Decatur, Gentry athletes compete in state individual meets
WESTSIDE — For several of the top athletes from Decatur and Gentry, the opportunity to compete in two of Arkansas’ most prestigious events was marked the highlight of their 2017 track experience.
The Meet of Champions, held at Russellville High School May 13, brought together the top track and field athletes from the 1A-7A conferences in Arkansas. The event was sponsored by the Arkansas Activities Association.
Cole Cripps, Clark Mason and Chastery Fuamatu competed in their respective events for Gentry, while Destiny Mejia, Cameron Shaffer, Desi Meek, Ryan Shaffer, Taylor Haisman and the relay team of Shaffer, Haisman, Jimmy Mendoza and Johnny Brandon competed for Decatur.
Two Gentry athletes finished in the top five in their respective events. Chastery Fuamatu posted a secondplace finish in the shot put and third in discus. Teammate Clark Mason placed second in the discus and fifth in the shot put. Cole Cripps finished in sixth place in the pole vault.
Cameron Shaffer, Desi Meek, Ryan Shaffer and the 4x400 relay team all finished in the top 10 for Decatur.
One standout this season for the Decatur track program was freshman Destiny Meija. For Meija, the Meet of Champions marked the end of a remarkable season. She won the 1A state championship in the high jump and a 11th-place finish in the same event in the Meet of Champions. Meija showed remarkable courage and athleticism as she competed against older and more experienced athletes.
The final journey for the Decatur and Gentry track teams occurred May 17-18 when three of each schools’ top track stars competed in the AAA Decathlon and Heptathlon at Cabot High School. Gentry called upon seniors Cripps, Fuamatu and Jon Faulkenberry to represent it in this event. Representing Decatur were Ryan Shaffer, Leng Lee and Meek.
The Decathlon, the boys’ event, required each athlete to compete in 10 events, which included the high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole vault, discus, shot put, 110 hurdles, 100and 400-meter runs and 1500-meter long distant run. Seventy-seven boys from around the state competed in this meet.
The girls competed in seven events of the Heptathlon. The event pitted the female athletes in the long jump, high jump, discus, shot put, 100-meter low hurdles, 200- and 800-meter runs. Sixty-nine girls competed in this meet.
In both the Decathlon and Heptathlon, each athlete earned a set amount of points according to their finishing position in each event. The points were tallied and each athlete was ranked according to his or her overall performance during the two days of the meets.
Gentry’s Cole Cripps finished 13th overall in this two-day event. His best finish was fourth in the triple jump and fifth in the pole vault. His teammate, Jon Faulkenberry, finished 23rd overall with a third place in the discus.
Decatur’s Ryan Shaffer finished 29th overall, placing 11th in the discus for his highest event finish of the Decathlon. Leng Lee finished 59th, with a sixth place win in the 1500 meters.
Desi Meek did very well for Decatur in the Heptathlon, finishing 21st overall and placing 14th in the 800, 15th in the 200, and 16th in the 100-meter hurdles. Because Meek, a sophomore, finished in the top 25 overall, she earned an automatic bye in next year’s competition.
Chastery Fuamatu ended her high school track career with a 44th place overall finish in the Heptathlon. She turned in two outstanding performances in her specialty events, a first-place finish in the shot put and a second-place in the discus.
Meet of Champions Girls
High jump: 11. Destiny Meija, Decatur, 4-09.00.
Shot put: 2. Chastery Fuamatu, Gentry 38-01.50; 10. Cameron Shaffer, Decatur 3300.25.
Discus: 3. Fuamatu, Gentry 119-00; 6. C. Shaffer, Decatur 102-4.
100-meter hurdles: 13. Desi Meek, Decatur 17.17.
300-meter hurdles: 7. Meek, Decatur 48.01.
Boys
Shot put: 5. Clark Mason, Gentry 48-06.75.
Discus: 2. Mason, Gentry 153-06.
Pole vault: 6. Cole Cripps, Gentry 14-0.
300-meter hurdles: 10. Ryan Shaffer, Decatur 42.72.
800-meter run: 13. Taylor Haisman, Decatur 2:07.77.
4x400-meter relay: 8. (R. Shaffer, Haisman, Johnny Brandon, Jimmy Mendoza) Decatur, 3:40.32.
Heptathlon results
21. Meek, Decatur: 100-meter hurdles, 17.68 (16); long jump, 14-8.75 (36); discus, 595.5 (46); 200, 27.15 (15); high jump, 4-7 (20); shot put, 233.25 (48); 800, 2:39.21 (14); total points, 3,326.
44. Fuamatu, Gentry: 100-meter hurdles, 19.69 (46); long jump, 13-8.5 (54); discus, 109-4.25 (2); 200, 30.72 (59); high jump 4-3.25 (38); shot put, 37-4 (1); 800, 3:43.14 (67); total points, 2,736.
Decathlon results
13. Cripps, Gentry: 100, 11.82 (37); long jump 19-11 (10); shot put, 31-11.75 (39); high jump 5-7 (18); 400, 57.53 (42); 110-meter hurdles, 17.67 (33); discus, 82-9.75 (35); pole vault, 13-5.75 (5); triple jump, 41-7.25 (4); 1,500, 5:43.73 (56); total points, 5,254.
23. Faulkenberry, Gentry: 100, 11.95 (47); long jump, 191.5 (19); shot put, 35-1.5 (15); high jump, 5-3 (18); 400, 57.53 (42); 110-meter hurdles, 21.27 (62); discus, 123-2.75 (3); pole vault, 10-6 (16); triple jump, 38-1 (21); 1,500, 5:21.4 (37); total points, 4,857.
29. Shaffer, Decatur: 100, 12.01 (51); long jump 17-11 (44); shot put, 30-5.75 (26); high jump, 5-1 (47); 400, 55.41 (25); 110-meter hurdles, 17.06 (24); discus, 97-1 (11); pole vault 6-0 (37); triple jump, 3111.75 (66); 1,500, 5:09.30 (23); total points, 4,694.
59. Lee, Decatur: 100, 12.68 (72); long jump, 16-2 (68); shot put, 24-1.25 (76); high jump, 4-11 (57); 400, 57.25 (38); 110-meter hurdles, 20.34 (53); discus, 70-5 (58); pole vault, 10-0 (22); triple jump, 33-8.75 (62); 1,500, 4:46.98 (6); total points, 4,024.