Two ’Hawks qualify for state
Outdoor track begins
The Blackhawk boys’ and girls’ track teams fought the elements and competition from much larger schools in the first outdoor competition of the 2019 track season.
The squad attended an abbreviated meet of sorts in Fayetteville, with only running events contested. Schools attending beside Pea Ridge were 6A teams Bentonville, Bentonville West, Fayetteville, Springdale, Springdale HarBer, as well as smaller schools such as Gravette, Gentey, Green Forest, Elkins and Haas Hall. No relays were contested along with no field events. The meet was a Y-timing event, used by coaches to get official times for their athletes as they get into the flow of the season.
Blackhawk runners Connor Escajeda and Shaed Cates punched their ticket for the 2019 4A State Track Championships by qualifying for state at the earliest opportunity. Escajeda sprinted the 100 meters in 11.20 to get under the state qualifying standard of 11.26 with Cates running the 800 in 2:05.3 to crush the state standard of 2:06.9.
Escajeda missed by just four hundredths of a second to qualify for a second event, running the 400-meter in 51.30, just short of the 51.26 mark.
Sophomore Blaklee Winn missed early qualifying for the 100-meter hurdles by the barest of margins. Her time of 16.46 was just one hundredth of a second off the standard of 16.45. Winn and Shelby Dunlap pushed the 300-meter hurdles qualifying mark of 49.22 hard. Dunlap covered the 10-hurdle course in 49.40 with Winn just behind in 49.43. The duo was a scant fifth of a second from the standard.
Escajeda was a double winner in the boys’ competition, taking the 100-meter and 400-meter races in the above referenced times. Winn was the top performer for the girls, winning the 100-meter hurdles, taking third in the 100-meter dash (12.99) along with her third in the 300-meter hurdles.
Taking a second place in the boys events was Cooper Elliott, who took the runner-up spot in the 200-meter dash in 23.51. He also captured sixth in the 100-meter in 11.63. Dunlap took second in the 300-meter hurdles as mentioned earlier and was also eighth in the 200-meter in 28.45.
Other girls placing in the top eight finishers were: Clare Hale, seventh in the 100-meter hurdles; Cassidy Mooneyhan, eighth in the 100-meter in 13.40; Harmony Reynolds, eighth in the 1,600-meter in 6:00.7; Jamison Toms, seventh in the 200-meter in 28.15; and Olivia Scates, fourth in the 3,200-meter in 14:13.7.
Other boys placing in the top eight were: Justin Koon, fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (16.7) and sixth in the 300-meter hurdles (43.53); and Josiah Small, fifth in the 400-meter (53.6).
There were no awards for meet but had the point totals counted, Bentonville would have won the girls competition with 100 points, followed by Fayetteville 95, Pea
Ridge 42, Springdale Har-Ber 33, Springdale 20, Green Forest 7, Gravette 3, Gentry 0, Bentonville West 0, Elkins 0, and Haas Hall 0.
In the boys competition, Fayetteville had the most points with 102, with Bentonville having 86, Springdale Harber 56, Pea Ridge 45, Gentry 8, Springdale 3, Gravette 0, Green Forest 0, Bentonville West 0, Elkins 0, and Haas Hall 0.
The smaller school Blackhawks held their own with the large school teams, and are working towards the state 4A meet in May. The girls are the heavy favorites to repeat their outdoor crown from a year ago, favored to repeat their two-peat of the indoor state championships of the past two seasons.
The boy are fresh off their runner-up finish in the state indoor meet last month, and are hoping to replicate their outstanding season of a year ago. The Blackhawk boys were a relay team disqualification away from winning the outdoor crown in 2018 and are hoping to add to their depth to make a good run in ’19.