Hot Springs Do-Over

HOT SPRINGS — Sometimes in life you get a “do-over.”

March 10, 2012, I began journaling to maintain a written record of the journey leading up to what I hoped would be a triumphant moment.

6: 03 a. m. — Bus transporting Farmington cheer and dance teams rolls out of its parking spot next to the high school gym on Double Springs Road.

The moon is over our right shoulder as we travel south on I-540. Soon the sun will be coming up out of the east. Within 15 minutes the moon is in front of us still high on the horizon. Together we shall witness a special part of the day when darkness retreats to make way for the coming dawn reminiscent of the birth of a child.

Entering Bobby Hopper Tunnel, green arrows point to a forward path. In a few hours the Farmington Lady Cardinals will pass through a human tunnel formed by Farmington students plus cheerleaders, dance team and mascot, all of whom are aboard this very bus. This is a road to destiny, a long awaited, much sought-after, wonderful opportunity, a thrilling climax to a Cardinal campaign begun long ago.

Passing Chester it is now light enough to see frosted ground. The Boston Mountains are alive with splendor. Evergreens dot the median in sharp contrast to other leafless trees bringing to mind a concept of being instant in season and out of season, always prepared to produce when called upon like a player coming off the bench. What a blessing I-540 is. I think back to a Facebook message from the night before from Linda McClanahan, who guided my hometown Hardin Bulldogs to the Montana Class A state basketball championship in November of 1994, the last time I covered a girls state finals.

To know Coach McClanahan is rooting for me to have a good game means a lot. Like the Lady Cardinals I need to be on top of my game relishing the challenge of simultaneously shooting game action with my camera and writing the story. It’s a sports writer’s dream. I’m thankful to get to tell the game story both in words and in pictures. When it comes to career these are moments to live for.

There is a mist rising exemplifying high drama to be played out on stage with all of Arkansas watching. The sun is up illuminating our journey as we cross the mighty Arkansas River into Fort Smith past Exit 11 to state highway 255 or Zero Street and I realize the game score begins at zero. Life is what we make it.

Overtaking a semi marked Thomas Trucking, ‘ Hey, Thomas Clay is on this bus.’ So is Andrew Giezentanner and other members of the Cardinal football team repaying support received during the 2011 state playoffs.

We exit off I-540 now on U.S. 71 South. Sparks appear while passing a ‘Preferred South’ semi. There’s a reason why a large segment of the U.S. population prefers the south. I met my wife in Arkansas, we fell in love here.

Most of the rest of the drive to Hot Springs is spent interviewing Jamie Luther and then-Farmington cheer advisor Meagan Disney for an upcoming feature on the role Luther has played as Hot Wings, the Cardinal mascot.

••• Fast forward to July 12, another visit to Hot Springs for the 2014 Arkansas Press Association SuperConvention awards banquet. The setting was picturesque and I had wanted to bring my family there since getting a glimpse of Hot Springs downtown two years earlier en route to Summit Arena.

On that occasion I was directed to walk around back of the building past several loading docks to pick up my press pass. I thought that was a strange way to gain entrance into a high school sporting event. Anxious for the game to get started it felt like going around Tom Brown’s barn.

Two years later that temporary frustration would serve me well. I took a wrong turn trying to find Convention Boulevard, which runs in front of Summit Arena, and wound up on a side street behind the building. The loading docks looked familiar and immediately I knew where we were. I had been there before.

••• The last trip to Hot Springs didn’t end well when Star City defeated Farmington, 56-34.

Three hours later the bus stopped for a restroom break and just as we were leaving 6-foot-2 center Lexie Lewis arrived with her parents. Disappointment was evident in her countenance.

“Oh she’s still upset,” said Farmington boys.

“We love you, Lexie. We love you, Lexie,” said the boys in unison pushing down the windows of the bus.

March of 2013 nearly replicated the experience traveling to Little Rock with my colleague Ben Madrid and his son, Britton, then a senior at Prairie Grove, marking a second consecutive trip to the state 4A girls basketball finals only to watch the Lady Tigers get upended 33-32 in the final seconds by Malvern.

••• Fast forward back to July 12, 2014. This time Hot Springs would be left with prizes in hand, 19 awards in all.

Ben made the finals as a freelance writer capturing first place among smaller weeklies in the 2013 APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest. Ben was not merely competing against other sports writers, he was up against freelance writers who contribute across Arkansas in every category of news writing.

Pat Harris, editor; placed first for education coverage and Lynn Kutter, reporter; also won first place for beat reporting.

The Hot Springs do-over was fantastic.

Lincoln Boys

Six miles further down U. S. 62 towards the Oklahoma State line, Lincoln junior Shandon “Biggie” Goldman was also rising into a sky-scraping interior defender. Goldman went from a height of 6-foot-4 as a sophomore to a 6-foot-7 shot-blocking, rebounding defensive disruptive presence in the middle.

On offense Goldman kept up his proficient perimeter shooting from 3-point land and demonstrated an ability to handle the ball occasionally blowing by a defender on a run- out and scoring on the run. When he gets the ball above his head few defenders are able to legitimately challenge his shot.

Going into next season, the question remains. Will Goldman continue to refine his all- around skills and incorporate a repertoire of scoring skills in the post into his game?

Th e Wo lves wer e anything but a one- man show with 10 seniors on the roster. Their team-first concept was never better illustrated than when they repeated attacked Maumelle’s vaunted press and scored going to the basket coming within a millisecond of winning the 4A North Regional before Maumelle forced overtime with a second-chance 3-pointer.

The Wolves secured the school’s first- ever state tournament win with a first- round triumph over Bauxite before losing to eventual state champion, Brookland, in the quarterfinals.