Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
All-NWADG boys track
Fayetteville, Providence Academy, Gentry athletes honored
SCHOOL Providence Academy CLASS Sophomore
HEIGHT 6-2
POSITION Sprints
THE SCOOP Rutherford ran the boys 200 meters in 22.17 seconds to win that event during the Heartland Christian Athletic Association meet held May 5 at Fayetteville Ramay Junior High. His time during that meet ranks fifth in the state in that event this spring. … Also won the boys 100 meters that day in a respectable 11.03 seconds, then he won the high jump and finished second in the long jump during that meet. … Just completed his third year as a student at Providence.
DID YOU KNOW Rutherford’s performance at the HCAA meet also earned him something unexpected that day — the opportunity to meet Fayetteville native and Olympic sprinter Wallace Spearmon, who was in attendance during the meet. QUOTABLE “By the end of the season, I think I reached my goal,” Rutherford said. “I did have a few hiccups along the way. I pulled a hamstring in early March and was off for 2 weeks, but I came back and finished as well as I could. “I had been looking forward to that 200 race for most of the season. Throughout that day, I thought my team was a little down, so I needed to do something to amp them up, let them know we can finish strong. My dad was also there, so that gave me a boost. I decided to run my best, and that’s what happened. When I saw that time, I was surprised. I had just beat my previous PR by about 0.3 seconds.”