Blackhawk tracksters strong in the rankings
Pea Ridge High School boys’ and girls’ track and field teams are a strong contender to successfully defend the twin titles they won in 2021 with a strong showing in the statewide 4A track rankings.
The boys’ team leads the state in five events, led by Patrick Elliott who tops the current lists in the 100-meter (11.1), 200-meter (22.5) and 400-meter (51.1). The Blackhawk boys’ 4x400meter relay (3:37) and their 4x800-meter relay (8:57) also sit atop the rankings in their respective events.
If the state meet were held today, the boys would top the competition with 109 points, should all the rankings hold true.
On the girls’ side of things, the only event they are listed as the leader is in the 4x100-meter relay (52.5). However, the Lady Hawks have an athlete with big scoring potential in Kamree Dye who in ranked in the top four in four events. Dye is ranked third in the 200-meter (26.23), third in the long jump (16-5), fourth in the 100-meter (12.98), and fourth in the 400-meter (1:02.6).
The Lady Hawks have an overall scoring potential of 76 points, which is less than what they scored in 2020 but still ahead of the runner-up total last year total of 71.
Grandon Grant has three rankings in the boys’ events, currently ranked second in the 800-meter (2:11), second in the 1,600-meter (4:49), and fourth in the 3,200-meter (10:43).
Cade Mann has a second place ranking in the state 400-meter (51.4) as well as a sixth ranking in the 200-meter (23.4). Troy Ferguson has two fourth place state rankings, one in the 800-meter (2:13) and the other in the 1,600-meter (4:52). Tian Grant has a pair of state rankings as well, with a sixth in the 3,200-meter (10:47) and a seventh in the 1,600-meter (4:54)
The only Blackhawks with a state ranking in the field events is in the pole vault. Caleb Neil leads the way with a vault of 11-6 to rank fifth with Phoenix Edmisson ranked seventh with an 11-0 effort.
On the girls’ side, Dallice White could be a top scorer for the Hawks with third place rankings in the throwing events. She has a best of 104-9 in the discus, and a toss of 33-10 in the shot put.
Liz Vasquez and Rylee Raines both hold double rankings in the distance events. Vasquez is ranked sixth in the 1,600-meter (5:49) and seventh in the 3,200-meter (12:04). Raines is ranked seventh in the 1,600-meter (6:04) and eighth in the 3,200-meter (13:13). The Hawks have two seventh place state rankings with Allie King with a pole vault of 8-0, with Kylee Tidwell high jumping 5-0.
The girls could score heavily in the state relays with the 4x200-meter ranked second (1:55.5), the 4x800-meter ranked second (11:06) and the 4x400meter ranked fourth (4:37).
Most of the 2022 season lies before Arkansas track athletes with times and marks steadily improving. Rankings score zero points but they are an indicator of where the teams and athletes stand at any given moment. Of course, there are always surprise athletes who come up big at the state finals, while injuries and illness having the potential to skew expected results.
All track and field meets in the state report their results to Mile Split AR, a website which keeps all data available for interested coaches, fans or reporters. Rankings are like a weather forecast, likely accurate — but not always.
At any rate, it would appear that the strong track and field program that began its rise nearly a decade ago when Heather Wade took the reins of the girls’ program is still clicking.
Checking on the Milesplit AR calendar, the Blackhawks are back in action this Thursday, March 31, at the Berryville Invitational meet followed by the Fayetteville Invitational meet on the next day (April 1). The next big date is April 7 when Pea Ridge will host the Blackhawk Relays. That will be the only chance the local fans will have to see the defending 4A boys and girls state champions in action on their own turf.
Baseball hogs atop the SEC west
The University of Arkansas baseball Razorbacks took two of three from Missouri to stay atop the SEC Western Division,
After beating the Tigers 7-5 in the first game last Friday, the Hogs dropped the second game to Missouri by the same 7-5 score to give the hosts their first conference win of the season. The Diamond Hogs then got by Missouri 6-4 in the rubber match to take the series, the 12th straight SEC series Arkansas has won stretching back to last year. The SEC is the premier collegiate baseball league in the country.
Arkansas has 18 wins with four losses to Illinois State, Stanford, Southeast Louisiana and now Missouri. They have opened up a two-game lead over Auburn in the West.
The Razorbacks played Little Rock last night and are scheduled to play the Trojans again tonight. After that they will open a threegame series playing host to Mississippi State’s Bulldogs beginning Friday.
SEC STANDINGS WEST
Arkansas 5-1 Auburn 3-3 LSU 3-3 Texas A&M 3-3 Miss. State 3-3 Mississippi 2-4 Alabama 2-4
EAST
Tennessee 6-0 Vanderbilt 4-2
Georgia 3-3 Florida 3-3 Kentucky 2-4 S. Carolina 2-4 Missouri 1-5
Muss bus runs out of gas against duke
Eric Musselman’s basketball Razorbacks came up short in trying to end Duke University’s season and close the book on longtime Duke coach Mike K .
Coach K, as he is called, coached at Duke for 42 seasons, won five NCAA titles. A West Point graduate, he was in the Army until 1974. He got his coaching start as an assistant to the infamous Bobby Knight at Indiana and eventually took over the program at Duke in 1980. His defeat of Arkansas sent the Blue Devils into the Final Four to face next door neighbor North Carolina.
In all his 42 seasons, Krzyzewski has never played his arch rival North Carolina in an NCAA tournament game. The two schools are just 10 miles apart with both winning numerous national titles.
Arkansas set the stage for its demise just before the halftime intermission. Arkansas had the ball with about 35 seconds left with Coach Musselman wanting his team to drain the clock then go for a 3-pointer. Arkansas trailed 42-33 but if the Hogs made the shot with almost no time left, they would likely only trail by 6 at the break. However, Chris Lykes decided to take an off balance wild shot. Not only was it a poor shot, it came way earlier than the coach wanted. Duke got the rebound, went down the floor, made a trey and went into the break leading with a 12-point lead, 45-33.
Coach K pointed to that play as the biggest one in the game. The player that committed the blunder did not play again, having had problems earlier with shot selections to the detriment of the team. A first year player at Arkansas, Lykes spent his first three seasons with the University of Miami.
The Hogs had a good year. Editor’s note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The Times at prtnews@nwadg.com.