HOT SPRINGS -- In sports, just like all of life, all good things come to an end, and such was the case Saturday morning for the Siloam Springs girls cross country team.
The Lady Panthers saw their streak of five straight state titles snapped as they finished third overall at the Class 5A state cross country championship meet held at Oaklawn Park.
Arkansas Girls Cross Country Championships
at Oaklawn Park, Hot Springs
Saturday’s results
CLASS 5A
TEAM SCORES 1. Greenwood 65; 2. Lake Hamilton 107; 3. Siloam Springs 113; 4. Hot Springs Lakeside 118; 5. Russellville 123; 6. Mountain Home 136; 7. Little Rock Christian 148; 8. Vilonia 149; 9. Benton 198; 10. Jonesboro 205.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 1. Marcie Cudworth, Mountain Home, 19:08.2; 2. Macie Cash, Greenwood, 19:18.2; 3. Olivia Pielemeier, Lake Hamilton, 19:33.1; 4. Taylor Koeth, Greenwood, 19:44.0; 5. Whitley Terry, HS Lakeside, 20:03.0; 6. Emma Selph, Benton, 20:08.7; 7. Charissa Helms-Pittman, Russellville, 20:17.4; 8. McKaila Davis, HS Lakeside, 20:17.6; 9. Mary Beth Bailey, Jonesboro, 20:27.9; 10. Madelyn Wilkinson, Greenwood, 20:31.1; 12. Quincy Efurd, Siloam Springs, 20:41.5; 17. Rebekah Rodgers, Siloam Springs, 21:29.0; 19. Kailey Pentz, Siloam Springs, 21:32.0; 26. Jaclyn Weilnau, Siloam Springs, 21:46.7; 39. Candy Dubon, Siloam Springs, 22:17.9; 51. Claudia Mercado, Siloam Springs, 22:48.6; 57. Kadynce Frost, Siloam Springs, 23:03.0; 82. Rachel Rine, Siloam Springs, 23:53.3; 96. Jordan Rush, Siloam Springs, 24:49.5.
Greenwood, which defeated Siloam Springs on Oct. 30 in the 5A-West Conference meet, won the state title with 65 points, while Lake Hamilton finished second at 107 and Siloam Springs third at 113.
The result wasn't exactly a surprise, given the results of the conference meet just days earlier, but there was still optimism the Lady Panthers might be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat on Saturday.
"We knew that (we) were coming in as an underdog, which is kind of odd when you're talking about five in a row, but ... we knew," said head coach Sharon Jones. "But we also knew that we had a chance, and we did."
Following the race, there were tears of joy for the upstart Greenwood bunch that had three runners place in the top 10 after taking the top three spots at the conference meet. In the Siloam Springs camp it was the first feeling in a long time of coming up short.
"I'm not disappointed in any of the girls," Jones said. "I'm not disappointed in any of them. I felt like they all ran their hearts out. They all did everything they could. There's nothing to be ashamed of with third place at state. That's really great."
Mountain Home's Marcie Cudworth took the individual state championship with a time of 19 minutes, 8.2 seconds, while Greenwood's Macie Cash came in second at 19:18.2. Greenwood's Taylor Koeth was fourth at 19:44.0 and Madelyn Wilkinson was 10th at 20:31.1.
"You've got to run your best race and hope they don't run their best race," Jones said. "Then you're happy for them when they do. I couldn't be happier for Greenwood because I know they've been trying to put that program together. Those girls were emotional. I'm happy for them. I can't be disappointed."
Siloam Springs junior Quincy Efurd finished 12th overall with a season-best run of 20:41.5. By finishing in the top 10 percent of the field, she earned All-State honors.
"Her goal was to crack that top 10, and she came really close," Jones said of Efurd. "But gosh she ran a fast time, may have been her season best. When you finish the year with your season best you can't be disappointed in that."
Senior Rebekah Rodgers placed 17th at 21:29.0 and senior Kailey Pentz came up big with a 19th place finish and new personal record of 21:32.0.
Sophomore Jaclyn Weilnau placed 26th with a season high of 21:46.7, while senior Candy Dubon also ran her best race of the year and placed 39th at 22:17.9. Senior Claudia Mercado ran a season-best time of 22:48.6, sophomore Kadynce Frost ran a time of 23:03.0, freshman Rachel Rine 23:53.3 and junior Jordan Rush at 24:49.5.
Sports on 11/13/2019