Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Reina, Har-Ber boys win at Shiloh Invitational
Reuben Reina was forced to miss last year’s state cross country championships after he suffered a stress fracture in his leg and couldn’t run.
The Springdale Har-Ber junior is back this fall and started the new season on a positive note with a record-breaking performance Saturday during the Shiloh Invitational meet at Springdale.
Reina ran the 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 10.73 seconds and broke the course record set by former Wildcat standout T.J. Sugg by about 23 seconds. Reina was almost 10 seconds faster than second-place Jack Williams of Fayetteville, who finished in 16:20.70.
“It was a good race,” Har-Ber coach Joe Crommett said. “The top four finishers all broke the previous course record, so it was a fun race to watch.”
Reina and teammate Dawson Welch led Har-Ber to a close victory in the Class 5A/6A boys division as the Wildcats had all five runners finish among the top 16 and finished with 43. Fayetteville was next with 45 points, followed by Rogers Heritage with 63.
“It was a nice win for our boys because they have worked hard,” Crommett said. “It was good to see them rewarded for their work.
“I’m blessed to have a lot of good kids this year, and this could be a peak year for us. I’ve known this group has been special for a couple of years, and hopefully we’ll be able to continue to work hard and have a great season.”
Fayetteville, which was the Class 6A state girls runnerup last fall, placed its first five runners in the top 10 and claimed the 5A/6A girls division. The Lady Bulldogs finished with 32 points, followed by Rogers High with 42 and Har-Ber with 63.
Rogers’ Mia Loafman captured the individual title with her time of 19:18.19 and finished ahead of a pair of Fayetteville runners — Mary Margaret Harris (19:51.93) and Carson Wasemiller (19:56.14). Three-time state champion Ali Nachitgal of Rogers finished fourth at 20:11.22.
Pea Ridge, meanwhile, made a sweep of the Class 1A/4A division titles in the state’s first meet of the season.
In the girls division, Pea Ridge compiled 54 points to upend defending Class 4A state champion Harrison, which had 66 points. The Lady Blackhawks placed three runners in the top 10 as Harmony Reynolds finished fourth in 22:44.39, followed by Liz Vazquez (eighth, 23:00.12) and Olivia Scates (1oth, 23:39).
West Fork placed two runners in the top three as Joyce Ferguson won the meet in 21:43.69, while Nealie Den Herder was third at 22:38.07.
In the boys division, Levi Schultz led a quartet of Pea Ridge runners to top-1o finishes as the Blackhawks cruised to the team title. Pea Ridge finished with 45 points, while West Fork was a distant second with 91.
Luke Walling of Cave City, the defending Class 3A state champion, finished ahead of the pack with his time of 16:24.71. Schultz was next at 18:31.97, almost 11 seconds ahead of Gravette’s Welsey Wilson, while the other Pea Ridge runners in the top 10 included Josiah Small (fifth, 19:17.86), Grandon Grant (eighth, 19:19.53) and Layton Powell (ninth, 19:34.17).