The Siloam Springs girls cross country team finished second overall in the 5A-6A division of the Van Buren Classic held Saturday.
Defending 5A state champion Greenwood had the first two overall finishers and four in the top 10 to take first place with 44 points. Siloam Springs finished with 86 points, followed by Vilonia 101, Bentonville High 103, Springdale High 151, Fayetteville High 152, Russellville 184, Fort Smith Southside 202, Van Buren 207, Rogers Heritage 230, Bentonville West 267 and Mount St. Mary 387.
"We don't seem to be able to gain much ground on (Greenwood)," said coach Sharon Jones. "However, we did beat Vilonia, Russellville, Van Buren and Alma. I'm excited to race again at the conference meet."
Because of covid-19 restrictions, the junior high races were held on Friday and the senior high races on Saturday morning.
Senior Quincy Efurd led the Lady Panthers with a time of 21 minutes, 0.83 seconds to finish fifth overall.
"Quincy didn't look as confident and strong running this week," Jones said. "But she still held on to a solid 21:00. Van Buren was a mostly flat course. And with the cooler temperatures we were hoping for that (personal record) she's been flirting with."
Jacilyn Weilnau came in 15th overall for the Lady Panthers at 22:04.87.
"Jackie had an incredible race," Jones said. "She has a smooth gait and great focus. She ran a season beat, but is determined to PR this year as well and is making steady progress toward that."
Shayla Conley ran another personal record at 22:16.69 and finished 18th overall.
"I don't know how many times that makes this year, but a lot," Jones said of Conley. "We need her and Jackie in the 21s."
The Lady Panthers moved freshmen Shelby Smith and Ellen Slater up to the varsity team for Saturday's race.
Smith ran a time of 22:35.32 and finished 24th, while Emily Brown finished 26th at 22:42.65 and Slater 27th with a PR of 22:45.83.
"This was the first varsity race for Shelby Smith and Ellen Slater," Jones said. "They both did very well. Ellen set a new PR, but I think with more experience she'll surprise some folks. I think Shelby was more nervous. It was a good first race, but I'm eager to see her and Ellen race another 5K. They'll only get better.
"Emily looked great today. She ran with the confidence we haven't seen since this summer -- a solid race, only two seconds away from her best."
Macie Herrel finished 46th at 23:42.23, while Brooke Ross was 62nd with a PR of 24:35.12.
"Brooke has battled sore knees all season. She looked great today though," Jones said. "She just killed her paces, right on the whole race. Set herself up for a huge PR of 50 seconds."
Kendra Reimer ran a time of 25:03.68, while Kadynce Hilburn-Frost ran a 26:01.91, Sydney Pfeiffer 27:23.44, Leslie Cea with a season-best 27:46.18, Anna Floyd 27:56.55 and Jordan Rush 28:51.48.
Varsity boys
The Siloam Springs boys placed third overall at the Van Buren Classic.
Bentonville High was first at 70 points, followed by Rogers Heritage 78, Siloam Springs 94, Russellville 122, Fayetteville 134, Greenwood 174, Vilonia 185, Springdale 187, Fort Smith Southside 211, Bentonville West 239, Van Buren 311, Fort Smith Northside 327 and Alma 332.
"The high school boys finished third to Bentonville and Rogers Heritage," Jones said. "I'm eager to see them match up against the conference teams again on the 27th. We beat most of them Saturday. I'm confident the boys can defend their conference championship."
Senior Michael Capehart battled congestion but still finished second overall at 16:49.60.
Wilson Cunningham placed seventh with a new personal record at 17:22.40, followed by freshman Nathan Hawbaker in 26th at 18:08.48 and Blake Morrison in 27th at 18:09.54.
"Nate Hawbaker made a big splash his first varsity meet finishing third for the team with a solid time," Jones said. "I expect him to knock off a few more seconds as he gains more experience."
Levi Fox placed 32nd at 18:17.97, while Jason Flores was 45th at 18:26.39 and freshman Tyler Cottrell 50th at 18:31.92.
"Levi got pushed back in the crowd at the start and never regained his ground," Jones said. "He and Wilson normally pace off each other. Blake and Jason didn't have their best races, but finished fourth and sixth for us.
"Tyler Cottrell, a new varsity runner as well, came in seventh for us. He looked really good and had a strong kick at the end. I have a feeling he'll pace a little differently next time and surprise a few people."
Riley Harrison finished 70th at 19:10.66, while Luke Fields was 78th at 19:24.11 and freshman Charlie Hyde 90th at 19:42.51, Cade Gunter 91st at 19:43.94, Liam Scott 98th at 19:54.46 and Caleb Rogers 100th at 20:07.66.
Cooper Shaw ran a time of 20:10.94, Ben Humphries 20:19.14, Billy Samoff 20:22.23, Daxton Spence 20:52.41, Barrett Eldridge 21:18.79, Ben Stout 21:18.83 and Samuel Herndon 22:59.01.
Up next
The varsity cross country teams will run in the 5A-West Conference meet on Oct. 27 at Vilonia.