Winning formula: Depth, skill, talent

Blackhawks make Ridge the capital of 4A track in Arkansas

The Razorback heavy weight track program that was built by Hog head coach John McDonnell in the 1980s led to signs being placed around town proclaiming Fayetteville to be the track and field capital of America. With 44 national championships under the legendary McDonnell, Fayetteville became a mecca for track athletes to come to, seeking advice from the best coach that sport ever produced.

With the boys and girls track programs having picked up 11 state titles since 2017, not to mention several second- and thirdplace team finishes, perhaps Pea Ridge has become the state 4A track and field capitol of Arkansas.

The boys demolished the field earlier this month, outpacing runner up Magnolia by 41 points in a late scoring rush to win their second straight state title. After winning the last seven state titles in a row in track and field, the girls fell a little short to settle for third.

Head girls coach Heather Wade was philosophical about the broken string.

“We actually could have won outdoor state this year, but after winning all those other state titles previously, I don’t want to sound too greedy. We had a great year, winning a pile of championships, capturing the conference meet handily again.”

The boys team fell behind early as Caleb Neil’s silver medal and 8 points, along with Phoenix Edmisson’s fifth place 4 points were all the Hawks could muster as Magnolia took a commanding lead after the field events were finished. However, the boys 4x800meter relay team came on to capture gold in the first running event on the track, and it was only a matter of time before the Hawks tracked down then blew past Magnolia to take control of the meet.

Patrick Elliott and Cade Mann were the big guns for the meet, scoring nearly half of the team’s total points in the three sprint events. Elliott took state titles in the 100-meter (10.8) and 200-meter events (22.2) while also taking second in the 400-meter (50.3) for 28 points. Mann grabbed the gold in the 400-meter (50.1) and picked up fourths in the 200-meter (23.3) and 100-meter events (11.2) for 20 points.

The other big chunk of the Hawks’ 105 total points came from the Hawks distance corps, with the distance runners accounting for 35 of the team points. Grandon Grant was the top scorer in the distance, taking second in the 3,200-meter (10:06) and sixth in the 1,600-meter (4:39). Tian Grant added a third in the 3,200-meter (10:12). Troy Ferguson took fourth in the 800-meter (2:06). And Owen Reynolds captured sixth in the 800-meter (2:09). All four athletes combined forces to win the 4x800-meter relay (8:33) and earn that first 10 points in the running events.

Over on the girls’ side, Kamree Dye had a big day, scoring 23 individual points by taking silver medals in the 200-meter (26.3) and 400-meter (60.3), fourth in the 100-meter (12.85) and seventh in the long jump.

The lone gold medal winner for the Hawks was Dallice White who flung the discus 108-8 to top the field. White also picked up a point with an eighth in the shot put (32-10). Rylee Raines scored the other individual point for Pea Ridge with an eighth place finish in the 3,200-meter (13:00).

Pea Ridge was strong in the relay events, scoring 18 points in three events. The Lady Hawks were second in the 4x400-meter (4:15.7), third in the 4x200-meter (1:54.4), and fifth in the 4x800-meter (11:07.1).

Boys’ team scores at the 2022 4A State Meet were: Pea Ridge 105, Magnolia 64, DeQueen 45, Forrest City 42, Camden 37, Farmington 36, Ozark 33, Hope 33, Clarksville 30, Crossett 26, Gentry 25, Highland 25, Valley View 22, Gravette 20, Shiloh 20, Subiaco 19, Nashville 19, Heber Springs 15, Pottsville 11, Robinson 11, Monticello 10, Batesville Southside 9, Prairie Grove 8, Blytheville 8, Watson Chapel 8, Mena 7, Wynne 4, Trumann 4, Pocahontas 3, Berryville 1, Dardanelle 1 and Arkadelphia 1. Eighteen other schools failed to score.

Girls scores at state were: Valley View 68, Magnolia 58, Pea Ridge 53, Stuttgart 51, DeQueen 46, Ozark 44, Brookland 39, Clarksville 36, Gravette 33, Harrison 32, Farmington 31, Heber Springs 23, Nashville 23, Shiloh 22, Morrilton 21, Gentry 20, Pottsville 18, Arkadelphia 12, Robinson 9, Camden 8, Batesville Southside 7, Wynne 7, Huntsville 6, Forrest City 6, Little Rock Mills 5, Lonoke 5, Pocahontas 5, Hope 5, Trumann 3, Mena 3 and Dardanelle 1. Seventeen other school failed to score.

Blackhawks compete well at Meet of Champions

Unlike any other state, Arkansas hosts a high school championship track meet every year pitting the best of all six classifications into the toughest meet of the year.

The individual state meet champions of each individual and relay events in the 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A classes are invited to the Meet of Champions along with the Top 10 marks from last week. This year’s meet attracted athletes from more than 150 schools to the large-school dominated meet held at Russellville High School.

Only 11 individuals from the entire 4A classification came away with medals from the ultimate competition, more than a third of which were Blackhawk athletes. Seniors Patrick Elliott, Caleb Neil and Kamree Dye along with junior Cade Mann represented not only Pea Ridge, but the 4A-1 and 4A class well.

Dye had the race of her life, blistering the Cyclone oval in 58.7 to take fourth in the 400-meter dash, a second faster than what won the 4A gold two weeks prior in Harrison. She wasn’t far off the previous all-time 4A state record set by Lori Nevel of Ozark who recorded a 58.4 in 1989. Nevel’s mark was eclipsed by another Ozark athlete, Anna Woolsey who blazed a 57.7 last week to take second at the MOC. Comparing girls’ marks to boys’ marks, in my experience there is about a 10-second differential, meaning that Dye’s mark is roughly equivalent to a 48 clocking among male athletes. At any rate, Dye’s race might well have been the third fastest ever by a 4A girl athlete.

Boys from 4A schools

rarely place in the MOC 400-meter though Hawk Patrick Elliott did last year. Rarely does any school of any classification have the horses to medal two athletes in the same year in that event, but the Blackhawks had two this year with Elliott and Cade Mann both taking home 400-meter hardware from the meet.

Elliott raced to a 49.65 finish to take third with Mann right behind with a 49.86 to grab the fourth place medal. The 6A track power Bentonville brought two athletes to the race but neither finished in the top eight. Not many high school track athletes ever slip under the 50 second barrier, and most attend large city high schools. Mann was the only one in the top five who wasn’t a senior, making the junior track star a favorite to lead the state in 2023.

Elliott also picked up medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter meter dashes and became the only athlete in the MOC to take home three individual medals in the sprint events. The senior track ace took fifth in the 100-meter with a fast 10.9 clocking and had a blazing time of 22.2 in the 200-meter to take sixth in that event. His final meet at a Blackhawk cemented his status as arguably the greatest Pea Ridge track and field athlete in history. Beginning his high school career by placing at state in the 100-meter as a ninth grader, he also anchored the state champion 4x100-meter relay team in the same meet, and Elliott eventually led his team to several state team championships.

The fourth Blackhawk athlete who earned the star among stars status was Caleb Neil who had the seventh best jump in the pole vault at 12-6, settling on an eighth place medal after tying with another for seventh. Neil began vaulting in junior high and became the Hawks’ top field athlete with his prowess in that event.

Head coaches Heather Wade and Jason Upton have built a track program that has become the envy of the 4A classification over the past few years.