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Owasso’s Bella Nelson named 2024-25 Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Cross Country Runner of Year

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Owasso’s Bella Nelson named 2024-25 Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Cross Country Runner of Year


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Owasso senior Bella Nelson is the 2024-25 Gatorade Oklahoma Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, the company announced Thursday. 

An Oklahoma State signee, Nelson won her second straight Class 6A state title this past fall as she crossed the finish line with a time of 17 minutes, 27.4 seconds. 

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Her victory helped Owasso claim its third straight team championship and fourth out of the last five seasons. 

Following the state meet, Nelson placed 10th in 17:56.2 at the Nike Cross South Regional and was the highest finisher out of all runners from Oklahoma. 

Nelson is the first athlete from Owasso to win Gatorade’s girls cross country runner of the year award.

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Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.





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NCAA Not Done with Kashie Natt, Oklahoma State After Legal Ruling

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NCAA Not Done with Kashie Natt, Oklahoma State After Legal Ruling


The NCAA is not done with Oklahoma State Guard Kashie Natt and his eligibility case, based on the organization’s statement on Tuesday.

On Monday, Natt received an ex parte ruling that kept the NCAA from enforcing its decision to cancel Natt’s waiver request to play in 2026-27. That ruling, from District Judge John Canavan, allows Natt to practice with the team, participate in all team activities and participate in any athletics-related benefits.

It also bars the NCAA from punishing Natt or Oklahoma State while the case is working its way through the court.

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By its nature, an ex parte ruling is made after only hearing one side of the case. The NCAA posted a statement disagreeing with the ruling, including an explanation for why they canceled the waiver and will continue to pursue the case in court.

The NCAA’s Statement on Kashie Natt

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NCAA logo. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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The NCAA posted the statement to social media and was signed by the organization’s chief legal officer, Scott Bearby.

“The order in the Natt case, issued without the NCAA having any opportunity to respond and by a judge not even assigned to hear the case, is demonstrably flawed and the latest instance of an environment where litigation has become a tool to avoid playing by the rules that everyone has agreed to follow.  The student-athlete at issue already benefited from the ‘Pavia waiver,’ which provided him the opportunity to play for a fifth season, and nobody, including the institution where he seeks to compete next year, has ever expressed any doubt that his collegiate career ended when the Pavia waiver expired. We will pursue all remedies to seek reversal of this decision, which contributes to the instability in college sports that only Congress can solve.”

The Pavia case, which was a suit called Pavia v. NCAA, was brought on behalf of Vanderbilt quarterback Deigo Pavia, who started his career in junior college. He received a preliminary injunction in 2025 after he challenged the NCAA’s system for junior college and NCAA eligibility, saying that his juco years counting toward his NCAA eligibility irreparably harmed his ability to leverage NIL.

The NCAA ultimately conceded and granted a blanket waiver that extended an extra year of eligibility to similar athletes. The NCAA believes that bucket includes Natt. He started his career five schools year ago at Southern University-Shreveport, a junior college. He followed that with three years at NAIA LSU-Alexandria and then one more year at Sam Houston.

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Natt’s attorney, Darren Heitner, contends that Natt’s NCAA clock should have started when he began his career at LSU-Alexandria and therefore has one more year to play.

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The case is still pending. A new court date has not been set yet.  

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Oklahoma City police release drone footage of deadly officer-involved shooting

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Oklahoma City police release drone footage of deadly officer-involved shooting


Authorities are releasing more information about a deadly officer-involved shooting that claimed the life of an Oklahoma City woman.

In the afternoon of May 20, officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department responded to a call about an assault with a deadly weapon at an apartment near S.W. 59th and Douglas Ave.

When officers arrived, they spoke with a man who said that a woman inside one of the apartments had fired shots at him through the front door.

Investigators tried to contact the woman, who was identified as Brenda Deer, but they were unsuccessful.

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Capt. Valerie Littlejohn, with the Oklahoma City Police Department, said officers decided to not escalate the situation. Instead, they planned to pursue charges.

Later that evening, residents called police about shots being fired from the same apartment.

