The Panthers’ girls look to reload and shoot for their fifth straight championship next year.
HOT SPRINGS —The Siloam Springs girls’ cross country program doesn’t rebuild. It reloads.
The Lady Panthers won their fourth straight Class 6A state title this past Friday at Oaklawn Park, and Siloam Springs looks to be in good shape heading into 2018 with the prospects of winning a fifth straight title.
Of runners at the state meet, the Lady Panthers will lose senior Allika Pearson, who finished 14th overall. Siloam Springs also loses senior runners Caroline Farine and Megan Rush, both of whom battled injuries this season.
The Lady Panthers also will lose their top runner from the 6A meet in sophomore Chloe Maxwell, who finished seventh overall.
Maxwell is moving back to the Philippines after a year-long sabbatical in Siloam Springs, according to head coach Sharon Jones.
“We wish we could keep (Maxwell),” Jones said.
Maxwell was sort of a surprise addition to this year’s team, as she joined the team just before the school year started.
Maxwell ended up leading the Lady Panthers in several races this year, including the final race.
“I thought that was kind of cool,” Pearson said. “I don’t think she’s ever run before. To come in and do as well as she did, she didn’t know how she was going to do at the beginning of the season. She was very consistent.”
Pearson, meanwhile, was thrilled to go out on top.
“It was a relief for it to be my last race, because man I was tired, but I was so excited,” she said. “My teammates that usually run around me were running around me. It was like ‘Yes we can do this.’ Oh, it was so hot though. But I was really happy to cross that finish line.”
Jones said the Lady Panthers will also miss the departing seniors.
“We lose leadership with Allika and Caroline both,” Jones said. “They’re both excellent runners. They’re going to be hard to replace. We’ve got some good ones coming up. We’re just going to keep working. We’re going to keep trying to reload and keep trying to sell it, and hopefully we’ll be back up here for five in a row.”
Youngsters shine
Siloam Springs had a pair of freshmen run well in their first 6A state meet.
Freshman Ashlyn Walker placed 16th overall, while freshman Sydney Moorman was 24th. Both joined the varsity squad after the Chile Pepper race earlier this year.
“Super proud of Ashlyn Walker,” Jones said. “She finished fifth for us last week at conference, which was coming up from about seventh or eighth position on the team. That’s a bright spot. She’s brand new and she’s coming back. She’s super excited about track. We’re thrilled for Ashlyn.”
Jones was excited about how strong Moorman ran down the stretch at the state meet. A late surge allowed her to pass Russellville’s Astrid Christensen for 24th place. It was a significant position because it was the seventh scoring spot which can be used for tiebreakers if necessary.
“Sydney, oh my gosh, did you see her finish?” Jones said. “I knew we were chasing Russellville. She sprinted that girl down — super strong finish.”
Strong underclassmen
Junior Chloe McGooden has been a part of three of the Lady Panthers’ state titles in their current run. She and classmate Brittany Pilcher and sophomores Claudia Mercado, Rebekah Rodgers, Kailey Pentz are all expected to return.
“Claudia and Rebecca, those girls they ran so well,” Jones said. “Kailey, bless her heart. She just got diagnosed with asthma and she was hurting. I’m so proud of her for finishing. I asked her at about a mile-and-a-half if she was OK and she said no. But she kept going. She kept pushing.”