HOT SPRINGS -- Competition in Arkansas high school cross country is only getting better, and the Siloam Springs boys saw that first hand on Saturday in the Class 5A state meet.
The Panthers had all five of its top runners finish in less than 18 minutes, 30 seconds, and several personal records, but at the end of the day it was only good enough for a fifth place finish at Oaklawn Park.
Arkansas Boys Cross Country Championships
at Oaklawn Park, Hot Springs
Saturday’s results
CLASS 5A
TEAM SCORES 1. Mountain Home 42; 2. Lake Hamilton 51; 3. Russellville 156; 4. Hot Springs Lakeside 173; 5. Siloam Springs 176; 6. Maumelle 177; 7. Greenwood 184; 8. Benton 218; 9. Jonesboro 230; 10. Vilonia 248.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 1. Dominic Ward, Greenbrier, 16:05.7; 2. Whit Lawrence, Mountain Home, 16:06.4; 3. Andrew Westphal, Mountain Home, 16:18.6; 4. Zeke McCain, Lake Hamilton, 16:19.5; 5. Tyler Melton, Maumelle, 16:21.8; 6. Jacob Pyeatt, Mountain Home, 16:33.7; 7. Noah Smith, Lake Hamilton, 16:45.9; 8. Caleb Wrublesky, HS Lakeside, 16:57.2; 9. Bob Allen, Mountain Home, 17:01.9; 10. Noah Embrey, Greenwood, 17:11.5; 17. Michael Capehart, Siloam Springs, 17:24.2; 29. Blake Morrison, Siloam Springs, 17:46.8; 36. Wilson Cunningham, Siloam Springs, 18:05.0; 37. Levi Fox, Siloam Springs, 18:06.0; 60. Liam Scott, Siloam Springs, 18:34.4; 62. Ricky Montano-Lozano, Siloam Springs, 18:35.6; 63. Javier Chavez, Siloam Springs, 18:36.0; 80. Jordyn Baskin, Siloam Springs, 18:52.1; 106. Adam Kennedy, Siloam Springs, 19:44.3.
"I was just talking to some other coaches, and I think that is a good representation of how cross country as a sport is growing," said head coach Sharon Jones. "When I started coaching here, if you had five guys under 18-and-a-half and you were within a minute of each other in your top five, you had a chance to win state. Now you've got to have five guys under 17-and-a-half to have a chance. And usually you've got to have some in the 16s.
"It's just become more and more competitive and our guys have stepped up as well. This is the fastest team we've had in years. and they're young."
There was a changing of the guard at the top of the 5A boys list.
Mountain Home finished with 42 points to dethrone Lake Hamilton, which came into the meet with six consecutive state titles. Russellville was third at 156, followed by Hot Springs Lakeside in fourth with 173 and Siloam Springs in fifth with 176.
Dominic Ward of Greenbrier was the individual state champion with a time of 16 minutes, 5.7 seconds, while Mountain Home's tandem of Whit Lawrence and Andrew Westphal finished second and third, respectively.
Junior Michael Capehart battled through stomach cramps to lead Siloam Springs with a time of 17:24.2 to finish 17th overall. By finishing in the top 10 percent of the field, Capehart earned All-State honors.
Junior Blake Morrison toughed out a hip injury to record a personal record of 17:46.8 and finish 29th.
Freshmen Wilson Cunningham (18:05.0) and Levi Fox (18:06.0) came up big for the Panthers, placing 36th and 37th respectively.
Liam Scott, a sophomore, placed 60th with a new personal record of 18:34.4, while senior Ricky Montano-Lozano battled through a leg injury to finish 62nd at 18:35.6.
"I was thinking about our sport in terms of injuries during competition," Jones said. "Most sports, if you feel a muscle strain or experience some kind of discomfort or injury, you're able to come out and get assessed by a coach or trainer. In cross country you have to make a decision to step off the course and end the competition for yourself and possibly end any success for your team or you just gut it out for the remaining 2 miles or however long it takes. ... This sport definitely tests a person's ability to persevere under adversity."
Sophomore Javier Chavez was right behind him Montano-Lozano at 18:36.0, while sophomore Jordyn Baskin set a new personal record at 18:52.1 and senior Adam Kennedy ran a time of 19:44.3.
Sports on 11/13/2019