Bartlesville Lady Bruin cross country runner Afton Miller, left, competes during last Saturday's Class 6A regional meet. Miller qualified for the Class 6A state tournament this Saturday in Edmond.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports Report
Bartlesville Bruin cross country runner Preston Shoesmith competes during last Saturday's Class 6A regional meet. Shoesmith qualified for the Class 6A state tournament this Saturday in Edmond.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports Report
Bartlesville Bruin cross country runner Jim Dudley competes during last Saturday's Class 6A regional meet. Dudley qualified for the Class 6A state tournament this Saturday in Edmond.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports Report
By Stephanie J Lief
Oct. 28, 2026
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Fourteen varsity Bartlesville Bruins cranked up the gears at regionals on Saturday, with three runners stomping their way into a Class 6A State appearance.
Afton Miller, Jim Dudley and Preston Shoesmith will represent the Bruins at the state meet following their performances at the regional event.
"I was really proud of how the team ran on Saturday," Bartlesville coach David Ayres said. "We had a lot of PRs, and the kids did a great job sticking to their race plans. We came up just a little short, but I’m excited about what this group can do next year. We’ll definitely miss our seniors. They’ve been great leaders and have done a great job setting the younger runners up for success moving forward."
Lady Bruin Afton Miller secured her spot in the state meet with a personal best time of 20:18.4 and led the team of Margaret King (20:55.9), Isabella Prentice (21:01.6, PR), Eliza Miller (21:08.1), Kimberly Kramer (21:18.2, PR), Madilyn Malcom (21:32.4), and Mikah Hightower (21:51.1, PR) to the finish line.
"I'm excited for Afton, she has barely missed qualifying for state the last two years and she will have a great race," Ayres said.
The Lady Bruins secured a ninth-place team finish, just short of the seventh place needed to secure a team ticket to state. In addition to Miller's qualification to state, the Lady Bruins also secured the 6A Cross Country Academic State Championship with a combined varsity GPA of 4.00.
On the boys' side, Bruins Jim Dudley (16:24.3) and Preston Shoesmith (16:27.5) ran personal-best races and also punched their tickets to the state meet.
"This is Preston's third time to qualify and Jim's first," Ayres said. "Both are running great, I'm excited for their races."
Dudley and Shoesmith led the Bruins to an eighth-place team finish, just one place short of team qualification. Talmage King (16:44.3), Calan Bolitho (16:59.6, PR), Peter King (17:43.2), Blake Crow (17:49.2, PR), and Wesley Pierce (17:50.2, PR) rounded out a strong team finish and season.
The Bruins are now heading to Edmond on Saturday for the Oklahoma Class 6A State meet.
Members of the Bartlesville High School girls cross country team gather in a hype circle before last Saturday's regional meet. Team member Afton Miller, along with Preston Shoesmith and Jim Dudley from the boys team, will compete Saturday in the Class 6A state championship in Edmond.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports Report
Members of the Bartlesville High School boys cross country team gather in a hype circle before last Saturday's regional meet. Team member Afton Miller, along with Preston Shoesmith and Jim Dudley from the boys team, will compete Saturday in the Class 6A state championship in Edmond.
STEPHANIE J LIEF/Bartlesville Area Sports Report