BARTLESVILLE CROSS COUNTRY: SHOESMITH SMASHES 17-MINUTE BARRIER AT STATE; TEAM FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
Bartlesville High School’s Parker Shoesmith, center, runs during an earlier season meet. Shoesmith broke the 17-mintue mark in the 5K (3.1) miles at the Class 6A state meet.
Courtesy Photo
By Mike Tupa
Nov. 12, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
What was ostensibly the final cross country race of the season turned into the starting line for Preston Shoesmith for the 2026 season.
Throughout the entire 2025 regular season campaign and regionals Shoesmith doggedly chased the goal of breaking the 17-minute barrier in the 5K (3.1) miles.
The determined Bartlesville High School junior had been so close — including a time of 17:04.1 at the Chili Pepper (Ark.) competition and 17:19.6 at the regional in Owasso.
But at the recent Class 6A state meet he finally did it by turning in a blazing time of 16:45.2 on the Edmond Santa Fe course.
Unfortunately, that was good for only 48th place in a blistering-hot field in which 30 runners finished in less than 16:30 and the top 16 ran faster than 16 minutes.
But at least Shoesmith has smashed his goal and should continue to get faster throughout the offseason.
“He ran a really good race,” said Bartlesville High cross country head coach David Ayres. “He had a great race. This really sets him up for a really good senior year next year.”
Shoesmith was the lone Bruin to qualify for the state meet.
Ayres is hoping the program will qualify both the entire boys’ and girls’ teams next season.
He’s encouraged both by the progress his young teams made this season plus the infusion of some exceptional potential from the middle school team.
One of the runners that won’t be back, but who drew a special nod of praise from Ayres, was Hailey Taylor.
She was the number seven runner for the Lady Bruin team at the regional.
“She pr’d (set a personal record) by two minutes,” Ayres noted. “This was her first year to run. She was a senior and had been a manager up to this year. … She’s a super nice kid and a hard worker.”
As far as veterans on the boys team, Ayres said he’s looking for two seniors-to-be — Shoesmith and Talmage King — to both have big seasons next year. Shoesmith was Bartlesville’s fastest runner in every race and King finished as the team’s second-or-third fastest runner in seven of the eight races.
He’s also eager to see the progress of varsity runners that will be juniors next season — Grayson Ellis, Jim Dudley, and Peter King. He’s also looking for sophomore-to-be Calen Bolitho — who battled injuries through this season — to stride out in strong shape next year. Bolitho finished among the top five varsity runners in four meets.
Another sophomore-to-be Wesley Pierce also received mention by Ayres. Pierce ran in two varsity races, finishing sixth for the team in the regional.
Among the most successful Lady Bruin varsity runners eligible to return next season were sophomore-to-be Isabella Prentice (the team’s fastest runner in four events and second in three others), senior-to-be Eliza Miller (third-place-or-faster for the Lady Bruins in all eight competitions), Karli Serratos (the team’s No. 1 runner in two early races before injury cut her season short) and junior-to-be Afton Miller (she finished in the top five of team members in all eight runs).
Ayres will be welcoming a wealth of talent from the girls middle school team, which finished unbeaten this past season. Whether they make an immediate impact as freshmen or not, they certainly make the future bright during the next few seasons for Lady Bruin cross country.
Boys’ up from the middle school program also should bolster the Bruins’ success.
The Bartlesville High School boys cross country team at the Chili Pepper (Ark.) meet.
Courtesy Photo