RUSSELLVILLE -- A pair of school records fell Thursday for the Siloam Springs girls track team at the Class 6A State Meet.
The Lady Panthers had standout performances in three events and finished eighth overall in a rain-delayed meet held at Cyclone Stadium on the campus of Russellville High School.
Lake Hamilton won the state championship with 100 points, edging out Benton's 90 points, followed by Sheridan 86, Jonesboro 85, Texarkana 72, Russellville 68, El Dorado 49, Siloam Springs 37, Little Rock Hall 20, Greenwood 16, Searcy 14, West Memphis 13, Pine Bluff 8 and Marion 5.
Siloam Springs had a pair of state runner-up finishes on the day.
The Lady Panthers' 4x800-meter relay team of Allika Pearson, Rebekah Rodgers, Emma Hulbert and Chloe McGooden set a school record with a time of 10 minutes, 9.02 seconds to take second place overall and score eight points.
Russellville jumped out to an early lead in the race, but Siloam Springs chipped away at the Lady Cyclones until the last leg when McGooden pulled ahead. However, in the last 50 meters of the race, Benton's Gracie Hyde took the lead and won the title with a time of 10:05.52, with Siloam Springs placing second and Russellville third.
The four Lady Panthers earned All-State honors in Class 6A.
"The girls 4x800 was so exciting," said Siloam Springs girls coach Sharon Jones. "Russellville jumped out to a pretty big lead, their first girl running a 2:21 to Allika's 2:34. Rebekah narrowed the gap with a 2:32 personal best. Emma almost caught their third leg with a season best of 2:32, then Chloe McGooden passed them taking the lead almost immediately. She held off Russellville's anchor leg, but in the last 50 meters of the race Benton's Gracie Hyde came from way behind and passed her to take the lead and the state championship. That disappointment was short-lived after realizing they shattered the old school record by about nine seconds."
The old record in the 4x800-meter relay of 10:17.9 was set in 2015 by the team of Alexis Duffy, Hannah Herring, Jasmine Guillen and Caroline Farine.
Another record fell twice in the same event for the Lady Panthers in the 300-meter hurdles.
Hadlee Hollenback ran a personal record time of 48.93 to finish second, earn All-State honors and score eight points for the school record, while freshman Quincy Efurd ran a 49.46 and placed third and scored six points. Efurd's third-place time would have been the school record had she not been topped by her teammate. Jonesboro's Skyrie Ridley took first in the event at 48.72.
"Hadlee has been been trying to break 50 (seconds) since she started running this event, which has been just a few races ago," Sharon Jones said. "It seemed she was stuck there. Today's time was a huge PR for her. She had a tremendous day. She placed in the 4x100 earlier, then ran the fastest split on the 4x400. We wish she wasn't a senior."
The previous record in the 300-meter hurdles was set in 1986 by Jamie Reed with a time of 49.64.
For the freshman Efurd, Sharon Jones thinks she could be rewriting the school records for years to come.
"I won't be surprised when she does," Sharon Jones said. "Quincy has raced the same distance and hurdle heights all year, dominating the junior high races. But she PRed today in the 300s and placed in the 100 hurdles as well. It's a great start to her varsity career. I'm proud of Coach (Kailey) Greenleaf and the work she's done in the hurdles to prepare these girls."
Siloam Springs' 4x400-meter relay team of McGooden, Hollenback, Elyse Perdue and Chloe Price took third place with a time of 4:13.87 and scored six points, finishing behind Lake Hamilton (4:12.27) and Texarkana (4:12.52).
"Our girls ran an exciting 4x400 race, holding on to third to get on the medal podium," Sharon Jones said. "Chloe (McGooden) ran a 64 split, Hadlee a personal best 62, Elyse PRed with a 63, and Chloe (Price) also ran a 62. The girls improved their overall time by more than six seconds with a 4:13.87 just a couple seconds off another school record."
Price finished fifth and scored four points in the 400-meter dash at 1:03.64.
Pearson placed seventh in the 1,600-meter run at 5:43.20 and scored two points. Pearson had set the school record in the 1,600-meter run earlier this season in Alma with a time of 5:32.34, breaking the previous mark of 5:33.64 set by Candace Bowling in 1999.
"Allika finished her season off with a seventh place finish in the mile," Sharon Jones said. "She's had a great year as well and a successful career."
Efurd finished eighth in the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.45. She moved up to seventh in the finals and scored two points with a time of 17.68.
Hulbert placed eighth in the 800-meter run at 2:35.21 and scored one point, while McGooden was ninth at 2:36.28.
The 4x100-meter relay team of Madison Pharr, Price, Camryn Kendrick and Hollenback placed 11th in the preliminaries at 53.17.
"I'm just so happy with the way these girls finished up their season," Sharon Jones said. "Very fun to watch today -- once they finally got back on the track after rain delays. It was a long day."
Boys
The Siloam Springs boys finished 12th overall in the boys meet.
Lake Hamilton took home the boys state championship with 140.5 points, sweeping the boys and girls 6A titles, while Texarkana was second at 129, followed by Benton 106, Pine Bluff 59, El Dorado 50, Jonesboro 50, Russellville 36, Greenwood 29, Mountain Home 21.5, West Memphis 15, Marion 12, Siloam Springs 10, Sheridan 4 and Searcy 1.
The Panthers' best scoring finish of the day came in the discus where Kameron Greenlee placed fifth with a throw of 121 feet, 7 inches, scoring four points.
Fermin Velis placed ninth in the shot put at 42-6.5.
"Kameron and Fermin finished their season with their best performances," said Siloam Springs boys coach Chuck Jones.
Primo Agbehi placed seventh and scored two points in the triple jump at 40-9.25. He also placed 10th in the long jump at 19-10.
"Although this wasn't Primo's best day he had a great season in the jumps," Chuck Jones said. "I am proud of how far he has come since his freshmen year."
The Panthers' 4x400-meter relay team of Agbehi, Murphy Perkins, Jacob Wakefield and Miguel Paz took seventh and scored two points with a time of 3:39.18.
The team of Wakefield, Perkins, Kaiden Thrailkill and Agbehi placed seventh in the finals of the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 44.98 and scored two points. The team also placed seventh in the preliminaries with a time of 44.51.
"The boys sprint relay of Wakefield, Perkins, Thrailkill and Agbehi ran a season best 44.51 in the prelims and finished seventh in the finals," Chuck Jones said. "This is one of the faster 4x100-meter relay teams we have had in several years. The best news is that they are all juniors and we'll get them next season."
Paz finished ninth in the 800-meter run at 2:10.19.
Sports on 05/06/2018