Four of a kind
Girls XC wins 4th straight 6A title
HOT SPRINGS — Nothing is ever for certain when it comes to high school athletics, and the Siloam Springs girls cross country team saw that first hand on Friday at the Class 6A Girls State Cross Country Meet.
The three-time defending state champion Lady Panthers watched 6A-West Conference rivals get out to a hot start at the beginning of the race, and for a while it was in doubt whether Siloam Springs would be able to retain its top spot in Class 6A.
But as the race settled in, so did the Lady Panthers.
Battling against unseasonably warm November temperatures and a little bit of pressure, Siloam Springs persevered on Friday and had five finishers in the top 20 and the Lady Panthers won their fourth straight state championship at Oaklawn Park.
It’s the seventh state title overall for the girls program, joining championships in 2001, 2002, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
When asked if winning state championships ever gets old, head coach Sharon Jones had a smile from ear to ear.
“No it’s surreal every time and this one scared us,” Jones said. “You saw the race. Russellville made a strong surge at the beginning of the race and our girls held on and thankfully it turned out all right.”
Siloam Springs finished with 59 points, 33 ahead of second place Russellville, which finished with 92. Lake Hamilton came in third at 96, followed by Mountain Home 101, Benton 109, Greenwood 160, Jonesboro 165, Marion 187, Sheridan 197 and Texarkana 258.
Lake Hamilton senior Josie Carson won the overall title for the fourth straight year with a time of 19 minutes, 18.9 seconds.
Seven runners from seven different schools made up the top seven, which played into the Lady Panthers’ favor as Gracie Hyde from Benton was second, followed by Greenwood’s Taylor Koeth, Jonesboro’s Sara Steimel, Mountain Home’s Marcie Cudworth and Russellville’s Charissa Helms-Pittman.
“We knew there were those strong runners up front,” Jones said, “but we counted on them being different schools.”
Siloam Springs sophomore Chloe Maxwell was the top finisher for Siloam Springs with a finish of 20:50.9, followed in ninth place by junior Chloe McGooden at 20:58.5.
“Those two girls have been battling it out all year,” Jones said. “Chloe McGooden and Chloe Maxwell push each other so hard.”
The two ran together most of the race with Maxwell pulling ahead right before the finish line. Maxwell and McGooden finished in the top 10 percent of the competition and earned all-state honors along with top 10 medals.
“I’m really happy because we kind of ran in a pack, how we’ve always ran,” McGooden said. “Chloe (Maxwell) was really pushing me. I knew it was going to be either me or her and that she’s really strong. I’m really happy for her.”
Junior Brittany Pilcher’s surge in the final steps was enough to clip senior teammate Allika Pearson at the finish line. Pilcher finished 13th with a time of 21:39.7, while Pearson was 14th at 21:40.7.
Freshman Ashlyn Walker completed Siloam Springs’ top five scores with a time of 21:55.2 and finished 16th overall.
Sophomore Rebekah Rodgers placed 21st overall at 22:09.2, while freshman Sydney Moorman was 24th at 22:15.3. Sophomore Claudia Mercado was 34th at 23:07.7 and sophomore Kailey Pentz was 51st at 24:18.6.
Boys take fourth
Siloam Springs boys finished fourth overall in the boys meet.
Lake Hamilton won its
fifth straight boys championship with a team score of 31 points, while Benton was second at 78, Greenwood 89, Siloam Springs 125, Russellville 150, Mountain Home 150, Jonesboro 173, El Dorado 206, Marion 215, Sheridan 241, Searcy 312 and Texarkana 365.
Jonesboro’s Damion Brown was the top finisher overall at 16:48.7.
Siloam Springs was led by sophomore Kerrig Kelly, who finished 11th overall at 18:08.0. By finishing 11th, Kerrig placed in the top 10 percent and earned all-state honors in Class 6A.
“They did absolutely their best,” Jones said. “I could not be happier for Kerrig finishing 11th, clinched that last all state posiiton. You know and really it was a good time for Kerrig.”
Junior Samuel Granderson fought off an illness and finished 20th overall at 18:40.9. Senior Isaac Leachman, who has battled a foot injury late in the year, finished 23rd at 18:45.5.
Senior Caleb Ellis was 38th at 19:19.7, while freshman Blake Morrison was 41st at 19:32.4. Sophomore Adam Kennedy ran a 19:43.4 and finished 50th, while freshman Michael Capehart was 55th 19:51.7.
Sophomore Isaac Price collapsed just before the finish line and got up and ran the last few feet to finish the race at 20:06.6. Price collapsed again on the finish line and had to be carried off the course and taken to a hospital for dehydration but should be OK, Jones said.
Sophomore Ransom Van Asche was six seconds away from a new personal record and finished 82nd at 21:02.9.