Oklahoma 4A Cross Country Final Rankings 2023: Bethany’s Upset and the Freshman Who Would Be King

The final 2023 4A poll, posted October 14th, split its verdict: Pauls Valley’s girls at No. 1, Cache’s boys at No. 1. The state meet kept half the receipt. Pauls Valley’s girls won with 78 points — poll validated. Cache’s boys did not win. Bethany did, with 94 points, from the No. 2 slot. And the individual title went to neither of them — it went to Regent Prep’s Clay McKinney in 15:42.19, all of 0.79 seconds ahead of Perkins-Tryon’s Corbin Galt. The poll’s top five boys’ teams produced zero individual champions. Chew on that.

Let’s give Bethany its due. Ranked No. 2 behind Cache, the Bronchos put together 94 points when it mattered. Cache had the headliners — Zachary Williams finished 5th in 16:07.27 — but headliners don’t win team titles, packs do. Ninety-four points is honest, workmanlike, fifth-man stuff. The poll ranked the flash; the meet rewarded the grind.

And then there’s the footnote that became a headline. Thirteenth place in the 4A boys’ state race, in 16:37.40, as a freshman: Ethan Jones of Cache. If that name rings a bell, it should — he’s the kid sitting No. 1 in the entire 2026 4A poll at 15:37. Three years ago he was a freshman finishing 13th at state. The poll is a snapshot; development is the movie. Remember that the next time a September ranking tells you who’s good.

The girls’ side was calmer. Pauls Valley No. 1 in the poll, Pauls Valley champions at 78. Kingfisher was No. 2 in the poll, Byng No. 3, Regent Prep No. 4, Cache No. 5. Order restored, no drama — which, in this space, is its own kind of drama. We almost don’t know what to do with a poll that was just… right.

McKinney’s 15:42.19 deserves its own line. Regent Prep’s boys were No. 5 in the poll — a team the voters had basically filed under “also attending” — and their guy outran everyone in the class by nearly a second. The poll measures teams. The individual race doesn’t care about your team’s rank. That’s not a flaw in the poll; it’s a reminder of what it’s for.

Final poll via ohstrack.com (Oct. 2023); state results via the OSSAA championships recap.