The Siloam Springs boys track team finished fifth overall Thursday, April 27, at the 5A-West Conference Meet in Van Buren.
Russellville won the meet with 226 points, followed by Mountain Home 138, Greenbrier 88.5, Alma 59, Siloam Springs 51, Van Buren 50, Harrison 49.5 and Greenwood 38.
The top four finishers in each event advance to the state meet, which is Thursday, May 4, in Lake Hamilton.
"I was really proud of the kids today," said Siloam Springs boys coach Chuck Jones. "Our conference is tough. Russellville may be state champs. We had several personal bests in sloppy weather."
Silas Tugwell placed second in the triple jump with a personal record of 42-7 with Mikey McKinley 11th at 37-11.7, Jack O'Brien 13th at 37-1 and Eli Hargett 17th at 36-0.
Wilson Cunningham finished third in the 800-meter run with a personal record of 2:03.69 with Nathan Hawbaker fifth at 2:13.49, Chance Cunningham sixth at 2:13.49 and Conner Mitchell 13th at 2:22.86.
"We had three boys finish in the top eight on the 800 meters," Jones said. "Wilson third, Nate fifth and Chance sixth. Those guys have really come on in the last two weeks."
McKinley finished fifth in the 110-meter hurdles at 17.73 with O'Brien eighth at 18.51.
Tugwell took fifth in the long jump at 19-9.5 with O'Brien 14th at 17-7.5, Hargett 15th at 16-10.5 and McKinley 17th at 16-8.
"Silas had his best day of the season," said Siloam Springs boys coach Chuck Jones.
O'Brien finished seventh in the high jump at 5-8 with Levi Fox ninth at 5-6.
Cooper Church took eighth in the pole vault at 10-6 with Boone Eldridge ninth at 10-6, Fox 10th at 10-0 and Anthony Cruz 14th at 10-0.
"Coach (Daniel) Ramsey has done a great job with our pole vaulters with Cooper finishing in eighth and freshman Boone Eldridge in ninth," Jones said.
Jonathan Bishop placed eighth in the shot put at 39-10 with Noah Race 13th at 35-10, Luke Irwin 21st at 30-5 and Eli Free 23rd at 29-11.5.
Chance Cunnigham placed ninth in the 1,600-meter run at 4:51.96 with Mitchell 14th at 5:05.16 and Eldridge 19th at 5:22.86.
McKinley placed 10th in the 300-meter hurdles at 45.53 with O'Brien 11th at 46.45.
Race was 11th in the discus with a throw of 110-5, with Stone Stephens 13th at 106-4, Bishop 15th at 100-2, and John Coffey 17th at 99-10.
Jonathon Graves took 13th in the 200-meter dash at 24.63 with Hargett 21st at 26.14 and Cole Pittman 23rd at 26.20.
"Jonathon and Silas were out for several weeks with leg injuries," Chuck Jones said. "They didn't attempt full speed until Monday. Our trainers worked their magic to try and get them back in time. Jonathon was running so fast early. I was so happy he was able to compete."
Fox finished 15th in the 400-meter run at 55.57 with Marcus Molina 17th at 55.65, Cruz 23rd at 58.52 and Noah Granderson 25th at 1:01.00.
Church finished 22nd in the 100-meter dash at 12.37, while Kaden Vernon was 25th at 12.52, Pittman 26th at 12.90 and Hargett 27th at 12.98.
The 4x100-meter relay team finished seventh at 45.96.
The 4x200-meter relay team placed sixth at 1:35.29.
The 4x400-meter relay team took fifth at 3:38.25.
The 4x800-meter relay team placed second at 8:28.24, earning a state berth.
Girls
The Siloam Springs girls took fifth place at the 5A-West meet.
Russellville won the meet with 171.5 points, followed by Mountain Home 158, Van Buren 84, Harrison 81.5, Siloam Springs 65, Greenwood 64, Alma 36 and Greenbrier 27.
Jeri Roy took first place in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.81 with Esther Norwood 10th at 18.50.
Norwood took first place in the 300-meter hurdles at 48.90 with Roy in second at 52.46.
Roy took second place in the long jump at 15-10.5 with Norwood in fourth at 15-7.
Roy was third in the triple jump at 33-6.75.
"Jeri was definitely the stand out (Thursday) for the girls," said Siloam Springs girls coach Sharon Jones. "She qualified in all five of the event she competed in, including a first place finish in the 100 hurdles.
"Esther had a great meet as well. Highlights for her: Winning the 300 hurdles by a good margin and coming closer to the school record and a great lead off leg in the 4x400-meter relay which set us up for a state qualifying finish."
Reese Sutulovich placed third in the shot put at 30-2 with Oneida Batres 12th at 26-5, Madelyn Mehlburger 14th at 25-3.5 and Marlen Favela 17th at 24-1.
Sutulovich was seventh in the discus at 96-6 with Mehlburger 11th at 76-3 and Favela 12th at 66-9.
"Reese did very well in the shot placing third and seventh in the discus," Sharon Jones said.
Ava Scarberough took eighth in the 400-meter dash at 1:07.79.
"Ava Scarberough did well in the open 400 meters to place eighth and anchored our 4x400 relay with a strong split," Sharon Jones said.
Avery Carter placed 15th in the 1,600-meter run at 6:54.53 with Estela Gonzalez 16th at 7:34.30.
Carter was 16th in the 800-meter run at 3:02.39 with Gonzalez 17th at 3:30.94.
Crystal Solarzano placed 17th in the 200-meter dash at 31.26 with Amy Blaha 20th at 35.09 and Anahi Quinonez 21st at 36.09.
Scarberough took 18th in the 100-meter dash at 14.50 with Quinonez 19th at 15.92, Amy Blaha 22nd at 16.62 and Breanna Sanchez 23rd at 17.83.
The 4x400-meter relay team clinched a state berth with a fourth place finish of 4:35.50.
The 4x100-meter relay team finished seventh at 1:04.82.
The 4x200-meter relay team placed seventh at 2:08.92.
Up next
The Panthers and Lady Panthers' state qualifiers will participate in the Class 5A State Meet at Lake Hamilton on Thursday, May 4.
Girls qualifiers are Esther Norwood (long jump, 300 hurdles, 4x400), Jeri Roy (long jump, triple jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, 4x400), Reese Sutulovich (shot put), Ava Scarberough- (4x400), Crystal Solorzano (4x400) and Avery Carter (4x400 alternate).
Boys qualifiers are Silas Tugwell (triple jump), Levi Fox (4x800), Chance Cunningham (4x800), Wilson Cunningham (800, 4x800), Nathan Hawbaker (4x800) and Conner Mitchell (4x800 alternate).