Oklahoma 6A Cross Country Final Rankings 2020: Both No. 1s Denied in the Season That Almost Wasn’t

The 2020 season was the one that almost wasn’t — run in masks and uncertainty, with schedules patched together week by week. The final 6A poll, posted October 2nd, deserves to be read with that context: the voters were ranking teams they’d barely seen. And with that caveat, the poll whiffed on both sides. Girls’ poll: Jenks No. 1. Champions: Owasso, 69 points, from No. 2. Boys’ poll: Edmond Memorial No. 1. Champions: Mustang, 57 points, from No. 2. Two No. 1s, two denials.

The individual story belongs to Broken Arrow’s Payton Hinkle, who won the 6A girls’ race — her third straight title. Three straight. In a season when just getting to the starting line was an achievement, Hinkle got to the finish line first for the third year running. The poll had Broken Arrow No. 3 as a team; Hinkle was the best runner in 6A regardless.

Boys’ poll: Edmond Memorial, Mustang, Deer Creek, Westmoore, Edmond North. State: Mustang 57. The voters had the top two right and the order wrong. Girls’ poll: Jenks, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Norman North, Deer Creek. State: Owasso 69. Same story, both sides, one slot off.

The rest of the boys’ poll: Tulsa Union, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Bartlesville, Edmond Santa Fe, Choctaw, Norman, Yukon, Jenks, Moore, Southmoore. Girls: Yukon, Moore, Edmond Santa Fe, Choctaw, Bartlesville, Edmond North, Putnam City West, Stillwater, Westmoore, Mustang, Edmond Memorial.

2020 6A: a strange season, a decent poll, and two champions who were one slot better than advertised. Given what that fall was like, everyone who toed the line won something.

Final poll via ohstrack.com (2020); state results via the OSSAA championships recap. The 2020 season was run under COVID restrictions, with a patched-together schedule.