Every time the Lincoln cross country teams lace up their shoes, they seem to reach new heights.

That was no different last week at the most recent event for the boys and girls, as both teams were stellar at the Rogers State "Distance After Dark" event in Tulsa on Thursday.

The boys were the meet champs, running away with first, while the girls set a new 5K new team record to finish as runner-up.

The boys were led by junior Ty Brooks, who finished 8th with a time of 16:01. Fellow junior Sammy Farris was 10th, just behind at 16:07. Trevor Hacker was right there, as well, finishing 12th with a time of 16:17, even after being 30th through mile one.

Senior Garner McAfee finished 22nd, running 16:26, while junior Gabe Sword was 31st with a time of 16:41. McAfee was in 32nd after the first mile and Sword climbed all the way back from the 57th spot after mile one.

Sophomore Ben Bouldin also finished 38th and junior Christiano Sejera was 40th, as both were outside the top 60 after the first mile.

"After the RSU meet, the boys have beaten all 6A top four teams, as well as the 6A and 5A defending state champs," said head coach Stephen Lewelling about his team's impressive start. "The time we could claim to the best team in Oklahoma for all classes was 2017 - we're back now."

Lewelling also talked about message he received from a former athlete on the 2017 team, helping the head coach hone in on perspective.

"I got an encouraging and inspirational word from Luke Murphy who lead that 2017 team," Lewelling said. "He encouraged me that we are now in a position to not only glorify God, but use our status as a platform to spread the gospel. And that's what I'm really excited about the meet coming up on our home course that we get to do just that."

The boys are currently ranked No. 1 in Class 4A and the No. 2 team in all of Oklahoma.

The girls were led by junior Tennyson Housley, who finished 8th, running 18:52. Freshman Madi Miller was 11th with a time of 18:57.

Junior Bentley Stewart ran well for Lincoln, finishing 13th after running 19:19, while freshman Izzy Truitt was 16th at 19:25 and freshman Bella Ramirez was 18th with a time of 19:33, climbing back from the 31st position after mile one.

Freshman Brea Gardner was 28th for Lincoln, improving from 39th through mile one, while senior Brynlee Durborow was 44th for the Bulldogs.

"The girls are as sharp as ever and now ranked No. 32 in the nation," said Lewelling. "I cannot remember a time we were any higher than 100. At Rogers State, they ran as a pack and it was so impressive that other coaches were noticing it and mentioning it to me."

Lewelling wants both squads to stay in the moment and focus on each day, as the schedule continues to be challenging.

"For our group right now we remain focused on today," he said. "We're in a big stretch of racing with four meets in the same number of weeks. That's not usually something that we like to do but with this group who is so eager and ready for the big moment it's been a fun ride thus far."

The girls are currently ranked as the top team in Class 4A.

Lincoln will host the first annual Mid Season Meet of Champions on Saturday at the new cross country course on the campus of LCS and COTM.

Action on Saturday starts at 9 a.m.