Fayetteville girls save best for last
SPRINGDALE — Fayetteville’s girls nipped their closest competitors Thursday for a second consecutive Class 7A state track and field championship.
The Lady Bulldogs scored almost half of their points in five of the six field events to win the team title at Springdale Har- Ber. Fayetteville finished with 131 points, while Bentonville and Conway tied for second with 125 points apiece. Rogers finished fourth with 95 points.
Fayetteville, which finished fourth in the 7A- West Conference meet, picked up victories in the shot put and discus from junior Jasmine Franklin, who missed last week’s conference meet. The Lady Bulldogs also picked up a victory and a second- place finish from Lauren Holmes in the long jump and the triple jump, respectively. Adriana Kitchen won the triple jump and finished third in the long jump.
Grace Spangler and Ella May Powell took third and fourth, respectively, in the high jump, giving Fayetteville 65 points out of field events alone. Rebecca Boushelle then added to Fayetteville’s fortune when she won the 1,600 meters in 5: 21.04.
“We hadn’t won a meet all year, and coming into the state and showing up like we did — it was a great meet for us,” Fayetteville Coach Drew Yoakum said. “It seemed like it all came together the right way.
“We were fighting wind and weather through the last two weeks, and our jumpers came through. It’s unbelievable what our distance kids did to set things up and help us win.”
Bentonville’s boys, the runner- up in the 7A- West meet, saved some of their best outings for last and turned them into a state championship. The Tigers complied 107 points compared to 95 for second- place Springdale Har- Ber. Fayetteville finished third with 86.
Bentonville and Har- Ber were tied at 80 with three events remaining, but Devin Dougherty swung things in the Tigers’ direction with his second- place finish in the 200, just ahead of HarBer’s Tevin Eckwood. Bentonville extended its lead in the 3,200 when Coleman Wilson, Johnathan Prince and Kimball Owen finished fifth through seventh, respectively, then clinched the title when the team of Zerai Belai, Patrick Bell, Dougherty and Alex Kitson won the 1,600 relay in 3: 21.83.
“This one, we knew it was going to be a tough one and that it would come down to the end,” Bentonville Coach Mike Power said. “It’s a huge thing for everybody to come together, attack a meet like this and know what you have to do.
“This team really took it one race at a time and scored as many points as we can. We had 100 points as our target, so we hit our goals for the most part.”
The only state record broken Thursday was in the boys pole vault, where HarBer senior Zach McWhorter cleared 16 feet, 10 inches to surpass the 16- 9 he cleared last year in Conway. He attempted three times to set an overall state record of 17- 4 but was unsuccessful.
“It’s because of this crazy tailwind,” McWhorter said. “We hadn’t had this all season. I was feeling good, but the bar fell before I could go and I sort of lost my mojo.
“It’s good to set the record again, but it’s only an inch higher. I know I can do better.”
Stefan Banda became the first Bentonville West track athlete to win a state championship. The junior won the boys triple jump with a personal- best of 46- 1 ¼ in his last attempt.
“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Banda said. “Just hearing that I am a state champion. I’m still trying to process it. It feels great, though.
“My approach was different. Instead of having a slow, controlled approach, I just went for the jump. I sped up my approach, and that just got me jumping farther.”