Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Lincoln Football JUMPS TO 4A THIS FALL
Lincoln Preparing For Competition
LINCOLN — After achieving milestones in several sports, the Lincoln Wolves have moved to the 4A classification for the purposes of athletic competition for school year 2012-13.
“We’re going to 4A. For us it’s a big year,” said Clay Hendrix, Lincoln superintendent. “We couldn’t have had a better last year in 3A.”
Last fall, the Wolves put together a breakthrough football season to earn a spot in the state playoffs for only the second time in school history. The junior Wolves played in the conference championship gridiron game and the Pee Wee team won their district.
Not to be outdone, the varsity girls basketball team upset Charleston, previously undefeated and ranked number-one in Arkansas, at the district tournament and advanced to state. Both of the junior Wolves’ basketball squads won the district tournament championships in Lincoln’s old gym.
In the spring, Lincoln had plenty more to celebrate with Nikki Thordsen winning the state 3A individual crown in triple jump. Both the baseball and softball teams won conference titles in the 3A-1. The baseball team went 295, picking up a second-place trophy at district and advanc-
Hendrix ing to the state semifinals.
The school year climaxed this spring when Lincoln graduated 78 seniors compared to 136 for Farmington and 113 for Prairie Grove, their U.S. 62 rivals, whom they will once more compete against in the 4A-1 Conference.
“We had a very successful athletic year. Overall, we had a great year,” Hendrix said, while noting Lincoln will be the smallest school in 4A. “It will be good for our kids to play against good teams.”
Hendrix referred to a June 21 memo from Commis- sioner of Education Tom W. Kimbrell that breaks down the square miles of each school district and noted Farmington has 32 square miles while Prairie Grove has 105 square miles with Lincoln the largest at 146 square miles. Hendrix said enrollment differential is due to population density.
“Historically, the three schools were closer in size,” Hendrix said. “The density went way up in Farmington.”
The three schools are natural rivals because of their proximity to one another in a 15-mile stretch along U.S. 62. Hendrix said this is because of how close the communities are geographically.
“We’re just very close. We know each other,” Hendrix said. “Probably, the biggest separation we have right now is athletically, because we have been in 3A a long time.”
Madison Cluck, of Prairie Grove, and Jordin Smith, of Farmington, said students from those schools have to adjust to Lincoln being in the conference and competing in football for bragging rights along U.S. 62.
“Lincoln, they’re new to the pack. My mom was a Farmington alumni, even then it was a big rivalry,” Cluck said, referring to the annual Cardinal/Tiger battle on the gridiron.
“My dad (Dwayne Smith) was the (Cardinal) quarterback. He says it was a big rivalry back then,” Smith said.
Hendrix said Farmington and Prairie Grove are good schools and excellent neighbors and pointed out schools in the 4A-1 Conference are a lot closer than the spread-out 3A-1, which included trips to Yellville- Summit. Besides Farmington and Prairie Grove, Lincoln will play Berryville, Gentry, Gravette, Ozark and Pea Ridge in conference match-ups.
“We’re going to have a lot less travel this year,” Hendrix said. “It’s going to be a lot more pleasant of a trip.”
Hendrix said because of travel distances, teams in the 3A-1 don’t take much of a crowd to away games. He is looking forward to a new season in the 4A-1.
“To have a bunch of people turn out for a football game, it’s exciting,” Hendrix said.