The 3200-meter run began in the early afternoon as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees and bands of light rain pelted the area. By the time the 1600 meters began, rain had largely stopped and temperatures had warmed slightly.

But in any conditions, the results were the same. Werner, the defending state champion in the 3200, finished the 3200 in 11:36.94, 21 seconds ahead of Tahlequah’s Jessica Hembree. The Grove junior finished the 1600 in 5:24.34, 13 seconds ahead of Hembree.

“I felt ok,” Werner said. “The weather during the two-mile [3200 meters] was a little too cold.”

Werner picked up a third gold medal when she ran the first leg of the 3200-meter relay. The team of Werner, Ashleigh Tramel, Lexi Lane and Josie Eubanks finished with a time of 10:13.58, less than two second ahead of second place Poteau.

Those three wins helped the Lady Ridgerunners to third place in the team standings by Saturday’s end. Because of the rain, competition in the pole vault, discus and shot put was moved to Monday afternoon.

“The weather was brutal,” head coach Richard Bassett said. “The kids ran hard. As far as our times coming into regionals, the ones we thought would get in [to state] were the ones that ended up getting in. They did exactly what they’ve done all year and I don’t think it’ll be any different at state.”

The top three finishers in each event automatically qualified for Friday’s state championship at Yukon High School. Additional wild-card qualifiers will be added based on results from other regionals.

Tramel finished second individually in the 800 meters to earn a spot at state.

Grove also got a fourth place finish from Taylor Davis in the 400 meters, while Lane finished sixth in the 800. The Lady Ridgerunners were fifth in the 400 relay and sixth in both the 800 and 1600 relays.

Iverson gets back on track

With a nagging ankle injury leading to several subpar performances, Grove junior Emilee Iverson felt things come back together in winning the high jump competition Saturday.

Iverson, the defending state champion in the event, cleared 5-4 to defeat long-time rival Alyssa Hammons of Miami.

“I was a little nervous coming into regionals because I haven’t been jumping my best,” Iverson said afterward. “My ankle was kind of stressing me out so jumping 5-4 makes me feel better.”

Iverson, who had not cleared a height higher than 5-2 since early April, also had to overcome some of the worst of Saturday’s weather, with persistent rain falling throughout the competition.

“I prefer the heat,” Iverson said. “With the rain, the main thing is to block it out. I’ve dealt with it before, so it’s not a big deal.”

Wheatley doubles up

Senior Ryan Wheatley was the star for the Ridgerunners in the boys’ competition on Saturday, winning both the 400 and the 800 while also running a leg of the 3200-meter relay.

The team of Javier Lara, Derek Pigsley, Jerrod Hayes and Wheatley finished second in the relay, four seconds behind Tahlequah.

Wheatley won the 800 with a dramatic flair, overcoming a pair of competitors on the backstretch to finish in 1:59.61, .15 ahead of Aaron Eversole of Tahlequah.

Less than an hour later, Wheatley ran 51.34 in the 400 to beat Colin Caesar of Tulsa Washington by less than one second.

The Ridgerunners also got a pair of fifth place finishes from Javier Lara (800 meters) and Derek Pigsley (1600 meters) and currently sit in sixth in the team standings.

The Lady Ridgerunners were in third with 73 points, trailing Tulsa Washington and Tahlequah.