The Siloam Springs boys cross country team showed Saturday that success is truly a team effort.
Greenwood had three of the top four finishers in the large school high school boys division of the Panther Cross Country Classic, but Siloam Springs had six of the top 20 and bested the Bulldogs in the final four scoring positions to earn a first place victory Saturday in their home meet held on the grounds of Simmons Foods.
Siloam Springs finished with 37 points, nine ahead of Greenwood's 46, while Rogers had 47, Farmington 133, Rogers Heritage 137 and Stilwell, Okla. 150.
"I was so thrilled for our boys to finish first," said Siloam Springs head cross country coach Sharon Jones. "They were genuinely surprised. That was fun."
The surprise in the Panthers' finish might have something to do with how last year's Class 6A meet finished with Greenwood finishing second overall, two points ahead of third place Siloam Springs.
Greenwood's Joseph Wittig ran a time of 17 minutes, 36.88 seconds to take first place overall, while teammate Zack Looper was second at 18:15.43.
Siloam Springs sophomore Kerrig Kelly was third at 18:28.84, while Greenwood's Nathaniel Gonzalez was fourth at 18:40.42.
Panthers senior Isaac Leachman finished in fifth place at 18:51.44, while junior Samuel Granderson was seventh at 19:16.78.
Senior Caleb Ellis finished in ninth place at 19:37.08, while sophomore Isaac Price was 13th at 20:12.48 and sophomore Adam Kennedy was 18th at 20:35.59. All six of these runners received medals, and sophomore Tyler Sharp's 24th place finish of 21:55.10 rounded out Siloam Springs' top seven scores.
Sophomore Ransom Van Asche placed 36th at 23:28.02, while Blaise Becan was right behind him at 23:36.76 and Nathan Blair 41st at 24:56.91.
Avrey Della Rosa was 43rd at 24:59.53 and Julian Labitad was 44th at 25:56.17.
"I think our kids dread our meet, honestly, because it's so hard," Jones said. "Overall, the times weren't anything to brag on, but their performance was great. I think they ran hard. I did see most of the high school boys come across the finish line and they looked exhausted."
A total of 57 boys ran in the high school boys large school division, which consisted of 5A, 6A and 7A schools. A total of 122 ran in the small schools division, which was 1A-4A schools.
Green Forest won the small schools division with 70 points, edging out Huntsville, which finished with 71.
Rafael Rosales led Green Forest with a time of 18:23.14, while teammate Lexington Hilton was second at 18:37.12.
Pea Ridge had 119, followed by Prairie Grove 139, Gentry 144, Berryville 144, Haas Hall 152, Elkins 195, Ozark 219, Jay (Okla.) 220, Eureka Springs 223 and Life Way Christian 233. Arkansas Arts Academy, Decatur, Gravette, The New School, West Fork and Lincoln all had individuals compete but not enough to field a full team score.
Girls
A runner from either Siloam Springs, Rogers or Greenwood finished in the top 26 spots in the senior high girls large school division, but it was Rogers that came away with the team title.
The Class 7A Lady Mounties had five in the top 10 and finished with 23 points, while Siloam Springs three-time defending 6A champion placed fourth in the top 10 and had 40 points.
"It's a good day when you medal nine girls and 6 boys," Jones said. "Our girls placed second behind a tough varsity Rogers team."
Greenwood finished third with 82 points, while Farmington was fourth at 116, Stilwell (Okla.) fifth at 125 and Rogers Heritage sixth at 186.
Rogers' Ali Nachtigal finished first with a time of 20:08.01, while teammate Anna Jeffcoat was second at 21:02.37 and Greenwood's Taylor Koeth third at 21:24.63.
Siloam Springs junior Chloe McGooden placed fourth at 22:17.49, while junior Brittany Pilcher was sixth at 22:25.98.
"I love that Chloe McGooden stepped up and asserted herself in the front this week," Jones said. "She led us all summer. Brittany keeps moving closer to the front as well. All our girls are running well and staying pretty close together."
Sophomore newcomer Chloe Maxwell placed ninth at 22:34.11 in her first home meet, while sophomore Rebekah Rodgers was 10th at 22:47.37.
Senior Caroline Farine placed 11th at 22:55.19 with sophomore Claudia Mercado in 12th at 23:00.43 and senior Allika Pearson in 14th at 23:27.95 to round out Siloam Springs' top seven scorers.
Sophomore Kimberly Guillen placed 15th at 23:42.45, while sophomore Kailey Pentz was 20th at 24:59.01.
Sophomore Chloe Rocha placed 38th at 28:55.21, while Mary Grace Green was 44th at 31:16.46.
Sixty girls ran in the large school division race, while 81 ran in the small school division.
Berryville won the small school meet with 72 points, while Green Forest was second at 96. Jay, Okla., finished third with 130, followed by West Fork 142, Huntsville 143, Ozark 145, Gravette 147, Prairie Grove 148, Arkansas Arts 161, Elkins 203 and Gentry 267. Bergman, Decatur, Eureka Springs, Pea Ridge, Valley Springs and Life Way Christian all had individuals participate but not enough to field a team score.
Jones wanted to express her thanks to the Siloam Springs cross country program parents for "doing such a great job running the meet."
"They are so willing to jump in where they are needed," Jones said. "Chloe's grandpa (Mike McGooden) does such a good job on the microphone, too. He's fun to listen to.
"Also, thanks again to Simmons for providing a place for us to practice and compete and for their sponsorship, and to Tim McCord and his wife for donating their time to grill for our concession stand and to Generations Bank for donating the food."
Up next
The high school teams as well as the top junior high runners were scheduled to be back in action at a meet held Tuesday at the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville.
All Siloam Springs cross country teams will be back in action on Sept. 30 at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville.
Sports on 09/20/2017