When officers arrived, they tried to speak with Deer but she refused to come out of the apartment.

Authorities evacuated nearby apartments and attempted to negotiate with Deer for several hours.

After Deer continued to fire the weapon, Oklahoma City police used tear gas in an attempt to flush her out of the apartment.

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However, she continued to fire toward officers and was shot.

Deer was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on administrative leave.

Earlier this week, Oklahoma City police released drone footage of the shooting.

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As World Cup inspires young players, Oklahoma City bets big on soccer’s future

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As World Cup inspires young players, Oklahoma City bets big on soccer’s future


As millions of fans tune in to the FIFA World Cup, Oklahoma City leaders and youth soccer supporters hope the excitement has a lasting impact much closer to home.

A major expansion of a north Oklahoma City soccer complex is designed to meet growing demand for the sport while positioning the city to host regional and national tournaments that supporters say could bring millions of dollars in economic activity and new opportunities for young athletes.

The project is the result of a public-private partnership between the City of Oklahoma City and North Oklahoma City Soccer Club (NOKC Soccer). The city funded the first two phases through the 2017 General Obligation Bond and MAPS 4, while the club is paying for the final phase of the expansion.

City of OKC and NOKC Soccer Club join efforts to expand Cameron Park soccer facility. (KOKH)

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Supporters say the project comes at a time when soccer continues to gain popularity, especially during World Cup years.

“Our numbers go up. People want to play soccer. It just inspires everyone to be a part of this amazing game,” said Gabi Noble, president of NOKC Soccer Club.

Once complete, the expanded complex will feature 20 fields. This is an important benchmark for attracting many of the nation’s largest youth soccer tournaments.

“A lot of the major events have field minimum standards, and so we needed to have 20 fields to meet those standards so we could host the events,” Noble said.

According to Noble, hosting those tournaments could have an impact well beyond the soccer community.

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She said similar four-day tournaments in other cities have generated between $7 million and $8 million in local economic activity through hotels, restaurants and other spending.

For Oklahoma families, supporters say the biggest benefit could be keeping elite competition closer to home.

Instead of traveling to places like the Dallas area or Overland Park, Kansas, parents could see college coaches and top competition come to Oklahoma City.

“It saves them money because they don’t have to travel all around the nation to get exposure to college coaches,” Noble said. “We wanted to give them a place to stop right here in the middle of our country and show them Oklahoma City and what all it has to offer.”

Stephen Phillips, executive advisor for Oklahoma Energy Football Club and technical director for NOKC Soccer Club, said the city is already seeing the need for additional fields.

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“We don’t actually have enough fields to field any extra teams,” Phillips said. “We’re maxed out at this moment in time because of the field situation.”

He said Oklahoma City’s central location could eventually make the city a regional soccer hub, similar to how Oklahoma City has become synonymous with the Women’s College World Series.

“I would think it would kind of mirror that,” Phillips said. “People fly in or drive in here to play games. Instead of us having to go east coast or west coast, a central location is what people want to see.”

Supporters also hope the investment changes how the rest of the country views soccer in Oklahoma.

Construction continues at Cameron Park. (Courtesy: NOKC Soccer Club)

Construction continues at Cameron Park. (Courtesy: NOKC Soccer Club)

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“I hope that they see Oklahoma as a serious contender in the national market,” Phillips said, noting several Oklahoma teams are already competing at high-level national tournaments.

Ultimately, both Phillips and Noble say the project’s greatest success won’t be measured by tournaments or tourism, but by the young athletes who grow up playing on the new fields.

When asked whether a future World Cup player could come from Oklahoma, Noble didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely. They can and they will.”

Phillips shares that vision.

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“I think a lot of our best athletes will play soccer coming out with this project. That’s what my hope and dream is anyway.”

The Director of OKC Parks, Melinda McMillan-Miller, told Fox 25 in a statement:

“Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation is excited for the amazing enhancements and expansion to Cameron Park. The park will provide an elevated soccer experience for our community and will inspire future soccer players to pursue excellence both on and off the field.”



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