Three-peat sweet!

HOT SPRINGS -- Over the course of a cross country season, long distance runners can go through any number of adversities, including but not limited to injuries, illnesses and fatigue.

So with Siloam Springs' girls holding a slight edge over Class 6A rivals Lake Hamilton and Russellville heading into the Class 6A state meet, head coach Sharon Jones wanted to see just how much breathing room the Lady Panthers had if one of their top runners were to go down.

"I ran the scenario last week to see what it would look like if one of our top girls went down," Jones said. "I felt like we could still win it."

Turns out that's exactly what happened. Siloam Springs lost one of its top five runners Saturday in the Class 6A state meet at Oaklawn Park, but the Lady Panthers have six of their eight finishers set new personal records and Siloam Springs won its third straight girls cross country state championship.

"I mean, I think this is the best team out of all the teams in high school to be honest with you because we all support each other so much," said senior Jasmine Guillen, who led the Lady Panthers with a third-place finish overall of 20 minutes, 17.90 seconds. "We just couldn't do it without one another. I'm so grateful."

Siloam Springs had five of the 11 finishers in the race and scored 33 points, 16 points in front of second place Lake Hamilton, which had 49. Russellville was a distant third with 69 points. Just a little more than a week earlier, Siloam Springs had defeated Lake Hamilton and Russellville by 11 and 13 points, respectively, at the 6A-West Conference Meet held Nov. 3 at the Simmons Course in Siloam Springs.

Siloam Springs won the sixth state title in girls program history, joining state titles from 2001, 2002, 2011, 2014 and 2015.

Lake Hamilton junior Josie Carson won her third straight individual state championship with a time of 19:41.9, while Russellville's Charissa Helms finished second at 20:03.8.

Guillen was not one of the Lady Panthers that set a new personal record, but she did lead the team for the seventh time this season.

Sophomore Chloe McGooden zoomed past the competition with a new personal record of 20:33 to finish fourth overall, while junior Allika Pearson was seventh with a new personal record of 20:45.5 and freshman Candy Dubon was eighth with a new career-best time of 20:47.2.

Sophomore Brittany Pilcher was the Lady Panthers' fifth scorer coming in 11th with a time of 21:05.2.

Freshman Kimberly Guillen placed 18th with a new personal record of 21:36, while senior Rachel Thompson set a new career best at 21:46.80 to finish 20th. Freshman Rebekah Rodgers also set a new PR with a time of 21:57.0, finishing 23rd.

Junior Caroline Farine, who's normally a top five runner for Siloam Springs -- was unable to finish the race due to an asthma attack.

Jones said Farine battles asthma quite a bit in practice, but she is usually able to recognize an oncoming attack, adjust and finish her workout.

Because of the high stakes of Saturday's state title meet, Jones thought Farine was trying to push through it and finish the race.

"I saw over there she was starting to get into trouble," Jones said.

Jones asked Farine if she needed to pull out and Farine voluntarily did that.

"I think she would have kept running," Jones said. "I think we probably would have taken her off in an ambulance if I hadn't stopped her. She's got that much heart."

Farine's teammates more than stepped up in her absence.

"Everybody had to pull their weight, and those girls did," Jones said. "They started out and they were so packed up. Man they stayed there. The whole race, those girls were within sight of each other."

Jasmine Guillen, a two-time Class 6A state runner-up who's been battling plantar fasiciitis this season, gutted out one final high school race.

Guillen raised her arms in joy after crossing the finish line and immediately broke down in tears.

"Crossing that finish line, I just realized it was my last meet and I literally broke down in tears in front of everyone," Guillen said. "I'm just really thankful that we've made it this far and that we got another state ring. I'm just happy to do it with my team."

Jones caught sight of Guillen after the finish.

"She was so emotional after her race," Jones said. "I saw the same thing last year in Elliott (Pearson) when they finally realize that was their last high school meet. She did so well. She ended so well. It was happy tears."

Guillen said she was feeling a bit better than her previous race, where she finished second for the Lady Panthers and sixth overall at the 6A-West Meet with a time of 21:04.05.

"I think I was feeling better," Guillen said. "I kind of knew it was my last meet so I gave it my all. I kind of just ignored the pain, and I kept asking myself, are you hurting? No, and even if I was, just push through it because it's my last meet."

The big shot in the arm was McGooden's fourth place finish.

"I knew she had it in her," Guillen said. "Since she started cross country she's been a really good runner. So I've just been waiting for her to be right up there with me."

"That was big," Jones said of McGooden's performance. "That was huge for her. Man, she took out from the gun and just went for it."

Allika Pearson ran another strong race just like she has all season, and the freshman Dubon, after leading the Lady Panthers at the 6A-West Conference Meet, ran a personal best as well.

Jasmine Guillen, McGooden, Pearson and Dubon all received top 10 medals and were in the top 10 percent of 83 runners that received all-state recognition.

Pilcher, who's been in the top group all season, just missed all-state honors.

"Brittany had to stop (grinding) because she was seeing stars," Jones said. "She was running herself into the ground. In no other sport do you see kids run themselves completely into exhaustion.

"They wanted it bad, and oh it was exciting to watch."

And the good news for Siloam Springs is the majority of these runners will return next season and shoot for the program's fourth straight state title.

The Lady Panthers will lose Jasmine Guillen and Thompson to graduation, and the rest of the state roster is back for another year.

"They're all back," Jones said with a smile.