Lindblom - 13:12.00
Kadie Tank - 13:17.20
Brylee Kipps - 13:42.60
Eden Thomas - 13:49.50
Penny McNall - 13:54.40
Madelyn Potter - 13:55.10
The Bruin middle school team finished in fifth place.
Claremore Meet - Middle School Bruins Top Finishes:
Leo Winward - 11:55.10
Oliver Ellis - 12:04.10
Jase Hammond - 12:17.60
Jatniel Castro Reyes - 12:51.10
Jayden Brant - 12:52.90
Carter Shea - 13:07.00
Ryker DeHerrera - 13:28.30
"Middle school girls have been amazing and continue to be the best in the state," Ayres said. "They are unbeaten for two years and two-time conference champions. They will be looking to defend that title next week at the Frontier Valley Conference. The future is very bright for both girls and boys teams."
On Sept. 26, 10 varsity runners traveled to the 88th running of the OSU Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which featured highly competitive high school and collegiate race fields. Five Lady Bruins battled a challenging field of runners to finish in the top 55 percent of the field individually, and the Bruins finished in the top 45 percent of the field.
OSU Cowboy Jamboree - Lady Bruin Finishers:
Afton Miller - 22:00.20
Isabella Prentice - 22:04.50
Margaret King - 22:08.60
Madilyn Malcom - 22:25.20
Karli Serratos - 22:48.80
OSU Cowboy Jamboree - Bruin Finishers:
Jim Dudley - 17:39.00
Preston Shoesmith - 17:40.10
Talmage King - 17:54.20
Calen Bolitho - 18:26.80
Peter King - 18:28.90
_____
Members of the Bartlesville High School girls junior varsity cross country team pose with their medals during the Booker T. Washington Invitational on Sept. 24 in Tulsa.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports
_____
On Sept. 24 at O’Brien Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the teams took on a field of competitors in both high school and middle school races.
All nine high school JV Lady Bruin runners left with top 25 individual medals and placed first as a team with an average time of 26:29. The varsity team finished in fourth place with an average time of 23:32 and three top 25 finishes, along with some personal bests. The middle school Lady Bruins continued their undefeated season with a first-place finish in the 2-mile race, averaging a time of 10:10 with 10 top 25 finishes.
The Bruins varsity team came home with a sixth-place team finish and two top 25 medals, with all varsity representation finishing the 5K in under 20 minutes. The JV team took fourth place with an average time of 21:38 for the 5K race, and the middle school team took fourth place in its 2-mile race.
The Bruins are heading into the last meets of the season, with the upcoming Frontier Valley Conference meet on Tuesday.
"Conference is the last time for the middle school and most of the high school to compete," Ayres said. "We are excited to compete in one of the best conferences in the state. Our regional will be hard, but I know we can do it."
The athletes will continue to bring their passion and drive into the upcoming Frontier Valley Conference as the Bruins prepare to send athletes to regionals on Oct. 24, looking to turn on those extra turbo gears to propel themselves to the Oklahoma 6A State meet on Oct. 31.
_____
Members of the Bartlesville High School boys cross country team gather in a "hype circle" before competing in a race this season.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports Report