Lady Panthers take second at home meet

n The boys were third Saturday in the Panther Cross Country Classic.

Bud Sullins/Special to the Herald-Leader Michael Capehart of Siloam Springs, left, leads a group of runners Saturday morning during the 2018 Panther Cross Country Classic.
Bud Sullins/Special to the Herald-Leader Michael Capehart of Siloam Springs, left, leads a group of runners Saturday morning during the 2018 Panther Cross Country Classic.

The Siloam Springs girls cross country team put forth a strong effort Saturday in their annual home meet, but the Lady Panthers came up just short as Bentonville took first place large schools (5A-7A) division in the 2018 Panther Cross Country Classic held on the grounds of Simmons Foods.

Bentonville finished with 25 points, while Siloam Springs was second at 30, followed by Rogers 88, Rogers Heritage 108 and Alma 138. Greenwood had two of the top four runners, but only had four runners total and didn't field a team score.

"Almost all our girls ran a smidge faster this week, too, on a harder course," head coach Sharon Jones said. "Even though our kiddos say they dread our course. I think we get up for it. Our girls didn't run as closely packed as they did last week, but this was a little more crowded race. It will be even more challenging next week in the Chile Pepper. We will continue to work on our individual pacing, but for the most part they should be pretty close to each other."

Senior Chloe McGooden placed second overall with a time of 21 minutes, 49.14 seconds, finishing behind Greenwood's Taylor Koeth, who crossed first at 21:37.61.

But because Greenwood didn't field a team score, McGooden's placement for points was adjusted to first place, helping the Lady Panthers' score.

"This was Chloe's first race of the season," Jones said. "Last week she was taking the ACT. She really ran strong. I think it helped our other girls to have her back."

Sophomore Quincy Efurd was the sixth Lady Panther to cross the finish line and got the fourth placement because of the adjusted scoring with her time of 22:33.34, which also was a personal record. Claudia Mercado was eighth (adjusted sixth) at 22:50.94.

Sophomore Sydney Moorman was 11th (adjusted ninth) at 23:09.49, while Brittany Pilcher was right behind her in 12th (adjusted 10th) at 23:46.28 and Rebekah Rodgers 14th (adjusted 12th) at 23:55.50.

"Our top girls -- Chloe, Quincy, Claudia, Sydney, Brittany, and Rebekah -- are running really well," Jones said.

Junior Candy Dubon placed 22nd at 25:01.75, while Kailey Pentz was 25th at 25:44.77, Bethany Mejia 29th with a new PR of 26:02.14.

"I was excited to see Kailey ran so well," Jones said. "This was also her first race. She's been rehabbing from a trampoline injury, of all things. She's been working hard to get back. Candy didn't have a great race, but she will be back up in the top mix this week, I'm sure."

Isabel Carrion, who is new to the team, ran a personal record of 28:37.32 and finished 42nd, while Katie Bishop was 49th at 30:19.97 and Mary Grace Green 52nd at 32:45.42.

A total of 55 girls ran in the large school division, while 62 ran in the small schools (1A-4A). Kendall Hays of West Fork finished first overall in the small schools race, while Prairie Grove placed first as a team with 45 points, edging out Pea Ridge and Elkins, which both had 50.

Boys

Siloam Springs finished third in the boys division of the large school race.

Joaquin Camacho of Rogers finished first at 17:23.35 followed by teammate Braden Sell at 17:31.11, and the Mounties took first overall with 31 points.

Bentonville was second at 39 points, including third and fourth place finishers Clay Harrell and Colin Conway, respectively. Siloam Springs was a distant third at 83, followed by Rogers Heritage 107 and Greenwood 119.

Michael Capehart led the Panthers with a fifth-place finish of 18:01.17, beating out teammate Kerrig Kelly by a tenth of a second as Kelly finished sixth at 18:01.27.

"I so love that Kerrig and Michael are running together," Jones said. "They help pace each other and really push each other. They both want to come across the finish line first though. Last week it was Kerrig who sprinted ahead at the finish line. This week Michael crossed first by 0.10 seconds. Watching, I really couldn't tell who won. They are both so much stronger this year than last year. Kerrig ran 27 seconds faster this year on the same course. Michael missed his personal record by only six seconds on our course! Everyone knows our course is a beast, so to do that well is so great."

Senior Samuel Granderson placed 19th at 18:55.75, while Adam Kennedy was 26th at 19:41.26 and Blake Morrison 27th at 19:56.14.

Luke Fields placed 31st with a personal record at 21:34.43, while Ben Humphries also set a personal record and was 35th at 23:15.63 and Seth Funk 65th at 23:33.58.

"Samuel was excited to get under 19:00, which he has never done on our course," Jones said. "All our other boys, Adam, Blake, Luke, Ben, and Seth ran faster times than last week. Luke and Ben set new personal records. That makes me very happy."

A total of 73 boys participated in the large school race, while another 129 ran in the small schools division.

Jacob Tyburski of Haas Hall Bentonville was top finisher in the small schools race at 17:59.05. Huntsville won the team race with 65 points.

Up next

Both teams return to action Saturday in the annual Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville.

Sports on 09/19/2018