Girls track team ranks No. 1 in 4A State, boys No. 2

A track season that has been nothing short of sensational has earned both boys and girls teams lofty rankings in the 4A State rankings.

Results of meets held within the state are required by the Arkansas Activities Association to be posted on MileSplit. com/arkansas. Like the NCAA does to determine their Collegiate Track and Field Rankings, all the high school meet results are merged and each event is scored as if it was one meet.

The defending indoor state champion Lady Blackhawk track squad is sitting on the top of the rankings with a score of 83, ahead of second ranked Robinson which has 77.

The boys, who just missed second place at the state indoor meet by a whisker, is very close to the top spot, trailing top ranked Ashdown by 4 points, 8985. Crossett is in third place with 60.

State rankings in track and field can be very fluid. Athletes who weren’t ranked at all might have a big meet and zoom up in the rankings, changing the totals. There also might be athletes with high rankings who might be or get injured who might not even be available for the state meet. Then there will be the inclusion of ninth graders into the district meets who were previously running junior high. This could alter the dynamic considerably.

The state rankings are rather a kind of barometer of how the teams are faring as they work towards the state final. Not a point is scored or a medal won until it is done at the state championship meet.

To date at least six athletes have already qualified for the state meet next month. Cooper Elliott has qualified in the 100 (10.9) as has Connor Escajeda (11.17). Elliott is also qualified in the 200 (22.64) with Escajeda breaking the time standard in the 400 (50.83). Jordan Witcher stands just 0.18 seconds away from qualifying in the 200 (23.18).

Pea Ridge has qualified a 4x400 relay for state with the 4x100 relay just 0.49 from qualifying on time. Zach Woods is just 5 inches from qualifying early in the pole vault (12’11”) with Drew Winn just an inch from the standard in the high jump (6’1”).

On the girls side, Shelby Dunlap has qualified in the 300 hurdles (48.79) and the triple jump (34’9”). Blakelee Winn has pre-qualified in the long jump (17’2”), 300 hurdles (49.11) and is just 0.08 from qualifying in the 100 (12.95).

Defending state pole vault champion Cassidy Mooneyhan is well over the qualifying standard of 9’0” with an 11’4” best. Freshman junior high vaulter Lauren Wright has also met the state standard with a 9’6” jump.

To certify for inclusion into the state meet, athletes can get in three ways. First, they can qualify on time/ distance if they exceed the standards and the marks are properly filed. Secondly, the first two finishers in each district event are qualified, and thirdly, the AAA will invite the best five district finishers in each event from among the six district meets who were not among the top two.

With the Blackhawks boys and girls having quite a few athletes ranked in the top two from the eight 4A-1 District teams, it is likely a large contingent of athletes will be making the trek to state.

4A Girls State team rankings

Top 25

1. Pea Ridge 83

2. Robinson 77

3. Crossett 64

4. Ashdown 45

5. Shiloh 38

6. Pocahontas 36

7. Arkadelphia 34

8. Hamburg 30

9. Lonoke 26

10. Waldron 24

11. Warren 24

12. Gentry 21

13. Ozark 21

14. Central Arkansas 21

15. Gosnell 19

16. Prairie Grove 18

17. West Fork 16

18. Gravette 16

19. Heber Springs 11

20. Malvern 11

21. Dardanelle 8

22. Westside 5

23. Huntsville 4

24. Bauxite 2

25. Harrisburg 2

4A Boys state team rankings

Top 25

1. Ashdown 89

2. Pea Ridge 85

3. Crossett 60

4. Heber Springs 55

5. Nashville 53

6. Gentry 46

7. Cave City 35

8. Fountain Lake 29

9. Waldron 24

10. Shiloh 24

11. Arkadelphia 21

12. Pocahontas 16

13. Brookland 14

14. Gravette 14

15. Pottsville 13

16. Harrisburg 10

17. Huntsville 8

18. Mena 8

19. Westside 7

20. Highland 6

21. Warren 4

22. Hamburg 3

23. Bauxite 2

24. Riverview 1

25. Gosnell 1

I never saw that before

The Razorbacks swept a three-game set with the Auburn Tigers to take the lead in the SEC West Division race. The Hogs are now 8-4 in league play, one game ahead of Mississippi at 7-5.

An odd thing happened in the game Sunday when an Auburn hitter hit a deep fly ball that just barely eluded the centerfieder’s grasp to land beyond the fence. The Auburn baserunner on first thought the ball had been caught so he ran back to first, and on the way back, the batter passed him on the base path.

If a batter passes a teammate ahead of him on the bases, then he is called out. Though an argument ensued from the Tiger coach, he was ruled out and the home run erased. The runner was waved on home since he would have scored on the homer.

I have never seen that happen before. Arkansas won 5-4.

Girls softball wins a pair, boys split

The girls softball team swept a pair of conference games last week, blasting Berryville 12-2 after coming from behind to down Prairie Grove 18-13. The Lady ’Hawks had fallen behind 11-1 after three innings but came roaring back to score nine runs in the last two innings to post a wild victory. The win kept the Lady ’Hawks’ league record unblemished at 7-0 with the Tigers dropping to 2-5.

The girls have a busy schedule this week, hosting Gentry on Monday, traveling to Gravette on Tuesday with a road game at Green Forest Friday.

The boys lost a 6-0 decision to Shiloh in a battle between conference undefeateds. They bounced back a few days later to trounce Prairie Grove 11-0 to stay a game and a half behind league leading Shiloh.

The boys were to travel to Gentry for a league game Monday, and are scheduled to host Elkins Wednesday in another important league battle. They are scheduled to travel to Greenland Thursday before hosting Lincoln Monday.

The girls moved up three spots in the state’s Top 25 ranked teams, from seventh to fourth while the boys also improved. The baseball boys moved from 14th to 12th in the State 4A poll..

4A-3A-1 Softball Conference standings

1. Pea Ridge 7-0

2. Gravette 5-1

3. Lincoln 4-2

4. West Fork 2-1

5. Gentry 3-5

6. Prairie Grove 2-5

7. Elkins 2-5

8. Greenland 0-7

4A-1 Softball District rankings

1. Pea Ridge 12-3

2. Gravette 11-3

3. Berryville 12-3

4. Lincoln 9-6

5. Huntsville 4-4

6. Gentry 4-8

7. Prairie Gove 2-12